Category: Family Fun

Kiddie Pool 21/04/01

Family fun for the weekend

Easter fun!

Follow the Bunny in downtown Concord on Saturday, April 3! The free event will begin at the Statehouse lawn at 11 a.m., where kids will have the chance to participate in games, activities and crafts. They’ll also get to meet with the Easter Bunny and decorate their own treat bags before heading downtown to search for special treats. “Follow the Bunny” posters displayed on participating business windows will let them know that there’s a treat inside. The event runs until 2 p.m.

Also on Saturday, the Easter Bunny will hop on over to the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire (27 Navigator Road, Londonderry, 669-4820, aviationmuseumofnh.org) to meet with kids and give out special goody bags. Ask the Easter Bunny questions and pose for photos, then check out the museum’s kid-friendly activities and exhibits, like a scavenger hunt and a real airplane cockpit kids can climb into. The event will run during normal operating hours, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 6 to 12, seniors 65 and older, and retired/active military, and free for kids 5 and under.

Nature activities

Kids can hike, run or learn about science at Beaver Brook Nature Center (117 Ridge Road, Hollis), with new sessions of after-school and homeschool programs starting Tuesday, April 6. The Hiking Club and Trail Running programs, which are for kids in grades 4 through 8, are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, respectively, from 3:45 to 5:15 p.m., from April 6 through May 18. The center is also hosting Homeschool Science those same weeks, from 9 a.m. to noon, for ages 6 to 10 on Tuesdays and ages 9 to 13 on Wednesdays. Classes will include hikes and other outdoor activities along with nature-related lessons. Register at beaverbrook.org.

Featured photo: The Easter Bunny visiting the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire. Courtesy photo.

Treasure Hunt 21/03/25

This was a necklace that we found in my mother’s jewelry collection. It seems to be a coin in good shape. Can you give me any advice on it? Should I leave it in the casing or remove it? Any information will be helpful.

Karl from Dover

Dear Karl,
What your mom has or had is a Morgan 1921 silver dollar. It wasn’t uncommon to find dollar or half dollar coins in necklace form (sometimes other coins as well). Condition on most is poor but the coins, if older like hers, are usually real silver.

The Morgan dollars were minted from 1878 to 1904 and then again in 1921 like yours. If you look closely on the back of the coin, between the D and the O of “dollar,” there should be a tiny letter. That will give you the mint where it was struck (made).

The value on them in general for the year 1921 is in the range of $25 to $40 depending on the condition. If it were mine I would leave it in the setting until you bring it to someone to see. If you are looking to sell it, let them remove it. Until then don’t clean it; just keep it as you found it.

Note: Never clean coins yourself. Always let a professional in coins handle that, because cleaning can lower the value of coins.

Kiddie Pool 21/03/25

Family fun for the weekend

Interactive fun

Kids are invited to sing, dance and play games during a special livestream event with Laurie Berkner on Sunday, March 28, with shows at noon and 5 p.m. The virtual show, presented by the Capitol Center for the Arts, is an 80+-minute live interactive performance for the whole family. The cost is $20, and tickets give you access to both shows. Get tickets at ccanh.com.

Bunny photos

Get a free family picture with the Easter Bunny at Bass Pro Shops (2 Commerce Drive, Hooksett, 541-5200) on Saturday, March 27, and Sunday, March 28, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday, April 2, from 2 to 6 p.m.; Saturday, April 3, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, April 4, from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Register in advance for your free 4×6 color photo at basspro.com/easter.

More maple!

If you didn’t get a chance to explore a local sugar shack last weekend, there’s still one weekend left of New Hampshire’s Maple Month. At Ben’s Sugar Shack (83 Webster Hwy., Temple, and 693 Route 103, Newbury, 924-3111, bensmaplesyrup.com), there are free 30-minute tours every 15 minutes on Saturday, March 27, and Sunday, March 28, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Although there won’t be any breakfast or hayrides this year, Ben’s will have maple doughnuts, ice cream, roasted nuts and cotton candy, as well as a gift shop inside and outside (the Newbury location is open for the tours and gift shop only). The free tours continue every weekend through April 11.

Make your own maple syrup at Prescott Farm (928 White Oaks Road, Laconia), which is offering Tap Into Maple on Saturday, March 27, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The start times that were available as of March 22 were noon and 2 p.m. The program lasts an hour and a half and includes a hands-on look at the maple syrup-making process, from tree tapping to tasting. If you can’t make that event, Prescott Farm is also hosting Sugar & Snow on Saturday, April 3, from 1 to 3 p.m., where you can watch syrup makers finish boiling sap for the season and enjoy a sweet treat. The cost for each program is $12. Visit prescottfarm.org to sign up.

Several other local sugar shacks are also hosting tours this weekend. To find one near you, visit nhmapleproducers.com.

Treasure Hunt 21/03/18

Dear Donna,
My sister came across these glasses at a flea market. We decided to get your input on them. They are different, but do they have any value?

Kim and Bev
Dear Kim and Bev,These glasses are fun and wild! They look like mid-century style opera glasses. That is how women would use their spectacles back in the day — to watch operas, plays, etc. — and maybe they were used for the same purpose even in the 1950s and ’60s.

It’s tough to tell the age from a photo but if they are from the ’50s or ’60s they would probably have a value in the range of $100. Beware, though; these glasses were reproduced because they were so funky and fun. New ones would be in the range of $10 to $20.

I think for you to really determine the value you should have them looked at in person. But until then you have a general idea, and time to have fun with them. They could still be used today depending on the lens strength.

Kiddie Pool 21/03/18

Family fun for the weekend

Photo courtesy of Charmingfare Farm.

Maple madness

Celebrate Maple Month in New Hampshire at the Maple Express event at Charmingfare Farm (774 High St., Candia, 483-5623, visitthefarm.com). On Saturday, March 20, and Sunday, March 21, the farm is hosting the final weekend of its Maple Express experience, which includes a horse-drawn sleigh ride or a tractor train ride to an authentic sugar shack, where you’ll meet a sugar maker and learn about tree tapping and watch how sap is boiled to make maple sugar and maple syrup. You’ll get a chance for some taste testing too, with syrup served on silver dollar pancakes. After the ride back to the farm, head to the Discover Barn to visit with some animals. Various times are available between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Tickets must be purchased online. General admission is $22; kids 23 months and under are free. Book an entire sleigh for up to four passengers for $199. There’s also a Sugar Shack Live event on Saturday, March 20, at various times in the evening, for $25 per person. The event includes a visit to the sugar shack, where you can sit next to campfires and listen to live music from Dan Morgan. Visit the website to register for either event.

In Warner, the Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum (18 Highlawn Road) is hosting Maple Day on Saturday, March 20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be outdoor demonstrations of sap boiling and tomahawk throwing from 10 a..m. to 3 p.m., an informal walking tour of Medicine Woods at 11 a.m., a cooking demo at noon, and an outside walking tour of the 12-acre campus at 1 p.m. with the museum director. The museum will be open for self-guided tours (regular admission applies, $9 for adults, $8 for seniors and students, $7 for kids 6 to 12, no charge for kids under 6 or for Native Americans), and there will be maple syrup for sale from a local sugar house. The event is weather-dependent. Call 456-2600 or visit indianmuseum.org.

Candy crush

Chunky’s Cinema Pub is hosting a family-friendly Theater Candy Bingo event on Saturday, March 20, at noon and 6 p.m. at its Manchester location (707 Huse Road), and at 6 p.m. that day at its Nashua location (151 Coliseum Ave.) and its Pelham location (150 Bridge St.). Purchase a ticket online to reserve a spot; for $4.99 you get a ticket and a box of Chunky’s theater candy. Players will turn in their candy to the host to get a bingo card, then play a few rounds to try to win some of that candy as well as other Chunky’s prizes. Visit chunkys.com.

Treasure Hunt 21/03/11

Dear Donna,

This is a set of placecard holders. At least that’s what they look like to me. Curious about your thoughts.
Nettie

Dear Nettie,
You are right; they are placecard holders.
Your made-in-England Coalport flower placecard holders are from the Coalport potteries. They have been around since the late 1700s (in England). The placecard holders were a common form and still are available today.

Who doesn’t like flowers, right? I think that’s why they are still around. Some have such fine detailing in the porcelain and vibrant colors. The more flowers, the finer the detailing, the higher the values. In general a set of six would be anywhere from $30 to $60.

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