Category: Family Fun

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.

Kiddie Pool 21/03/11

Family fun for the weekend

Photo courtesy of the NH Audubon Society.

Enjoy the (likely fleeting) warm weather

New Hampshire’s Audubon centers are still closed, but their sanctuary trails are open for families who want to get outside and enjoy the warmer weather. There are miles of trails at the centers in Concord (84 Silk Farm Road, 224-9909) and in Auburn (26 Audubon Way, 668-2045). The trails are open from dawn until dusk. Don’t forget to wear appropriate shoes, as trails may be snowy or muddy. Visit nhaudubon.org.

Love your library

Many local libraries are closed or have limited hours and services, but they’re still offering plenty of fun for kids and families. The Nashua Public Library (2 Court St., 589-4600, nashualibrary.org) has virtual story times posted on its website, along with monthly interactive virtual activities — March’s is “The Great Flood.” The library also offers age-appropriate craft projects on the second Saturday of each month; materials can be picked up curbside.

At the Manchester City Library (405 Pine St., 624-6550, manchester.lib.nh.us) kids can find a new Messy Art project online each Wednesday afternoon. The projects can be done at home with items around the house. There’s also a weekly virtual storytime for kids ages 1 to 5, with a new video posted every Monday morning at 10 a.m. on the library’s Facebook page, with a craft kit based on the weekly theme available for curbside pickup. And each Thursday afternoon at 3 p.m., the library posts a new Lego challenge on Facebook for kids and families.

And at the Concord Public Library (45 Green St., 225-8670, concordpubliclibrary.net) parents can pick up craft kits for their kids; this week’s kit is a St. Paddy’s Bear, available at the library through Friday, March 12, or until supplies are gone (call ahead to see if there are any left before coming to the library). The library is also hosting a St. Patrick’s Day themed virtual storytime on Wednesday, March 17, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Register online to attend.

To discover the virtual events and activities that are happening at your local library, visit its website — most town and city libraries have revamped their programming to offer safe, at-home fun for families.

Art club

Middle school and high school youth are invited to Kimball Jenkins School of Art (266 N. Main St., Concord, 225-3932, kimballjenkins.com) each Tuesday after school from 3:30 to 6 p.m. for a free art club. KJ Art Lab meets each week and teaches art skills, project planning and community development. There is no cost for attendance or materials. New participants are always welcome, though a commitment to regular attendance is requested due to the collaboration on many of the art projects.

Treasure Hunt 21/03/04

Dear Donna,

This is a bath set (commode set?) that we believe is from the 1800s. Any information you could share would be helpful.
–Lynn

Dear Lynn,
It was most likely made during the Victorian era (mid to late 1800’s) or later. It’s unusual to find several pieces matching still together today, due to damage, disuse, or being lost or given away.

Back in the Victorian era they had a real need for almost all the pieces. Pieces consisted of covered chamber pots for under the bed, bowl and pitchers, toothbrush holders, main slop pot (for chamber pot contents), etc. I have seen sets with up to 20 different matching pieces.

Yours is considered earthenware (pottery). Tough to figure out the manufacturer by the mark, but it could be English, German or Australian. They imported so many of them and lots were unmarked, but it’s not that important to the value of your set.

The secondary collectible market isn’t high for such items today. The decorative need isn’t there, and there’s not much use for them today either. But having several pieces could make your pieces in the range of $150 as long as they are not damaged.

Kiddie Pool 21/03/04

Family fun for the weekend

Scientific discoveries

After being closed for renovations for a couple months, the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center (2 Institute Drive, Concord) is reopening on March 5, with hours on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Occupancy limits have been set for popular exhibits and planetarium shows, and stringent Covid-19 cleaning and safety procedures will be in effect as the museum reopens. This Friday the discovery center will also hold its virtual Super Stellar Friday program at 7 p.m.; this month’s topic is “Mystery & Majesty of Saturn’s Rings.” The event is free, but registration is required at starhop.com.

Walk on the wild side

Squam Lakes Natural Science Center (23 Science Center Road, Holderness) hosts several Wild Winter Walks this month, starting Saturday, March 6, and Sunday, March 7, with sessions from 10 to 11:30 a.m. or 1 to 2:30 p.m. The program is for adults and families with children ages 6 and up. A staff naturalist will lead a guided walk on the live animal exhibit trail and will talk about how these native animals adapt for winter in New Hampshire. Snowshoes are available at no extra cost, if needed, or participants can bring their own. The cost is $10 per person. Pre-registration is required for all programs at nhnature.org or by calling 968-7194. Other upcoming Wild Winter Walks are scheduled for Saturday, March 13, and Saturday, March 20 (sess

Treasure Hunt 21/02/25

Dear Donna,

I had considered having this clock converted to battery-operated and then began to research. I believe it is a George Nelson for Howard Miller sunburst spike clock. If so, I think it would be best to leave it unaltered! I love this fun clock from my childhood home, but it’s not in character with my own home. Would you know the value for this, and how would you recommend I sell it?

June

Dear June,

Any antique or collectible that is in running and good condition is best left alone.

Your Howard Miller clock is very collectible and I found prices all over the place, from $150 to $300. Some of the clocks from the same period of time — 1960s to 1970s — brought an even higher value.

Mid-century items are the in thing right now so I am thinking if your clock is working you should be able to get in the range of $150 to a reseller or try for the collector online yourself. My personal suggestion would be to tuck it away for now. It’s money in the bank as long as you noted your information with it for future generations.

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