Category: Family Fun

Family fun for the weekend

Day on the farm

• Charmingfare Farm (774 High St. in Candia; visitthefarm.com) kicks off its two-weekend Pumpkin Festival this weekend. The event runs Saturday, Oct. 2, and Sunday, Oct. 3, and then the following weekend (Columbus Day weekend, when some area schools have a three- or four-day weekend) from Saturday, Oct 9, through Monday, Oct. 11. Tickets cost $22 per person (for everyone 24 months old and older). The event includes tractor- and horse-drawn wagon rides, pumpkin picking, pumpkin art, costumed characters, pony rides and live music. Purchase tickets online for the specific day and time.

Throughout October and November you can sign up for horse trail rides. The cost is $69 per person. Reserve an hour of time on Saturdays or Sundays with slots available at 11 a.m., noon and 1 p.m. The ride itself is 45 minutes long with 15 minutes of basic instruction, safety guidelines and getting up on the horse, according to the website. The horse trail rides are open to children 10 years and older (an adult must accompany kids under 18), riders can not exceed 270 pounds and the horses are kept at a walk (no trotting or cantering) and are good for beginner riders, the website said.

• Applecrest Farm Orchards (133 Exeter Road in Hampton Falls; 926-3721, applecrest.com) holds its Harvest Festival on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will feature apple and pumpkin picking, live music, a corn maze, tractor rides, an opportunity to visit the barnyard animals, food for purchase and more. This Saturday will be the Great Pumpkin Carve, when a master carver works on an 800-pound jack-o’-lantern, according to the website. The live music scheduled for this weekend includes Unsung Heroes on Saturday and Back Woods Road Band on Sunday.

• Get a photo with one of the draft horses at Coppal House Farm (118 N. River Road in Lee; 659-3572, nhcornmaze.com) on Saturday, Oct. 2, from 1 to 3 p.m. The farm’s corn maze is open Monday, Thursday and Friday from noon to 5 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission costs $9 (for everyone 13 years old and older) and $7 for children ages 5 to 12.

• Lavoies Farm (172 Nartoff Road in Hollis; 882-0072, lavoiesfarm.com) is holding its harvest weekends, with hayrides and corn boils (from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.) along with pick your own apples and pumpkins and a corn maze. The farm is open daily from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

• Head to Scamman Farm (69 Portsmouth Ave. in Stratham; 6868-1258, scammanfarm.com) on Fridays in October for a night in the corn maze. The night maze runs from 6 to 9 p.m. (with the last admittance at 8:30 p.m.), according to the website, which recommends bringing a flashlight. Head back on Saturday, Oct. 2, for Doggie Day, when dogs are allowed at the farm and in the corn maze. The maze is generally open Monday and Wednesday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; admission costs $9 ($7 for kids ages 5 to 12 and for seniors; kids under 5 get in free with a paid adult).

• The Educational Farm at Joppa Hill (174 Joppa Hill Road in Bedford; efjh.org, 472-4724) will hold a Family Trail Run on Sunday, Oct. 3, starting at 10 a.m. Registration costs $20 per person and runs through Oct. 1. The run is described as a “family friendly 2-mile trail loop that begins and ends at the Educational Farm at Joppa Hill,” according to the website. The race itself starts at 11a.m.; after the race there will be a fall fair with activities, lunch, live music and more, the website said.

Family fun for the weekend

Another fair weekend

• The Granite State Fair, which kicked off last weekend, continues Thursday, Sept. 23, through Sunday, Sept. 26, at 72 Lafayette St. in Rochester. The fair and midway open at 4 p.m. on Thursday and Friday; the fair opens at 10 a.m. and the midway opens at noon on Saturday and Sunday, according to granitestatefair.com, where you can buy tickets and find directions. Admission costs $10; kids 8 and under get in free. Shows, ride passes, parking and more require separate tickets, which are also available online (where you can find height requirements for the rides, in case you’re trying to figure out which kids are tall enough for which rides). One event to consider: Circus Hollywood, with shows at 5 and 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 23, and Friday, Sept. 25; at 2, 5 and 7 p.m. on Saturday, and at 2 and 5 p.m. on Sunday. General admission is included, or get a ringside premium box for $15 (each box allows up to four guests), according to the website.

Another festival weekend

• Beaver Brook Association (117 Ridge Road in Hollis; 465-7787, beaverbrook.org) will hold its 40th annual Fall Festival and Nature Art Show this weekend — Saturday, Sept. 25, and Sunday, Sept. 26, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The celebration has events for all ages; for the kids, there’s a children’s art exhibit, a petting farm and children’s nature crafts, according to the website.

• We’re still in the thick of Old Home Day season and this weekend the Sandown Old Home Day Fall Festival will come to Sandlot Sports (56 North Road in Sandown) with events Friday, Sept. 24, through Sunday, Sept. 26. Saturday, Sept. 25, is the big day with games and a bouncy house and mini steam train rides from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; a coloring contest station from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; a bungee jump from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; face painting from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; cow plop bingo at noon and a pie eating contest at 2 p.m. There will also be a bike parade at 9 a.m. and live music from about 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., when fireworks are scheduled, according to the event’s Facebook page. On Sunday, check out fire and police station tours, the schedule said.

• DeMeritt Hill Farm (20 Orchard Way in Lee; 862-2111, demeritthillfarm.com) will hold its Harvest Weekend this Saturday, Sept. 25, and Sunday, Sept. 26, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both days. The schedule includes pumpkin painting, guessing games, food sampling and more, according to the website. The farm also offers hay rides on the weekends ($2 per person) and is in the thick of its pick your own apple season. (For more places doing pick your own apples, check out our “Farm Fun” cover story in last week’s (Sept. 16) issue of the Hippo, which features stories on upcoming agricultural fairs, apple picking and corn mazes. See hippopress.com and scroll down for the e-edition of the paper. The stories start on page 10.)

• J&F Farms (124 Chester Road in Derry; 437-0535) is offering a Fall Hayride on Saturday, Sept. 25, with ticketed times at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. The cost is $10 per person and includes a hayride to the pick your own pumpkin patch, cider doughnuts, a petting zoo and more, according to the farm’s Facebook page. Find tickets via a link to an eventbrite page on the Facebook page.

Family fun for the weekend

GraniteCon!

• As you may have read on page 24 of last week’s Hippo (find the e-edition at hippopress.com) or on page 9 of this week’s issue, this weekend is the Granite State Comicon 2021. The Con will run Saturday, Sept. 18, and Sunday, Sept. 19, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown (at 700 Elm St.). Kids under 8 get in free with adult admission (which costs $25 on Saturday, $20 on Sunday and $40 for a weekend pass). Organizers for Kids Con New England (which is returning to in-person cons with a Kids Con in Portland, Maine, in November and in May 2022 in Concord) will have a setup in the Fan Zone during the convention. See the full program for GraniteCon at granitecon.com.

Meeting of the makers

• See the hobbies and inventions of the makers at the NH Maker & Food Fest at the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St. in Dover; childrens-museum.org, 742-2002) on Saturday, Sept. 18, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. People with a variety of experiments, creations and hobbies will show off their work at this event, which will also feature food trucks and food vendors. Admission is pay-what-you-can (suggested donation of $5), according to the website.

Town celebrations

• Derryfest will run Saturday, Sept. 18, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at MacGregor Park on East Broadway. The day will feature kids activities, live animals, demonstrations and performances by local groups throughout the day, food and more. See derryfest.org.

• Head to Pelham’s Old Home Day for a parade, food trucks and chicken poop bingo on Saturday, Sept. 18, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. The day kicks off with a pancake breakfast from 7 to 10 a.m., craft fair vendors open at 9 a.m., a cornhole tournament starts at noon and the parade steps off at 2:30 p.m., according to pelhamoldhomeday.org, which also explains chicken poop bingo — it features a chicken pooping every hour throughout the day, and if the poo lands on the square corresponding to the number you’ve picked, you win prize money. Kid-specific amusements include face painting, touch a truck, inflatable ax throwing and more, the website said.

• The annual Fall Equinox Festival hosted by TEAM Exeter will run 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 18, at Swasey Parkway. The day will feature food vendors and live music as well as kids activities and artist vendors, according to teamexeter.com, which suggests a $10 donation per person or $20 per family.

Movie time

• See Indiana Jones in his first (and best) adventure, Raiders of the Lost Ark (PG, 1981), on Friday Sept. 17, in Wasserman Park (116 Naticook Road in Merrimack) as part of the town’s summer movies in the park. The screening starts at dusk and the films are free and open to residents and nonresidents, according to the town’s Parks and Recreation website.

Manchester community invited to first CelebratED festival

Manchester’s schools are starting off their year by inviting everyone in the community to come see all the positive things they’re doing at the first annual CelebratED MHT!, happening Saturday, Sept. 18, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Veterans Park.

The festival is free for all Manchester residents and will feature multicultural performances, activities for kids, food and a celebration of some of the school district’s accomplishments.

“There are good things happening in the Manchester School District that aren’t celebrated as much as they should be,” said Barry Brensinger, president of Manchester Proud, which is organizing the event. “Then with the whole Covid matter of the past year and a half and the incredible challenges that has presented us … [we thought], wouldn’t it be nice if somehow the community could come together and launch the new school year with a celebration?”

Manchester Proud — formed a few years ago to promote the success of the city’s public schools, with the intent of building a stronger city through those successes — started working with the Manchester Chamber of Commerce and the school district a few months ago to get this festival off the ground. Since then, it’s become a whole-community effort that includes support from the mayor’s office, city departments, youth organizations and other nonprofits.

“One of the things we said from the beginning is that we really wanted this to be all-inclusive,” Brensinger said.

It’s shaping up to be exactly what Manchester Proud envisioned. Entertainment includes African drummers, a Mexican band, a performance from hip-hop performer Martin Toe, the high school marching bands, an aerial show and more. Manchester Police Department will be there with its equestrian and K9 units, and the city’s fire department will have a fire muster.

The event starts at 10 a.m. when City Year — a group that works in Manchester’s schools to help support students — will welcome its new core members, followed by welcoming remarks from the mayor.

“Then we roll right into the entertainment,” Brensinger said.

Aside from the performances, there will be an activity area for kids with yard games and contests, and each student will be given a free book.

There will be three high school teachers acting as emcees throughout the day who will be highlighting some of Manchester’s standout teachers and students.

“We have designated three blocks of time during the day when on the main stage there will be a celebration of kids,” Brensinger said.

There will also be a tent filled with students’ stories, artwork and other achievements.

Brensinger said about 20 to 25 organizations who provide youth-related services will set up booths around the perimeter of the park to offer information to parents and small giveaways for kids.

At 1 p.m. the Fisher Cats mascot will show up to give away 1,000 tickets to that night’s game.

“This celebration will continue at that game,” Brensinger said. “Students will sing the national anthem and throw out the first pitch. … It should be a fun night.”

At 2 p.m. comic characters who will be across the street at Granite State Comicon will make an appearance and may have a few giveaways as well.

“I think there’ll be something for everyone,” Brensinger said.

And of course there’s food. Brensinger said there will be food trucks and other food available for purchase, but there will also be plenty of free food, including pizza, bottled water and healthy snacks.

To make the event as accessible as possible to everyone in the community, fliers were sent home to students written in the top six languages in Manchester. And free trolleys will run every hour on both the east and west side to make sure anyone who wants to get there can. Pickups and dropoffs will be at Parkside/Gossler Park to West High School to Veterans Park, and at Karatzas Avenue/Eastern Avenue to JFK/Beech Street School to Veterans Park, starting at 10:30 a.m.

Brensinger said precautions will be taken for Covid, including guidelines posted throughout the park and free masks and hand sanitizer. The event will be held rain or shine.

CelebrateED MHT!

When: Saturday, Sept. 18, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Where: Veterans Park, Elm Street
Cost: Free for all Manchester residents

Featured photo: Hip-hop artist Martin Toe. Courtesy photo.

Family fun for the weekend

Movie night

Nashua’s SummerFun program wraps up for the year with an outdoor screening of this year’s excellent animated featureRaya and the Last Dragon (PG, 2021), a Disney movie featuring the voices of Awkwafina (as a dragon), Kelly Marie Tran (Raya), Sandra Oh, Gemma Chan and Daniel Dae Kim. The movie screens on Friday, Sept. 10, at dusk at the Greeley Park Bandshell (100 Concord St.).

Outside the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center (2 Institute Dr. in Concord; starhop.com, 271-7827) on Friday, Sept. 10, you can sit under the stars and watch a robot come from the stars in WALL-E(G, 2008), that Pixar classic featuring the voices of Sigourney Weaver and Jeff Garlin and an interstellar opening segment scored to (as Wikipedia reminded me) “Put on Your Sunday Clothes” from Hello, Dolly!. The movie starts at 7 p.m.

Catch Honey I Shrunk the Kids (PG, 1989) on Tuesday, Sept. 14, at 7 p.m. at the Rex Theatre (23 Amherst St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org) as part of the ongoing Movies For a Cause. Tickets cost $12. This week’s movies (1989’s PG movie Field of Dreams screens Wednesday, Sept. 15) benefit CASA.

Playtime can recommence

The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St. in Dover; childrens-museum.org, 742-2002) reopens Tuesday, Sept. 14, after its regular end-of-summer refresh. The museum will also feature its annual Toddlerfest, with drop-in activities for younger visitors (now that older kids are back in school) such as wacky art projects, bubble dance parties, science experiments and bug investigation in the museum’s Learning Garden, according to a press release.

And make plans now for the NH Maker Fest, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 18, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., which will be held inside and outside the museum with no tickets required, the press release said. The museum is open Tuesdays through Saturdays with timed tickets for 9 a.m. to noon or 1 to 4 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. to noon. Buy tickets in advance online; masks are required for all visitors over 24 months. Admission costs $11 for everyone over a year of age ($9 for seniors).

Fireworks & a parade

Hollis will hold its Old Home Days on Friday, Sept. 10, and Saturday, Sept. 11. On Friday, events run from 5 to 10 p.m. and include a midway and rides, exhibitors and food vendors and DJ Carryl Roy, at Nichols Track and Field. On Saturday, Sept. 11, the midway and rides are open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The Old Home Day parade starts at 10:30 a.m. and runs from the middle school to Nichols Field. A firemen’s muster will be held from 1 to 2 p.m., also at Nichols. A pet pageant takes place at 3 p.m., live music is scheduled throughout the afternoon and into the evening and fireworks are scheduled for 8 p.m., all according to hollisoldhomedays.org.

Family fun for the weekend

Family fun ideas

Looking for some entertainment ideas for the whole gang this weekend? Check out some of our recent stories (see e-editions of issues at hippopress.com.). In our July 8 issue we looked at mini golf, with a rundown of some of the area courses. A note for people with littler kids: Mel’s Funway Park in Litchfield (melsfunwaypark.com.) has added a Mini Mel’s Kiddie Land set of attractions geared toward kids ages 2 to 9. For the more adventurous, we looked at water fun (paddleboarding, canoeing, kayaking and cruising on New Hampshire waterways) in the Aug. 5 issue and adventures aloft (ziplining, hot air ballooning and parasailing) in the July 15 issue.

Space!

AerospaceFest returns to McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center (2 Institute Drive, Concord; starhop.com, 271-7827) on Saturday, Sept. 4, from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free for the outdoor event. The NH Astronomical Society will have a telescope set up, Millstone Wildlife Center will bring ambassador animals, robotics teams will do robot demos and local STEM organizations will attend, the website said. No pre-registration is required.

Fair weekend

If you’ve been missing the summer/fall fair experience, you’re in luck. The Hopkinton State Fair kicks off Thursday, Sept. 2, and runs through Monday, Sept. 6. (Free parking at 905 Park Ave., Contoocook.) The fair is open Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m.; Friday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Monday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday is “Townie Night,” when Hopkinton residents get in for free between 5 and 8 p.m. Admission for non-residents is $8 for ages 3 and up. One-day passes Friday through Monday cost $14 for ages 13 to 59, $12 for ages 60+ and $8 for ages 3 to 12, according to the fair website, hsfair.org, where you can also buy a pass for all five days for ages 3 to 60+ for $39 per person. You can also find tickets for a one-day megapass (allows unlimited admission to mechanical rides) and grandstand shows including demolition derby, monster trucks and Northeast Six Shooters’ horseback shooting demonstration show. Military (active or retired) with a valid photo ID are admitted free.

Find rides and games on the midway, open 5 p.m. to close on Thursday, noon to close on Friday and 10 a.m. to close Saturday through Monday. Catch demonstrations from the NH Canine Troopers Association (4 and 6 p.m., Friday), Axe Women Loggers of Maine (noon and 3 and 5 p.m.,daily), Dock Dogs (daily), Ben Risney Wood Sculpture (10 a.m., and 1 and 4 p.m., daily) and John Deere Skid Steer Rodeo (Monday. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.). There’s also a lineup of live music and juggling. At the Ag Stage, catch Dan Morgan (11 a.m. to 3 p.m., daily) and Nicole Knox Murphy (3 to 7 p.m.). Get kids interested in 4-H (or maybe just some light gardening and chicken tending) with the agriculture displays and competitions (livestock shows, horse show, pulling competitions and the home arts hall).

The fair also has educational displays, such as the maple sugar house, the NH Fish and Game building and a Charmingfare Farm petting zoo (Friday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Monday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) with daily animal magic shows (noon, and 2 and 5 p.m.), the website said.

And, of course, the fair will help you get your fried dough fix. Other food options include sausages with peppers and onions, apple crisp with ice cream, turkey legs, bison burgers and giant doughnuts, according to the fair website.