Category: Outdoors

Plus music, food and games

Celebrate Independence Day with multiple days of fun in area cities and towns. Here’s some of what’s going on.

• In Amherst on Sunday, June 30, festivities start around 6 p.m. with fireworks and family entertainment including a magician, a juggler, face-painting, hot air balloon rides and live music at Souhegan High School (412 Boston Post Road). There will be a parade on the Amherst Village Green on Thursday, July 4, at 9 a.m. with bands, local marchers, floats, fire trucks, antique cars, politicians, and a special children’s bicycle parade. Visit amherstcommunityfoundation.org.

• Concord will celebrate on Thursday, July 4, at Memorial Field (70 S. Fruit St.) with food, vendors, and music starting at 6 p.m. and fireworks at 9:20 p.m. Rain date is Friday, July 5. Visit concordnh.gov.

• July Fourth Family Fun Day at Riverway Park in Contoocook starts at 11 a.m. Thursday, July 4, and will include parades, live music, face painting, dunk tanks and more. The Tooky Cookie Bake-Off cookie drop-off begins at 9:30 a.m. and ends at 11 a.m. Visit their Facebook page.

• In Dover the NH National Guard’s 39th Army Band will play at Henry Law Park on Thursday, July 4, at 4 p.m. and the city will launch its annual fireworks display from Garrison Hill on Saturday, July 6, at dusk, according to @CityofDoverNH on X.

• There will be fireworks in Exeter following the 34th Annual American Independence Festival (1 Governors Lane) on Saturday, July 13, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visit independencemuseum.org.

• Fireworks light up Hampstead at the Independence Day Festival on Saturday, June 29, which involves frog jumping, games, a barbecue competition, a craft fair and Hampstead’s Got Musical Talent. Visit hampsteadcivicclub.org.

• Fireworks will be launched at Hampton Beach on Thursday, July 4, at 9:30 p.m from the top of B and C streets. Visit hamptonbeach.org/events/fireworks.

• The Hillsborough Summer Fest (29 Preston St.) will have fireworks the third night of their celebration on Saturday, July 13, at 10 p.m. and the national anthem will be sung by Faith Daley. Admission is free but parking is $10 per car. Visit hillsborosummerfest.com.

• In Manchester, fireworks go off on the evening of Wednesday, July 3, at Arms Park.

• Also in Manchester, get fireworks after each Fisher Cats game (at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium, 1 Line Drive) Thursday, July 4, to Saturday, July 6. Games start at 6:35 p.m. and the Fisher Cats will be playing the Portland Sea Dogs. Visit nhfishercats.com.

• Merrimack has two days of celebrations. On Wednesday, July 3, the town holds its Patriotic Concert in the Park (behind Merrimack Town Hall at 6 Baboosic Lake Road) from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. On Thursday, July 4, at Merrimack High School (38 McElwain St.) there will be a 5K road race at 8 a.m. and a pancake breakfast from 8 to 11 a.m., followed by a parade at 1 p.m. that starts at the Tractor Supply (515 DW Highway) and ends at the high school, and fireworks around 9:15 p.m. at the high school. Visit merrimackparksandrec.org.

• Festivities start in Nashua at 11 a.m. on July 4 at Holman Stadium for a Silver Knights Game where children under 12 and the first 500 adults are free but tickets must be reserved in advance. There will be an expanded kids zone and on-field activities. At 5:30 p.m. there will be a free concert by The Slakas, followed by local acts at 7:30 p.m. Then there will be the Nashua Hall of Fame Inductions followed by Spartans Drum & Bugle Corps at 8:30 p.m. and finally the fireworks at dusk. Visit nashuasilverknights.com for tickets and check out nashuanh.gov/SummerFun.

• New Boston will hold its 94th annual Fourth of July celebration on Thursday, July 4, with food, games, activities and a parade, all culminating in a fireworks display when it gets dark. This year’s parade theme is sci-fi and fantasy; the parade begins at 10 a.m. Admission to the fairgrounds begins at 4 p.m. and is $10 for those ages 12 and up, $5 for those ages 2 to 11; children 2 and under are free, and this year there is a family package price of $40, according to the website. Parking is free. Visit newboston4thofjuly.org.

• The Independence Day celebration in Pelham will be held on the grounds of the Pelham Municipal Center on Marsh Road on Saturday, June 29, starting at 6 p.m. There will be lots of fair food, face painting, music, glow necklaces and more, with fireworks at dusk, according to the same website. Visit pelhamcommunityspirit.org.

• Portsmouth will launch their Fourth of July fireworks on Wednesday, July 3, at 9:15 p.m. at South Mill Pond across from Portsmouth City Hall. Rain date is Friday, July 5.

• The Fourth of July parade and celebration in Raymond take place on Thursday, July 4, and begins at 9:15 a.m. at the intersection of Route 27 and Epping Street. It will journey toward the Town Commons to Old Manchester Road to Wight Street. Raymond will hold a fireworks display as part of the town fair on Saturday, July 13, at 9:30 p.m. The fair itself runs from Thursday, July 11, through Sunday, July 14. Visit raymondnh.gov.

• In Rye, the Fourth of July celebration and fireworks display will be held on Sunday, June 30, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Parsons Field.

• In Salem, there will be festivities at Tuscan Village (19 Via Toscana) on Wednesday, July 3, with food trucks at 4 p.m., live music at 6 p.m. and fireworks at 9 p.m., according to a June 4 post at facebook.com/TuscanKitchenandMarket.

• Sunapee will forgo fireworks for an innovative Independence Day Drone Show on Saturday, June 29, at dusk; spectators are invited to watch the setup process beginning at 2 p.m.) at Sunapee Harbor. The town will hold its Independence Day parade on Thursday, July 4, at noon starting on Old Georges Mills Road; celebrations continue that afternoon at the bandstand with music and activities. See town.sunapee.nh.us.

• Windham will have fireworks on Wednesday, June 26, along with music and food trucks. The show runs from 7 to 10 p.m., with fireworks at 9:30 p.m. The parking lot opens at 5:30 p.m. Visit windhamnh.gov.

Featured Photo: Market Days Festival in Concord. Courtesy photo.

Find fun for everyone in the family at Concord’s annual Market Days

By Zachary Lewis
[email protected]

The 50th annual Market Days Festival in Concord, put on by the nonprofit group Intown Concord, runs from Thursday, June 20, to Saturday, June 22, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. in the city’s downtown with more than 160 vendors, live music, games, food, crafts, goodies and of course beer.

“We have a lot of really interesting, diverse vendors this year,” said Jessica Martin, Executive Director of Intown Concord.

There will be three beer gardens and they all accept cash and cards. The Main Street Beer Tent will be open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. all three days of the festival and they will have Bud Light, Market Haze, or 603 Summatime ale on tap as well as two varieties of seltzers from 603 and a non-alcoholic IPA from Athletic Brewing Co., with prices ranging from $5 to $9. One dollar from every purchase of Concord Craft Brewing Market Haze IPA will go to support Intown Concord — they made this beer specifically for the festival.

“It’s a delicious, very drinkable, ‘summer vibes’ beer,” Martin said.

Penuche’s Outdoor Beer Garden in Bicentennial Square will be open from noon to 10 p.m. all three days right next to the HomeGrown music stage. They will have five beers on tap, as well as cans. And the Capitol Center for the Arts Beer & Wine Garden will offer a wide selection of local, craft, and microbrewery beers; red and white wine; non-alcoholic beers, soft drinks, and bottled water, with alcoholic beverages ranging from $7 to $11, and water and soft drinks for $3, according to their website.

Music will be blasting all three days from the Main Stage, in front of the Concord Food Co-op; the Home Grown Stage, near Bicentennial Square, and the Eagle Square Stage. Notable performances include Mr. Aaron, Andrew North and the Rangers, Faith Ann Band, R&B Dignity, Mary Fagan and the Honeybees, Heist, Duo Del Inferno, Llava Llama, Superbug, Supernothing, Modern Fools, Donaher and Boomsoss.

“When I first started, the performers were not compensated,” Martin said. This will be the second year when the musicians will be paid for their work through grants and donations. “We’re very proud to be able to do that and support the artists in our community.”

The Eagle Stage will have the Tandy’s Idol Competition every night from 7:30 to 10 p.m., where Concordians will be able to belt out some tunes.

The movie Dazed and Confused will be screened at the Main Stage on Thursday night and there will be a ’70s theme costume parade on Friday at 3:15 p.m. starting at Capitol Street.

“Because this is our 50th anniversary, we’re leaning into the ’70s nostalgia,” Martin said.

Continuing on that theme, the headlining performance of the Festival, taking place on Friday on from 8 to 10 p.m. the Main Stage, is The Ultimate Queen Celebration, a tribute to Queen.

Besides music and beer, there will be plenty of other activities. The KidZone will feature twobounce houses, which require tickets. All other activities on the lawn, like cornhole, hula hoops, and more, are totally free.

There will also be ax throwing, and an arcade on recycling by The Casella Resource Rover. Concord Arts Market will have lots of local artists on Pleasant Street showcasing their wares.

“I’m excited about all the different types of vendors we’ve been able to bring in this year in addition to some of the ones that have been with us for a long time…,” Martin said.

Starting off the shindig on Thursday, June 20, at 10 a.m. will be a music and movement class held by Miss Heather and Miss Heidi from Concord Community Music School for children 5 months to 8 years old on the Statehouse lawn, underneath the tree closest to the capitol, according to the website. This will be followed by storytime in the same location offered by the Concord Public Library, and there will be some iteration of this until 4 p.m., when The Bee Skep Puppet Theatre presents “Marionette Melodies” for kids between ages 3 to 12.

Over by the City Plaza before the arches, The Flying Gravity Circus from Wilton will perform tricks and will also be hosting a circus workshop for novice jugglers and tight-rope walkers in training. They will perform in the street throughout the festival too. “What they are going to be teaching will be cool,” Martin said.

Friday, June 21, starts off in a similar vein with music, movement and story time for the little ones under the Statehouse lawn tree, and the puppet show too, with the addition of reptiles from Tanglewood Hollow, like Clemintine the Snake, around 1 p.m.

Worthy Mind and Movement will be presenting a ’90s music themed yoga class at noon at the Statehouse lawn, and 2 Home Fitness will lead participants through agility and strengths drills by City Plaza before the arches.

Friday also has jazzercise from Thrive Fitness as well as their POP Pilates/UBEAT Barre, which they describe as a powerful fusion of music strength, and choreography fun for all ages. Attendees can also enjoy a Zumba Class with Sindy Chown from Barranquilla Flavor.

On Saturday, June 22, similar events will be held but there will also be new additions to the festivities. From 10 a.m to 5 p.m. local scouts from Scouting America Pack & Troop 90 & Pack 270 will be on the Statehouse lawn for fun activities and classes and the Boys & Girls Club will have kids’ activities on a different area of the lawn from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Mr. Matt from Concord Community Music School will lead a drum circle and Miss Audrey will head a folk jam session; those will take place from noon to 2 p.m. at the Statehouse.

At 2 p.m. the 501st and Rebel Legions – The Star Wars Fan Costuming Group arrives at the Statehouse lawn next to the bounce houses from a galaxy far, far away; they will be there until they get their hyperdrive fixed around 6 p.m. There is also a roller derby presentation, balloon animals, and a traditional Newari dance and from 7 to 11 p.m., and the Capitol Center for the Arts will be hosting a silent disco.

Concord is excited for the upcoming Market Days Festival. “They look forward to it. It’s a staple of Concord at this point…,” Martin said. “It’s definitely a beloved community event for sure.”

Market Days
Where: Downtown Concord, Main Street
When: Thursday, June 20, through Saturday, June 22, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day
Info: marketdaysfestival.com

KidZone Bounce House Tickets
$3 for 1 ticket/ 1 bounce
$5 for 3 tickets/ 3 bounces (all proceeds support Intown Concord)

Market Days Eats

According to the event’s website, marketdaysfestival.com, here are some of the scheduled food vendors with the site’s descriptions:

Artisan Hill Treats: Small batch marshmallows, chocolates and sweets
Batulo’s Kitchen: Somali-inspired cuisine
Brother’s Cortado: Coffee and beverages
Buba Kitchen: authentic Asian noodle dishes
Bubble Bee Milk Tea: Bubble tea and dumplings
Bueno Burrito: burritos, tacos, quesadillas and salads
Cali Arepa NH: authentic Colombian street food
Canterbury Kettle Corn
Carolyn’s Creamee: Ice cream
Chubba Wubba’s Sweets, Snacks & Refreshments: bubble tea, slushies organic smoothies, and smoothie bowls.
Curry Leaf: the flavors of India’s many regions
Deadproof Pizza Co.
Dudley’s Concessions: ice cream, fried dough, funnel cake and fried Oreos
Gina Foods: pasta, pizza, paninis, salads, desserts
Holly Fried Dough
Kona Ice
Let the Dough Roll: donut ice cream cones
Live Juice
Maddy’s Food Hub: authentic African flavors, jollof rice, plantains
Phily’s Good Eats: poutine fries, Italian sausage, steak & cheese & gluten-free arepas
Pours & Petals: beverages and desserts
Puppy Love Hot Dogs
Revelstoke: coffee and tea
Roadside Diner
Rubins Hot Sauce
Sandi’s Concessions: cotton candy, candy and caramel apples & more
Sillie Puffs: Gourmet Cotton Candy
Simply Cannoli: cannolis and espresso
Tea Garden Restaurant: traditional Chinese cuisine
Teatotaller: bubble tea and food
Tommy’s Pizzeria
Wicked Tasty: lobster rolls, ice cream sandwich, desserts, sandwiches, burgers and poutine loaded fries
Yankee Farmer’s Market: Buffalo-Buffalo burgers, Buffalo cheesesteaks, Buffalo sausage & more

Featured Photo: Market Days Festival in Concord. Courtesy photo.

Music, a party and more at the Manchester Pride Parade and Festival

By Zachary Lewis
[email protected]

Manchester True Collaborative, in partnership with fiscal sponsor YWCA New Hampshire and community partner Queerlective, will present the 2024 Manchester Pride Parade and Festival on Saturday, June 15, in Manchester.

James Dzindolet, Director of Development and Co-Chair of the Pride Festival and Parade from Manchester True Collaborative, said, “This year we’re bringing the parade back down Elm Street and we’re very excited. We have 135 artists and vendors participating at the festival [and] a full day’s worth of entertainment, including some exciting drag queens, some musical performers.” This is the second year of the festival for them; last year’s parade was canceled due to inclement weather.

The Pride Parade and Festival falls under the organization’s mission statement: “Manchester True Collaborative strives to maintain a safe, inclusive, and equitable environment for the LGBT community in greater Manchester. We accomplish this through collaborative community partnerships, fundraising, and events.” These partnerships help put on the Pride Parade and Festival. “We invited Queerlective in to partner on it,” Dzindolet said.

Many businesses and community members are joining the festivities.

“We have over 20 local area, small and large, business sponsors that will be joining us and currently we have over 1,000 participants that are either driving or walking in the parade,” Dzindolet said.

The parade starts at the parking lot of Brady Sullivan Tower (723 Elm St.) at 11:15 a.m. and journeys along Elm Street to arrive at Veterans Memorial Park at noon for the start of the Manchester Pride Festival. The outdoor party will run until 6 p.m. in Veterans Park, where there will be musicians, drag performers and more.

“We are doing face painting again this year. That’s always in our youth area. So we have a youth tent area for LGBT youth that’s going to have face painting and arts and crafts,” Dzindolet said.

DJ REKLSS is opening the festival, and then, “We have about 10 local queens that are going to be performing,” Dzindolet said. “The drag queen hour is being put on by Big Gay Events, which is another local LGBT-owned promotion company that we’re working with….”

Later in the afternoon, there are more musical acts slated to perform with half-hour sets. A dunk tank will be on site too.

“The Hooksett Area Rotary Club is going to have a drag queen dunk tank, so you get to go donate money toward their great Gear Up for School backpack drive they run annually and you can try to dunk a local drag queen in the dunk tank,” Dzindolet said.

Several other nonprofits, such as 603 Equality and the Human Rights Campaign, will have tables at the festival as well.

Afterward, with a two-hour intermission from the Festival, the Official Pride After Party starts. This year the party is circus-themed and will be held at Jewel Music Venue ( 61 Canal St., Manchester). VIP admission begins at 8 p.m., general admission starts at 9 p.m., and the whole soiree will last until 1 a.m. It is only for those 21 or older. Ticket prices range from $25 to $50 for VIP admission.

“We’re taking the 2024 edition to the next level! Call it queer fusion, we’re weaving some of our favorite elements of Cirque with the beautiful color of the NH Queer community! Join us for NH’s very first, Queer Circus!” said Chloé LaCasse, Director of Community Outreach for Manchester True Collaborative.

Other Pride events will be going on throughout the month; see manchestertrue.org for details.

As for Saturday’s big event, “Last year we had a couple thousand people in the pouring rain; this year we are hoping the weather is going to be on our side,” Dzindolet said, with hopes to double last year’s numbers. “It’s going to be a huge event.”

“For me personally,” Dzindolet said, “I get involved because I really enjoy connecting with people in the community and utilizing my professional skills to further the community and make sure that everyone gets equal representation.”

2024 Manchester Pride Parade and Festival
Saturday, June 15, from 11:15 to 6 p.m.
Parade starts at 11:15 a.m. at Brady Sullivan Tower (732 Elm St.) and ends at noon at Veterans Memorial Park. Festival begins at noon and ends at 6 p.m.
Official Pride After Party, 21+, admission $25, at Jewel Music Venue (61 Canal St.) 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. (VIP admission at 8 p.m., $50)
Visit manchestertrue.org.

Nashua Pride Parade and Festival
Saturday, June 22, from 2 to 6 p.m. in downtown Nashua
Visit nashuanh.gov/1217/Nashua-Pride-Festival.

The Capital City Pride Festival
The Capital City Pride in Concord has events including (according to its Facebook page):
– Art in the Park Celebrating Pride on Saturday, July 13, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Concord Arts Market, Queerlective, and Capital City Pride in Rollins Park in —Concord featuring more than 60 artists, food, music and more.
– Pride After Party on Friday, July 19, from 6 to 11 p.m. at BNH Stage featuring drag performances, a vogue ball, local vendors, refreshments and more.
– A Pride Picnic at Eagle Square on Saturday, July 27, from noon to 5 p.m. featuring live music, performance art, food, vendors and more.

Featured Photo: Previous Manchester Pride Festival. Courtesy of Manchester True Collaborative.