Category: Outdoors

Lots of hot air

Suncook Balloon Rally

“If you’ve never been to a balloon rally before, it’s quite an experience,” Fallon Reed said.

Reed is the Balloon Rally Chair for the Suncook Valley Rotary Club, which is hosting this weekend’s Hot Air Balloon Rally in Pittsfield.

“I was hooked at a very young age,” she said. “One flew over our property. My parents were cheering, and then I kind of got hooked, and I’ve been hooked ever since then.”

Reed said that the Rally is much like other summer events, but centered around hot air balloons. “It’s a festival kind of thing,” she said. “We have vendors and all kinds of things, but the hot air balloons kind of anchor the event. This is our 44th annual event. We have 15 hot air balloons that are joining us and they come from all over New England and the Northeast and a couple of folks from the Midwest.”

In spite of the balloons’ central role in the Rally, she said it’s important to keep in mind how much time a hot air balloon can actually stay aloft.

“The balloons won’t be up all weekend. They go up at certain times, because it’s very weather-dependent. So Friday evening, Saturday morning, Saturday evening, and then Sunday morning, right around the 5:30 mark — that’s usually the best weather times and gives [the balloonists the best conditions] to work with. So some people will show up at 2 o ‘clock in the afternoon on Saturday, expecting to see hot air balloons, but they’re just not up because usually it’s too hot for that.”

“But,” Reed continued, “we have events all throughout the weekend. “There’s a craft fair on Saturday. We have a cornhole tournament. There’s a 5K [road race] Sunday morning, and lots of great food. The Rotary Club does breakfast and burgers and dogs, but there’s plenty of other vendors so you can get your fair food fix. We have live music Saturday night with an open mic Friday night. Friday and Saturday night we do a night glow event where the balloons inflate on the field and stay on the field and they basically look like giant fireflies. It’s pretty cool. And then Saturday night we have fireworks, helicopter rides, amusements, all that good stuff”

For enthusiastic hot air balloon fans, Reed said, the best times to see them in action will be early in the morning.

“Usually in the mornings, around sunrise, we tend to have the best success for launches. The evenings can be a little tricker. At the beginning of August you never know how windy it’ll be or if there’s a storm. And you can imagine the balloons can’t control where they’re going. So if there’s a storm within 75 miles or so they won’t go up … they’re at the mercy of the winds. … One of the unique things about our rally is when the pilots like to do what they call a splash and dash, where they’ll launch from the soccer field and go over the trees, and then we’ll come down into the river next door and basically splash the bottom of their basket in the river. So if you’re in the basket your feet will get wet, but it makes for some really awesome photos and an experience.”

Suncook Valley Rotary’s 44th Annual Hot Air Balloon Rally
When: Friday, July 31, Saturday, Aug. 1, and Sunday, Aug. 2. From 3 p.m. Friday until mid-morning Sunday.
Where: Drakes Field on Barnstead Road in Pittsfield from 3 p.m.
More: Admission is free; see nhballoonrally.org.

Featured photo: Suncook Valley Rotary’s Hot Air Balloon Rally. Courtesy photo.

Introducing art, whimsy and laughter into your garden

For some, gardening is serious business. Not me. Well, I do consider myself a serious gardener, having been growing things since I was a toddler, but I like to make our gardens full of plants — and things — that bring smiles or even laughs to anyone visiting the garden. Gardens should be beautiful, but also fun.

When I was a small boy my older sister, Ruth Anne, introduced me to jewel weed, also called touch-me-not (Impatiens capensis). It is an annual weed that grows in shady, moist areas and has small bright yellow and orange flowers. But the best part for a kid is the seed pods. Each little canoe-shaped pod is spring-loaded with seeds, and when ripe, these pods can throw seeds several feet. Pick one and it explodes in your hand. Guaranteed to make a child — or this old guy — laugh. Mind you, I try hard to eradicate 98 percent of the jewel weed I see in our gardens, but I leave a few at the edges to amuse and delight kids of all ages.

Fuzzy plants are great for getting visitors to smile. Right now I have a variety of burnet (Sanguisorba spp.) that is named ‘Lilac Squirrel.’ If you are of a certain age, you may remember when bicycles sometimes were adorned with real squirrel tails on the ends of the handlebars. These flowers, a lovely pink-lilac color, hang down like those squirrel tails, hence the name. I always am delighted when I see them. They make me smile. As do pussywillows in the spring.

Then there is turtlehead (Chelone obliqua), a gorgeous, tall, fall-blooming flower I grow in moist part shade to full sun locations. It has pink flowers that mimic the open mouth of a turtle. They are loved by bumblebees that force themselves inside the blossoms, with little room to spare. Once inside, they sometimes make what I call “growling noises.” Are the bees angry they are having a hard time finding their way out? Drunk on pollen? I don’t know, but I grin when I hear them.

Back in the 1980s, when we had real cold winters, I had grown a peach tree to size and was anticipating a good crop of fruit. I waited, come spring, for it leaf out. And waited. No luck. It was dead. Instead of lamenting my misfortune, I planted annual vines all around it: morning glories, climbing nasturtium, scarlet runner beans and perhaps others. They grew, they blossomed, they amazed visitors: “What tree is that?” When I told them it was a dead peach, they laughed, every one.

Later I had a contorted hazelnut die of old age and my wife, Cindy, who is a fabric artist, tied on strips of different colored cloth to the branches. They blew in the breeze and added color to the garden for a year or more.

A shrub I grow next to my little stream is called buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis). This full-sun to part-shade shrub is a native, often growing in standing water in swamps — I just saw some in bloom down in Connecticut in the wild, but have never seen it up here, except in my garden. Why is it worthy of a giggle? When blooming it has one-inch spherical blossoms with many tiny white florets coming out of it, sort of like what I always imagined Sputnik to look like, with little antennae sticking out. You will want to touch it, sniff it. But it is not a handsome shrub most of the year. Although rated as a Zone 5 plant, for me it dies back to the ground most years in winter — even though we’ve been moved from Zone 4 to Zone 5.

Surprise in the garden can be good for a giggle, too. For several years I had “Sister Mary-Lou” in the garden. She was a full-bodied, bosomy scarecrow in a purple dress and old rubber barn boots. She was not made to scare away crows (as her ancestors were), but for the fun of seeing her. Even when I knew she was there, she was real enough to startle me early in the morning. Which then made me laugh at myself. She went traveling to the Tunbridge, Vermont, “World’s Fair” in the late 1990s and won Best in Show in the scarecrow competition, though she declined to brag about that. She has long been retired. A good scarecrow is always three-dimensional, not just some clothes hung on a pole and a cross bar.

Each year for the past 20 years or more there has been an event in Woodstock, Vermont, called Sculpture Fest on the property of Charlet and Peter Davenport at 509 Prosper Road and at the adjoining King Farm, a nonprofit. This year it opened in mid-July and will remain open, dawn to dusk throughout the summer and into the fall. And although it displays some serious works of art, it also always has some fun and whimsy — and ideas for me about what I might add to our gardens. It is free and open to the public.

So what whimsy might you add to your garden? I remember when pink plastic flamingoes were popular on front lawns. Then they became passé. Recently I saw a few poking their noses out of a field of tall grass and had a chuckle. Yard sculpture can be almost anything. I have a rusty toy truck from the 1940s sitting atop a stone wall. I like seeing it there, and have had nice comments about it from visitors.

So stop at that yard sale you might otherwise pass by. See if there is anything interesting, colorful or weird that you might sneak into the garden. After all, garden whimsy doesn’t need to be weeded!

Henry can be reached at henry.homeyer@comcast.net or PO Box 364, Cornish Flat, NH 03746.

Roller skating, food trucks, music

Nashua’s Summer Stroll offers a day of community fun

Nashua’s Summer Stroll, put on by the Downtown Nashua Association, will take place Saturday, July 25, from 4 to 8 p.m. along Nashua’s Main Street.

Alyssa O’Mara, the Association’s director, said that, as always, the Stroll will focus on Nashua’s arts, music and sense of community.

“But we have a few more activities than we’ve had in previous years,” she said. “We’re excited. The ice skating rink that was part of our Winter Stroll was such a hit that we’ve got a roller skating rink for the Summer Stroll with free skate rentals, just like the winter stroll had. Positive Street Art will be there with some of their activities. Art City Nashua is a newer organization that will be there with a mural wall for kids to paint. We have spin art this year. We have some cool spin art bikes; people will pedal to make the spin art machines work, and spin art vinyl records.”

“All of it is free as always,” she said. “We’ll have the stage set up and there will be three different performances over the course of the day. One of the churches that participated the last few years is [organizing] a basketball game. Everyone’s really excited.”

The timing of Saturday’s Stroll has been carefully planned out, O’Mara said.

“The event gets over at around eight -ish,” she said. “We have our summer music series that we brought back this year in partnership with the National Arts Commission. The concerts are every Saturday from 7:30 to 8:30, so our last band will end at around 7:30 in the hopes that as people are finishing up they’ll move down to the Riverwalk to the Pavilion Stage and see our band that’s playing on Saturday night.”

As always, there will be food-trucks and vendors at this year’s Summer Stroll, O’Mara said.

“We have between 50 and 55 vendors [participating]” she said. “They are all food vendors or art-focused vendors, and then anyone else who’s involved, such as nonprofits and things like that, have family-friendly activities.”

Summer Stroll
When: Saturday, July 25, between 4 and 8 p.m.
Where: along Main Street in Nashua
More: downtownnashua.org/summer-stroll, where you can find a list of vendors

Canterbury puts on a small but mighty fair

Fun food, friendly farm animals and more

By Chelsea Spear
listings@hippopress.com

The town of Canterbury celebrates its 300th anniversary this year. What better way to celebrate than by attending the Canterbury Fair?

This annual event has been entertaining Merrimack County residents for almost 70 years. By keeping an intimate focus on local artisans and family fun, the fair has given the people of Canterbury and beyond a sense of community pride.

The Canterbury Fair had a modest start in 1958, when the Canterbury Ladies Benevolent Society added a chicken barbecue to the annual Canterbury Country Fair and Bazaar. This new addition met with greater attendance and a tenfold increase in net income, and the proceeds from the chicken barbecue were used to furnish and equip a new parish house for the Canterbury United Community Church. In the years that followed, local organizations like the PTA, the Fire Department and the Church Council joined the Ladies Benevolent Society to run the fair, helping to keep it going for seven decades.

This community sensibility is one of the highlights of the festival, according to Canterbury Fair representative Jayne Hastings.

“It’s all volunteers who do everything. It involves the whole community and people are helping in every way that they can,” Hastings said in a recent Zoom interview. “Everybody’s involved and everyone pitches in. Sometimes it’s last minute, sometimes it’s just for cleanup, but it’s all hands on deck and it’s awesome.”

While the Fair organizers have kept the fair small and community-focused, they’ve added some new attractions over the years.

“We decided last year that maybe we should not just flip burgers but we should have some food trucks,” Hastings said. “This is our second year with food trucks available for some of the tastier things to eat at the fair.” Cheese Louise, The Glizzy Wagon and Teenie Wienies are among the food trucks scheduled for the Fair, in addition to the famous barbecue chicken.

Canterbury hosts a wide array of music at its farmers markets and bandstand concert series, and some of the most popular artists will be performing at the Fair this year. Mr. Aaron starts the day with a welcoming set of children’s music, and students of Sue Ann Erb’s Suzuki Strings program will also perform an hour-long set. Lindsey Schust & the Ragged Mountain Band will close out the day with two sets of Americana music with international influences.

Those looking for demonstrations will want to check out the wood turning and carving demo, as well as the broom-making presentation, which Hastings notes “might be good for the local witches getting ready for Halloween.” The Fair also has a gathering of vintage vehicles for antique car aficionados, which is close to Hastings’ heart: “I supply one of those because I drive a ’48 Chevy pickup,” she says.

The Canterbury Fair has become “a tradition with fairgoers because once they come and they experience that hometown atmosphere and what we have to offer, they look forward to coming back,” Hastings said.

Canterbury Fair
When: Saturday, July 25, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Woodchuck Classic 5K and Chipmunk Scramble 2K sign-in at 8 a.m. at Canterbury Elementary School.)
Where: Canterbury Center
More: canterburyfair.com
Admission to the fair is free. A $5 donation for parking is appreciated.

Kiddie Pool 26/07/23

Family fun for whenever

Family tunes

• On Saturday, July 25, Manchester Parks and Recreation will hold the second of four concerts at 10 a.m. at Livingston Park on Hooksett Road in Manchester with musician Miss Alli between Brigit’s Garden and the playground, according to a post on the department’s Facebook page. “These concerts are free and open to everyone. Gather the family, and enjoy a morning of music in the park,” the post said.

• Kimball Jenkins, 266 N. Main St. in Concord, will continue its “Summer Songs: A Kids Music Series!” with Friend Andrea on Friday, July 24, from 5 to 7 p.m. on the lawn, according to kimballjenkins.com/events. “The fun begins at 5 p.m. with an interactive art activity for kids led by KJ Tiny Artist teacher Ari Murphy. Then, at 6 p.m., enjoy a lively musical performance that will have kids singing, dancing, and playing along,” the website said.

• Children’s musician Judy Pancoast celebrates 30 years of performing with a show at the Goffstown Public Library on Monday, July 27, at 11:30 a.m., according to a press release. See judypancoast.com.

Potatoes and coconut

• The NH Fisher Cats continue their run of games against the Somerset Patriots at Delta Dental Stadium in downtown Manchester, according to milb.com/new-hampshire, where you can purchase tickets. The game on Thursday, July 23, is at 12:05 p.m.; games on Friday, July 24, and Saturday, July 25, are at 6:03 p.m., and the Sunday, July 26, game is at 1:05 p.m. At Friday’s game, the team will change up their identity to play as the New Hampshire Space Potatoes; stay for the postgame fireworks. Saturday’s game will also end with fireworks and the first 1,000 fans to arrive can get a WWE X Fisher Cats co-branded jersey, the website said. On Sunday the team will debut their Manchester Coconut Tenders alt — a slight flavor variation on their Manchester Chicken Tenders identity — and the first 500 fans can receive the third of three bobbleheads in the Manchester Chicken Tender Series, the website said.

On stage

• The Palace Youth Theatre Summer Camp, featuring performers in grades 2 through 12, will present another show this weekend at the Palace Theatre, 80 Hanover St. in Manchester, according to palacetheatre.org, where you can purchase tickets. This weekend’s performance is The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition, which will be on stage Friday, July 24, at 7 p.m., and Saturday, July 25, at 11 a.m.

• The Palace Theatre’s 2026 Bank of New Hampshire Children’s Summer Series also continues with a new show each week and showtimes Tuesday through Thursdays at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. and Fridays at 10 a.m., according to palacetheatre.org, where you can purchase tickets. The Wizard of Oz Youth Editionconcludes its run with shows on Thursday, July 23, and Friday, July 24, and How To Train Your Dragon Jr. runs next week, Tuesday, July 28, through Friday, July 31.

• RB Productions, which is a “non-profit community theatre organization founded in 2003 by Ryan Brown to provide experiential and educational theatre opportunities for youth and young theatre professionals throughout greater Concord and the state of New Hampshire,” will present Disney’s The Lion King Jr. on Friday, July 24, and Saturday, July 25, at 7 p.m. at Capitol Center of the Arts’ Chubb Theatre, according to ccanh.com, where you can purchase tickets.

Kiddie Pool 26/07/16

Family fun for whenever

Fairs & festivals

  • The Second Congregational Church, 25 Gregg St. in Wilton, will hold its annual Summer Fair on Saturday, July 18, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. featuring crafts, food, music, kids’ activities, plant sales, book sales, a food auction at 1 p.m. and more, according to an email from the church. See 2ccwilton.org.
  • The 10th annual Fairy and Hobbit House Festival will take place at Bedrock Gardens, 19 High Road in Lee, Friday, July 17, through Sunday, July 19, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, according to bedrockgardens.org. Come in costume to compete in the Designer Fairy and Hobbit House Competition (see the website for details), vote in the competition, take part in fairy- and gnome-related activities and more, according to the website, where you can purchase tickets and reserve parking.
  • The Nashua Fairytale Festival will take place Saturday, July 18, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Greeley Park in Nashua featuring stage acts, fairytale characters, character meet and greets and “over 30 community vendors with activities, caricaturists, games, books, and more for the whole family,” according to nashuanh.gov/546/SummerFun.

Fun at the theater

  • O’Neil Cinemas, 16 Orchard View Drive in Londonderry, continues its Summer Kid’s Series of screenings of kid-friendly movies on Mondays and Wednesdays at 11 a.m., according to oneilcinemas.com. Screenings on Monday, July 20, and Wednesday, July 22, feature How to Train Your Dragon (PG, 2025).
  • Chunky’s in Manchester has some family-friendly events on its upcoming schedule. On Tuesday, July 21, the cinema will screen Minions & Monsters (PG, 2026) at 11:30 a.m. as part of the Little Lunch Dates series geared to parents and preschool children, “with the lights slightly dimmed…. This is a worry-free lunch without the fear of disturbing others,” according to chunkys.com, where you can purchase tickets.
    The theater also has a family-friendly theater candy bingo event on the schedule on Friday, July 24, at 6:45 p.m., the website said. “With your $10 purchase you receive a Chunky’s complimentary Movie Pass for a future movie & $5.00 off one food item during the event. With this purchase you are eligible to receive a FREE Bingo Card! This event will last around an hour and a half, so we hope to get at least 8 rounds in! We’ll do classic straight bingo and a handful of other creative rounds to win!,” according to the website, where you can purchase tickets.
  • The Summer Movie Clubhouse, a lineup of kid-friendly films running Wednesday and Thursday mornings (with a start time usually around 10:30 to 11 a.m.), continues at Cinemark Rockingham Park (15 Mall Road in Salem; cinemark. com/theatres/nh-salem/cinemark-rockingham-park-and-xd). Catch Dog Man (PG, 2025) on Wednesday, July 15, and Thursday, July 16, at 10:30 a.m. and How to Train Your Dragon on Wednesday, July 22, and Thursday, July 23, at 10:30 a.m., according to the website.

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