Category: Outdoors

Trick, treat and shop

Concord holds its annual downtown Halloween Howl

By Zachary Lewis
[email protected]

Grizzly ghouls from every tomb may be closing in to seal your doom, but participants can forget their woes at the thrilling Halloween Howl on Main Street in Concord on Friday, Oct. 25, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Sarah Glaude, Chair of the Halloween Howl Committee and a member of the acting board of directors for InTown Concord, talked about what visitors can expect to find that evening.

“It’s usually the Friday before Halloween and it’s essentially a trick-or-treating kind of event,” Glaude said. “So all of the downtown businesses participate and they hand out candy in front of their storefronts. The kids kind of go in a circle throughout all the downtown businesses. The streets close down. And it’s just a really nice family-friendly activity.”

Candy hander outer-ers can win prizes too. “We have a Trunk-or-Treat where we give a prize out to the best trunk. So people park on the end of Main Street near Loudon Road,” Glaude said.

The trunks will be tricked out. “A lot of people just kind of usually will stick with a theme,” Glaude said. “I think last year somebody did mythological creatures, they did a dragon-themed trunk.”

This year Glaude is introducing Quick Bites Corner to the Howl. It’s a spot downtown where a variety of food trucks will park. “On Pleasant Street we’re going to have Wicked Tasty, Pours & Petals and Teenie Wienies. We’re really excited about that because we know that parents are bringing their kids to go trick-or-treating [and] they’re probably hungry because it’s around dinner time, so we were thinking that we would have some food options.”

Music will be in the air.

“In Bicentennial Square we have Wandering Souls; they’re a group that is putting together Halloween music. That’s our kids’ zone,” Glaude said.

Meanwhile, over in front of the Capitol, local DJ Nazzy will be cranking tunes. “He is kind of like our emcee for the night,” Glaude said. “… So he’ll announce the costume contest. There’s multiple different categories that people can sign up for ahead of time. We also have Nazzy’s Not So Scary Dance Party Parade. … We’re going to have a couple of flash mobs, too, throughout Main Street,” Glaude said. Flash mobs will be performed by Creative Dance Academy and The Wicked Witches of the Lakes Region.

The treats continue with a bunch of games for the little tricksters. “We’re going to have two games run by the Girl Scouts in Concord, and then three games run by InTown for us to facilitate for the kids. We’re going to have face painting by Salon Lotus, and that’s going to be in Capitol Plaza.” Look for bowling and spin the wheel, plus giant Jenga, cornhole and more, she said.

“It’s a big event. Usually between 3,000 and 5,000 people show up.” Glaude said. And yes, the Chair of the Halloween Howl Committee will join the festivities Friday evening too. “I’m excited to be a bumblebee this year,” she said.

Halloween Howl
When: Friday, Oct. 25, 5:30 to 7:30 pm.
Where: Main Street in Concord; Main Street will be closed to traffic from Centre Street/Loudon Road to Hills Avenue from 4 to 9 p.m.
Info: intownconcord.org

Schedule of events
5:30 p.m. – Wandering Souls live music in Bicentennial Square
5:45 p.m. – Nazzy’s Not So Scary Party/Parade
5:45 p.m. – Creative Dance Academy flash mob
6 p.m. – costume contest (signupgenius.com/go/904094BA5A722A7FF2-50945177-halloween#)
6:30 p.m. – The Wicked Witches of the Lakes Region flash mob
7 p.m. – Spooky performance (music & stories) in Eagle Square

Featured image: Courtesy photo.

Planting in October

How many gardeners does it take to plant a garlic bulb?

For some of us, planting time is long past — but not for me. I am always busy in the fall, planting everything I can. It is almost time to plant garlic, which is my easiest crop of all. And I’ll soon be planting spring bulbs, both in the ground and in pots for forcing.

Garlic is by far my least labor-intensive vegetable crop. I start by weeding out one of my wide mounded beds and loosening the soil well. I use my CobraHead Weeder to loosen the soil and to make shallow furrows 8 to 12 inches apart. I sprinkle some granular organic fertilizer in the furrow, and run my hand tool through the soil again to work in the fertilizer.

Each garlic bulb has four to eight cloves, which need to be separated for planting. Plant them 3 to 4 inches apart and about 3 inches deep. Cover and press down the soil over them, watering if the soil is dry. Lastly mulch with a thick layer of straw or mulch hay. I use 8 to 12 inches of loose straw, which gets packed down to 4 inches by the winter snows. Garlic will grow up through the mulch, but most weeds will not.

I also plant a lot of spring-blooming bulb flowers in pots for early blossoms indoors and as gifts to friends. I mix used planting mix from summer pots with good compost and plant daffodils and tulips in planters and my window box. You can pack the bulbs close together in pots, and they need only a couple of inches of soil mix above and below them. Store them in a cool, dark place — 35 to 50 degrees is best. But even a cold garage will work if they can establish roots early and then snooze a little if the soil freezes.

Daffodils take about 12 weeks of dormancy before they should be brought into the warmth of the house, but tulips do better with 16 weeks. Little things like crocus can be forced in 8 to 10 weeks. Be sure to label them with the date planted and variety. Water lightly once a month. My favorites are Tête-à-Tête daffodils — small early daffodils in bright yellow. I pack four bulbs into a 4-inch pot and share them in February and March when friends need a pick-me-up.

This is also the time to plant bulbs outdoors for spring. Most bulbs like a sunny location with well-drained soil, but you can also plant bulbs under deciduous trees if they get enough sun filtered through them, or before they leaf out. If you have a site with good sun but moist soil, there are a few bulbs that will work. “Thalia” is a white blossomed, late-blooming daffodil that does well even in fairly wet soil.

Camassia is a bulb plant that prefers damp soil. It produces blue to purple flowers on tall stems — up to 3 feet tall with hundreds of small blossoms. A good sandy loam is best, but it will do fine in any sunny soil that stays moist during the bloom season. It is not of interest to deer, and will keep coming back for years if happy where you plant it.

Tulips, on the other hand, are delicious to deer as flowers, and to rodents as bulbs. To foil the deer I plant 100 tulips in my vegetable garden most years and surround and cover the bed with chicken wire. I grow them as annuals, pulling the bulbs after they bloom.

Over the years I have planted hundreds, nay, thousands of daffodil bulbs. Most survive and thrive — nothing eats them. I have a patch of daffies from bulbs I dug up at my boyhood home in the early 1970s — some 50 years ago. To keep them producing well it’s good to top-dress the soil with “bulb booster” or a good slow-release organic fertilizer either now or in the spring.

To plant 25 daffodils I dig a hole about 6 inches deep, a couple of feet long and about 18 inches across. I loosen up the soil in the bottom with my CobraHead Weeder, a single-tine cultivator. I sprinkle a cup or so of organic fertilizer in the bottom and work it in, working in a bucket of compost too. Then I plant the bulbs, pointy end up. I tend to plant them 3 or 4 inches apart. If it is sandy or full of clay, I mix the soil I use to refill the hole with a 50-50 mix of good compost and soil.

So take a sunny afternoon and go plant bulbs — either outdoors, or in pots for forcing. It’ll be something to look forward to all winter.

Featured photo: Seeds and roots of dock, a big weed. Photo by Henry Homeyer.

Kiddie Pool 24/10/24

Family fun for whenever

Spooky Season

Find lots of haunted happenings in the Halloween guide in the Oct. 17 issue of the Hippo. Go to hippopress.com to find the issue in the digital library; the stories start on page 10. Here are some of the highlights:

• Charmingfare Farm (774 High St., Candia) will offer its Children’s Trick-or-Treat Experience on Saturday, Oct. 26, and Sunday, Oct. 27, with start times available on the hour between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. In addition to trick-or-treating, families can meet a friendly witch, see wildlife exhibits and barnyard animals, take a horse-drawn wagon ride, decorate pumpkins, ride a pony and watch a juggling show. Tickets cost $29 per person — admission is free for children under age 2 — and must be purchased online in advance. Visit visitthefarm.com.

• The New Hampshire Audubon’s McLane Center (84 Silk Farm Road, Comcord, nhaudubon.org, 224-9909) will hold its annual Enchanted Forest on Friday, Oct. 25, and Saturday, Oct. 26. Follow a trail in the forest illuminated by jack-o’-lanterns, watch skits, hear stories by the campfire and more, according to the website, where you can purchase tickets for $15 per person. Reservations are required.

• The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire hosts its Not-So-Spooky Spectacular on Friday, Oct. 25, and Saturday, Oct. 26, with sessions each day from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 4 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear costumes. The event will feature interactive science experiments, crafting in the STEAM Lab and a pumpkin scavenger hunt. The afternoon session includes a concert and dance party with kids’ musician Mr. Aaron at 2 p.m. Admission costs $12.50 for adults and children over age 1; $10.50 for 65+. Register in advance online.

• Join kids’ musician Laurie Berkner for a Halloween show at the Capitol Center for the Arts (44 S. Main St., Concord) on Saturday, Oct. 26, with performances at 11 a.m.and 3 p.m. Laurie will blend her hits with Halloween tunes. Attendees are encouraged to wear dancing shoes and bring a stuffed animal. Tickets start at $31.75 on the CCA website.

• Family Fright Fest will be haunting the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center (2 Institute Drive, Concord) on Sunday, Oct. 27, from 10:30 to 4 p.m. Participants can engage in hands-on activities, endure “Seven Minutes of Terror” ahead of the Tonight’s Sky planetarium shows at noon and 2 p.m., and even go on a code-cracking scavenger hunt, according to their website. Participants are encouraged to dress up in their favorite Halloween costume. Regular admission costs apply, but general admission tickets are buy one, get one free when you come in costume and the discount is only applicable for tickets purchased at the front desk, according to the website. “Hands-On Spooky Science Demonstrations” will occur throughout the day as well as activities for the whole family like pumpkin constellation painting, the bat paper airplane target challenge and more, according to the website. Visit starhop.com.

Into the woods

Fun, food and a little spookiness at The Witch of Weston Tower

By Zachary Lewis
[email protected]

From Friday, Oct. 25, to Sunday, Oct. 27, Granite Staters will witness the Witch of Weston Tower at McIntyre Ski Area in all her spooky glory. Aly Coakley, Marketing Director for McIntyre Ski Area, was excited to talk about it.

“Our Witch of Weston Tower event is designed more to be spooky, not scary,” Coakley said. “Basically, it starts with a chairlift ride up to the top of McIntyre ski area and then you get on a tractor ride and that has a whole witches story,”

The haunted tractor ride is filled with not-too-creepy companions as attendees journey to the Witch’s Tower. “You’ll have a bunch of different characters in the woods, kind of spooky but not too scary, and then you get up to Weston Tower, where you’ll see the witch there and she’s greeting you with her own magical tales of what the witch is all about.”

Weston Tower is in costume for the event too. “That’s all decorated. It’s super cute and you’re welcome to go all the way up to the top of the tower. You can see the fall foliage, which is beautiful right now. There’s an attendant up there telling a little bit about the tower, some of its history.”

How did Weston Tower obtain such spookiness along with a witch?

“Next to Weston Tower there’s this quarry that was filled in by the city way back, years ago, but people used to go over to it and jump in and sometimes never appear back on the surface. One of those people was Hector Boisvert, who happens to be a relative of Ross Boisvert, the owner of McIntyre Ski Area. No one ever saw [Hector] again after he jumped into the quarry. So we weave the Witch’s story with what happened to Hector,” she said.

The festivities continue once visitors escape the Witch. “Once you’re down, we have some games right there, but then you can take the tractor ride back. There’s another little spooky story that’s told as they’re going back on the tractor ride and then the guests usually can take the chairlift back down or hike down, whichever they prefer.”

The spookiness lasts for three days but Saturday is the main event.

“Saturday is definitely our bigger day for the Witch of Weston Tower. Everything is happening from noon on. We have things like a paint night going on at 2 o’clock where people can sign up in advance and they do this nightmare painting. From 12 to 4 we have face painting and public pumpkin painting which is included with the Witch of Weston Tower ticket.”

Smaller participants will get the opportunity to vote on best scarecrow. “We’re finishing up dropping off some scarecrow kits to the schools that decided to participate. And then we’ll have all the scarecrows lined up around the ski area and people can vote on whose scarecrow is the best,” Coakley said.

Highland Mountain Bike Park will bring a wooden pump track and some bikes for kids, and even larger vehicles will be there filled with treats. There will be a costume contest with various prizes for kids from 603 Diesel.

Plenty of food trucks will be on location with different cuisine choices. “Creative Kones, Waterville Valley’s Next Level Food Truck is joining us again. This is their, I believe, third year joining us, which is really cool to have that partnership. We have Pat’s Apples,” Coakley said. Fair staples will be on hand too. “We’re also just offering popcorn and cotton candy.”

All this fun leads to the nighttime festivities. “Buzz Brews & Boos, our Halloween party, is happening Saturday as well,” Coakley said. “Typically we sell out.” McIntyre teamed with Rock 101’s Greg and the Morning Buzz, for the shindig.“There’s a costume contest, it’s just a fun night. Everybody’s dressed up in some pretty outrageous Halloween costumes. And they just have a good time. And it’s definitely Halloween-themed,” Coakley said.

The Witch of Weston Tower will still be haunting as the weekend draws to a close. “Sunday is a quieter day. We just kind of take it down a notch for those that just want to kind of enjoy Halloween season without some of the other stuff. Proceeds go to the Manchester Historical Association, so it’s all for a good cause.”

The Witch of Weston Tower
When: Friday, Oct. 25, 4 to 8 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 26, noon to 6 p.m.; Sunday, Oct. 27, noon to 6 p.m.
Where: McIntyre Ski Area, 50 Chalet Way, Manchester
Tickets: $5 to $22 (ticketscandy.com). Proceeds to benefit the Manchester Historic Association.
Info: 622-6159, mcintyreskiarea.com

Schedule of events
Saturday, Oct. 26
noon – chairlift rides begin, and Weston Tower access opens
noon to 2 p.m. – hiking/walking to Weston Tower (no tractor rides during Manchester XC meet)
1 p.m. – Kids’ Costume Contest (age categories: 5 & under, 6-12, 13+)
2 to 6 p.m. – tractor rides to Weston Tower and back to chairlift
2 p.m. – Paint Nite: “Nightmare” (advance registration required)
noon to 4 p.m. – face painting & pumpkin painting (included with ticket); Highland Mountain Bike Park Pump Track; 603 Diesel Touch-A-Truck/Trunk-or-Treat
5:30 p.m. – last chairlift to Weston Tower
7 to 10 p.m. – Buzz Brews & Boos Halloween Party (21+) at The Hill Bar & Grille; tickets $40

Featured image: The Witch of Weston Tower. Courtesy photo.

Kiddie Pool 24/10/17

Family fun for whenever

Season of fun

Windham Recreation Department will hold its annual Harvest Fest on Saturday, Oct. 19, from 1 to 4 p.m. in Griffin Park. A Doggie Costume Parade will take place at 11 a.m. (check in at 10 a.m.) with judging in several categories, according to sarlnh.org, where you can register your pup in advance. The Fest itself will feature DJ Greg; Wildlife Encounters from 1 to 3 p.m.; a bubble performer from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.; a Kids’ Horrible Costume Parade with a 2:45 p.m. line-up, and Mr. Aaron’s Halloween show at 3:30 p.m. as well as games, crafts, pumpkin decorating and Halloween treats, according to windhamnh.gov.

It’s Touch A Tractor day at the Coppal House Farm (118 N. River Road in Lee; nhcornmaze.com) on Saturday, Oct. 19, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Get photo ops with large farm implements before exploring the corn maze, which is open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to the website. (The maze is also open Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays from noon to 5 p.m. — last admission is 4:30 p.m.) On Sunday, Oct. 20, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., catch Wildlife Encounters, which will bring their animals to the farm (see weecocenter.com), the website said. Admission to the corn maze costs $10 per person for ages 13+ and $8 for ages 5 to 12; kids age 4 and under get in for free, the website said.

On stage

Alice in Wonderland Jr. will be presented by the Peacock Players at Janice B. Streeter Theatre (14 Court St., Nashua) Friday, Oct. 18, through Sunday, Oct. 27. Shows are 7 p.m. on Fridays, 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. TIckets cost $15 and $18 for adults; $12 and $15 for students and seniors.

Disney’s The Little Mermaid will be performed by the Manchester Community Theatre Players at The MCTP Theatre at North End Montessori School (698 Beech St., Manchester) Friday, Oct. 18, through Sunday, Oct. 27. Showtimes are at 7 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays. According to a press release from the Players, The Little Mermaid is musically directed by Christie Conticcio and directed by Trysran Stoffel who said, “Our production of The Little Mermaid is full of life, color and laughter.” Tickets to this family musical comedy cost $20 for adults, $18 for seniors and $10 for ages 18 and under. See mcpt.info.

Pumpkins of the Piscataquag

The Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off & Regatta returns

By Zachary Lewis
[email protected]

Saturday, Oct. 19, and Sunday, Oct. 20, is the weekend of Goffstown’s Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off & Regatta.

Tina Lawton is a volunteer of the organization and is currently the president of the board of directors. “It’s a two-day event. It’s been around for a long time. This will be the 23rd year,” Lawton said.

How did it get started? “We had some giant pumpkin growers and one of them had a great idea: ‘What if we turn it into a boat and race it down the river?’ And so that’s what they did. It was very popular so it’s kept on year after year,” Lawton said. This year’s theme is Pirates of the Piscataquag River. The length of the race when scaled to pumpkins is quite the journey for these nautical gourds.

“They go from where the dam starts to the bridge. They’re going up the river and there are a bit of escapades that happen where we have, you know, somebody coming out to challenge them, shoot them with water, try and get them off course. So it stretches the race out a little bit so it’s more entertaining for the people that are just all over the place trying to see this race,” Lawton said.

“This year we’ll have six boats, and that’s plenty because there’s not a lot of room. One time we had nine and it was very challenging,” Lawton said.

These pumpkin vessels are large, weighing in at “close to, if not over, 1,000 pounds,” she said, usually hailing from New Hampshire or Vermont.

“We have a tremendous amount of vendors throughout the village of Goffstown from Elm to Depot street and all the businesses are open and it’s a great time to highlight the charm of the village and to highlight the businesses and help people understand that it’s important to support the small-business owners for what they get to the community,” Lawton said.

Other competitions include a pumpkin cook-off, a dog costume contest and a pie eating contest, Lawton said.

“Then we have a pumpkin decorating contest this year,” she added. “There is a scavenger hunt that we have in the village, and that’s again to sort of get people to explore and discover some of the businesses.”

Apples do make a brief cameo. “We have ‘apple slingshots,’ which is very popular. So there’s these giant slingshots that we set up and there’s usually a very long line for usually kids and sometimes dads to slingshot apples into the river and try and hit targets.”

Especially for the kids there will also be bounce houses and some vendors will offer face painting, Lawton said.

Attendees will see a first this year. “One of my board members wants to do a parade, they want to parade the final pumpkin. So the pumpkins come down, the very early part of the first day, the giant pumpkins arrive, it’s sort of like a whole thing, they sort of arrive, unload, they weigh them, and that’s a contest in itself. Once that’s all over they take pumpkins all the way down to the other end of Main Street where they’re going to be placed to turn into pumpkin boats. People like to see the giant pumpkins moving up the street.”

What happens to all the pumpkin insides that are taken out? “That’s a big DPW sort of thing. They have a big truck. We have lots of trash cans and flat loaders. As soon as the pumpkin drops and it’s safe, the kids will run out and try and get some of the big seeds that are from that pumpkin that dropped. And then one thing is important, when they are carving the big pumpkins at the boat, those seeds from that particular pumpkin, they go back to the grower so that they can grow them next year.”

Spellbound
When: Saturday, Oct. 19, and Sunday, Oct. 20
Where: Goffstown
Info: goffstownmainstreet.org/pumpkin-regatta

Schedule
Saturday, Oct. 19
8 a.m. to 1 p.m. – Rummage Sale and Bake Sale St. Matthew’s (5 N. Mast St.)
8 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Goffstown Congregational Church Yard Sale (10 Main St.)
9 a.m. – giant pumpkins arrive at the Common
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. – Touch a Truck (Depot Street behind Citizens Bank)
9 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Friends Of GPL Library Book Sale at the Library (2 High St.)
9 a.m. to 3 p.m. – Apple Slingshots (Mill Street)
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. – vendor booths, concessions, bounce house, GMSP Scavenger Hunt (start at 4 Main St.), live music at Rotary Park
10 a.m. – giant pumpkin carving begins
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Art Show Off at Town Hall (16 Main St.)
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. – Annual Quilt Challenge voting at Night Owl Quilting (4 Main St.)
11 a.m. – Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off at the Common
11 a.m. – Pet Costume Contest at Glen Lake Animal Hospital (15 Elm St.)
11:30 a.m. – Parading of the Pumpkin (starts at Elm & Main, ends at Main & Mill)
2:30 p.m. – Giant Pumpkin Boat Building on Mill Street; Pumpkin Cook-Off Contest (5 N. Mast St.)

Sunday, Oct. 20
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. – pumpkin painting at Goffstown Ace Hardware
9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. – vendor booths, concessions, bounce house
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Art Show Off at Town Hall; Cars on Main (7 Main St.)
10:30 a.m. – Apple Slingshot on Mill Street (while supplies last); Pumpkin Decorating Contest judging (4 Main St.)
Noon – Giant Pumpkin Drop (Depot Street across from the USPS)
1 p.m. – Pie Eating Contest on Mill Street
2 p.m. – Mini Pumpkin Race for the 50/50 Raffle on the River
3 p.m. – Finale: Giant Pumpkin Regatta at the River

Featured image: Courtesy photo.

Stay in the loop!

Get FREE weekly briefs on local food, music,

arts, and more across southern New Hampshire!