Category: Outdoors

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.

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.

Warner celebrates with its annual Fall Foliage Festival

By Zachary Lewis
[email protected]

Celebrate fall in Warner Friday, Oct. 11, through Sunday, Oct. 13, for the 77th Warner Fall Foliage Festival.

“The historical part of the festival, this is the 77th year that it’s been going on. It’s a festival to celebrate the fall, number one. It’s always on Columbus Day weekend on just Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday,” said Ray Martin, a former Festival president and trove of knowledge on the Festival and how it operates. “It’s historically always been volunteer-run, volunteer-staffed with townspeople, and it raises money every year for various organizations within the town …”

Besides the beautiful scenery, what is there for visitors to do?

“It is a festival with amusement rides, a lot, I think we have almost 100 craftspeople, various sorts. It has food, a lobster and chicken barbecue and other sorts of food. It has a grand parade, a road race, a children’s race…,” Martin said.

The Warner Fall Foliage Festival is also free. “There’s no admission charge, but we do charge for parking if you go out to one of the outlying parking areas. So it’s really just a celebration of fall with the typical festival type things of food, crafts, people, amusement rides, and an oxen pull and a woodsman’s contest. The oxen pull is all day Saturday. The woodsman’s contest is all Sunday, all day. And there’s a grand parade on Sunday…,” Martin said.

The parade will celebrate Warner’s founding with leafy floats. “Every year it has a different theme. And this year people put in floats involving foliage. And the main thing is how much foliage you can use or how you use it creatively. This year is Warner’s 250th anniversary of the founding or the chartering of the town in 1774.”

Martin expects 10 to 15 floats as well as “some old cars and tractors and marching band and the Highland Scotsman bagpiping group.”

Music is a major component in celebrating the harvest season in Warner.

“There’s music at a tent right beside the Reed’s North bar and restaurant that has music … and then they’ve got a stage behind, more of a main street stage, that has an outdoor amphitheater that has the same scheduled music on Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” Martin said.

And then there’s the food.

“And then the other thing is the lobster or chicken barbecue that’s been going on for a long time and that drives a lot of people in. So those two things are great and consistent. It’s just one family that’s been doing [the barbecue] for 50 years, They’re on about the third generation,” Martin said.

The kids get involved too. “There’s a children’s parade, a children’s short run walk, and the activities for the kids are all the rides.”

How did Martin come to be involved with the festival in the first place? “If you live in town, you eventually will be asked to help. Most people always step up. It’s a very community-oriented event that does raise anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 a year to distribute.”

Since “foliage” is in the name, what types of tree leaves will visitors be able to view? “Oh, we have all the hardwood trees. It’s maple trees, then oak trees, maybe a few ash trees if they’re left, but all the hardwood trees will be most of it. There could be peak right, probably right about the time.”

“We usually get three or four thousand [visitors] a day. And the event is held, it’s right in downtown Warner, so it encompasses the village, the very downtown part of Warner,” he said “If you want to come enjoy a real community festival down to earth, small-ish, no admission charge, and very well-rounded in many different kinds of events that are happening,” Martin said.

Spellbound
When: Begins Monday, Oct. 7, with opening reception Saturday, Oct. 12, at 4 p.m.
Where: Mosaic Art Collective, 66 Hanover St., Suite 201 (second floor), Manchester
More: mosaicartcollective.com

Featured image: Music performance at a previous festival. Courtesy photo.