• The Palace Youth Theatre Summer Camp presents Newsies, Jr.on Friday, July 26, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, July 27, at 11 a.m. at the Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St., Manchester, 668-5588, palacetheatre.org). The student actors are in grades 2 through 12. Tickets start at $12.
• Catch Rock of Ages, Youth Edition on Friday, July 26, and Saturday, July 27, at 7 p.m. at the Chubb Theatre (44 S. Main St., Concord, 225-1111, ccanh.com). Set on L.A.’s famous Sunset Strip in 1987, Rock of Ages tells the story of Drew, a city boy from South Detroit, and Sherrie, a small-town girl, who have both traveled to L.A. to chase their dreams of making it big and falling in love. Tickets are $18.75 for adults, $15.75 for students and seniors.
On screen
• Downtown Summer Series Movie Nights feature screenings in Manchester’s Veterans Park (723 Elm St.). Concessions are available for purchase.Monsters, Inc.(G, 2001) will be screened on Wednesday, July 31, at dusk.
• Movie Night Mondays On the Beach at Hampton Beach feature screenings at dusk on the large screen next to the playground, weather permitting (rain date is Tuesday). Admission is free. On Monday, July 29, the film to be screened is Mummies (PG, 2023)
Insects
• Head to Prescott Farm Environmental Education Center (928 White Oaks Road, Laconia, prescottfarm.org) for Fireflies Light Up the Sky on Saturday, July 27, from 7 to 8 p.m. to learn about fireflies and see them in action. This is for ages 12 and older. The cost is $15 for nonmembers.
• The second annual Capital Area New Hampshire Butterfly Survey will take place on Saturday, July 27, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at NH Audubon’s McLane Center (84 Silk Farm Road, Concord) to gather long-term butterfly data to understand the changing ranges of butterfly species over time and support statewide conservation efforts. Visit nhaudubon.org.
Cooking
• On Wednesday, July 31, from 1 to 3 p.m. the Nashua Public Library (2 Court St.) will host an event called “Culinary Explorers: No Cook Recipes In-Person,” for those in grades K-5, according to their website. Participants will use all five senses to create a culinary masterpiece while practicing kitchen safety, working on chef vocabulary and fine motor skills, and trying new foods. There will be two “no-cook” dishes created during this program, which is billed as “vegetarian and nut-free.” Visit nashualibrary.org
Frolic in the fields
• The 2024 Sunflower Festival at Coppal House Farm (118 N. River Road, Lee, nhsunflower.com) takes place Saturday, July 27, through Sunday, Aug. 4, 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. (plus a special sunrise session on July 28). See the website for admission prices. Visit the blooming fields and then enjoy live music, an artisan craft fair, food and more.
Magic
• The Manchester Public Library on Thursday, July 25, from 6 to 7 p.m. will host magician BJ Hickman, who has been reviewed as “a master of the double-take and one who connects with wonderful audience rapport,” for their “Family Fare” program at the library, according to the website. Hickman is credited with being “the magician who keeps getting invited back,” and is a member of The International Brotherhood of Magicians (I.B.M.) and went on to become an “Order of Merlin-Shield,” according to their website. His one-man magic show is suitable for audiences of all ages to enjoy, according to their website. In the event of rain the program will be held in the library auditorium. For more information contact Mary Gallant at 624-6550, ext. 7611, or visit manchester.lib.nh.us.
Meet the author
• Children’s author Celia Botto will visit Bookery (844 Elm St., Manchester, bookerymht.com) on Saturday, July 27, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. to talk about her upcoming book When Ayden Paints the Sky, illustrated by Samantha Lane Fiddy. All ages are welcome.
The 66th Annual Canterbury Fair starts with the ringing of church bells at 9 a.m. on Saturday, July 27, at the center of town in Canterbury.
From 9 to 11 a.m. The Woodchuck Classic 5K Road Race happens, part of the Capital Area Race (CARS), as well as the 2K Chipmunk Scramble Kids Race.
The center of town will be closed off to vehicular traffic for the fair, which is always held on the last Saturday in July. There will be shuttle buses to and from the festivities, with signs leading the way from the parking areas.
“We have a village green that’s covered with craftspeople and artisans who come from all over the place. I think there’s 40 vendors this year bringing their beautiful wares, pottery, jewelry… lovely things … things you can come Christmas shopping for or birthday shopping for or just please yourself for,” said Lisa Carlson, who chaired the event for 25 years before stepping down but recently returned to co-chair.
“We have an assortment of machinery, like old antique machinery that works,” Carlson said. “We have four different turners coming to the fair this year. They’ll be under tents carving bowls and spoons and just doing their wood crafting.” A blacksmith will be on site too.
The fair is a perfect place to take the kids, she said “We have a whole hillside of activities that go on all day long for toddlers and young children,” Carlson said. Mr. Aaron will be performing at 11 a.m. in front of the library. There will also be face painting for the little ones as well as reptiles and farm animals to see.
Plenty of food will be on site with fair fare such as the famous chicken barbecue, hot dogs, hamburgers, veggie burgers and lemonade.
“The Ladies Benevolent Society still does their world famous bake sale where you can buy authentic Shaker hand pies if you get here early enough and they don’t sell out,” Carlson said. The Canterbury Ladies Benevolent Society started the tradition when they added a chicken barbecue to the “Canterbury Country Fair and Bazaar” they had been sponsoring for several years, according to a press release. “It was a fair fundraiser to maintain the uptake of our Parish Hall, which is a community building in Canterbury,” Carlson said.
The LBS was on to something special.
“That fair just took off as a very successful not only fundraiser but ‘gatherer’ of people in the community who wanted to get together and see each other and old friends came back to see old friends,” Carlson said.
At the Gazebo, Sue Ann Erb and her Suzuki Strings students will be performing. Carlson noted there’s music all day at the fair. At 1:30 p.m. the string band Lunch at the Dump will be performing.
Fairgoers can shop at the Whatnot Sale, which Carlson described as “like a gigundous yard sale, flea market … that’s held in Canterbury Elementary School cafeteria auditorium and it’s stuffed to the gills with all kinds of treasure.” There’s also a book sale in the town hall.
The Canterbury Historical Society will have an exhibit and there will be canoe polo at the Fire Pond.
The sense of community is the whole point of the festivities.
“It’s a big builder of making Canterbury the lovely place it is to live. People move here because they hear about how good the schools are but more about community spirit,” she said.
66th Annual Canterbury Fair When: Saturday, July 27, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission: free; $5 suggested parking fee donation Cash is preferred due to limited internet access More: canterburyfair.com Race registration: runreg.com/canterbury-woodchuck-classic-5k
The 16th annual Live Free or Die Tattoo Expo begins on Friday, July 26, and goes until Sunday, July 28, at the DoubleTree Hilton in Downtown Manchester.
Mike Boisvert, General Manager of Tattoo Angus/Spider-Bite Body Piercing, acts as coordinator, stage manager and graphics lead of the Expo. “John, who’s the owner, he also owns Spider-Bite, he and I pretty much do 95 percent of everything, organizing, planning, and getting everything together, contacting the city and everything that we need to do,” Boisvert said.
This year’s logo was created by Steve Cummings, who owns a shop called Blood Oath Tattoo in Concord. “This year we’d like to hold the Expo in honor of all of our fallen friends,” Boisvert said. These include Lyle Tuttle, Bill Rhine, Dave Marden, Jeff Denoncour, and Michael “CHOPS” Gray.
This community event will showcase tattooers from all over. “We just upgraded to 134 booths in the Expo room this year and I’d say probably about 110 are tattoo booths and they’re usually two people, so you’re going to have like 250-plus tattoo artists there ready to tattoo you throughout the weekend.”
That’s not all. “We also have body piercers, we also have vendors … we have people that do taxidermy with bugs, clothing companies that come in.”
Appointments aren’t necessarily necessary. “Anybody can get tattooed as long as you come in and you have an idea and someone is free and you like their work, they’ll gladly tattoo you,” Boisvert said.
“We’re open 13 hours on Saturday so I mean that’s a good chunk of time that you can get tattooed if you can sit that long…. As long as you respect the artist and respect the craft and come in there knowing that they are busy but they’re going to take their time to, that’s what they’re there for, to tattoo everybody,” he said.
When the doors open on Friday at 5 p.m. the tattoo contest registration begins and pin-up pageant registration begins. Shortly after, at 7 p.m., attendees will be treated to No Gimmicks Needed Suspension. “They swing from a steel truss that they have. They do it to music and it’s like an art performance and they do one show a day,” Boisvert said.
Then at 8 p.m., the Monsters of Schlock perform. “They’re from Toronto and they hold like 26 Guinness book world records for pulling a car with hooks in his back. The other guy has the record for most mouse traps snapped on his tongue or his face … We always try to keep it pretty cool. ”
Then at 9 p.m. the wondrous Sally Sapphire Aerialist will dazzle attendees. “She’s also a local tattooer. She’s an aerialist so she’s bringing a lollipop stand and will be doing two performances.” Those three performers will also perform Saturday.
The rest of the evening will be devoted to the tattoo contests.
When the doors open on Saturday at 11 a.m. the tattoo contest registration and pin-up pageant registration begin. The day will also feature a raffle (to benefit Manchester Animal Shelter). On Sunday, there will be another tattoo contest as well as performances by the Monsters of Schlock and No Gimmicks Needed Suspension.
So why tattoo at all? “Some people like the pain, it’s therapeutic…. Some people just really respect the craft and the art and like to express themselves with imagery that caters to their personality,” Boisvert said.
Live Free or Die Tattoo Expo Where: DoubleTree by Hilton, 700 Elm St., Manchester When: Friday, July 26, 5 p.m. to midnight; Saturday, July 27, 11 a.m. to midnight; Sunday, July 28, noon to 8 p.m. Admission: one-day pass $15 ($20 at the door); two-day pass $25 ($30 at the door); three-day pass $35 ($40 at the door) More: livefreeordietattoo.com, 625-1000
The latest from NH’s theater, arts and literary communities
• Classical piano: On Thursday, July 25, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. pianist Paul Bisaccia will be performing Beethoven’s “Waldstein” Sonata as well as selections from Haydn, Czerny and Liszt for the Summer Music Associates concert at First Baptist Church (461 Main St., New London). Tickets are $25 for adults and $5 for students. Visit summermusicassociates.org.
• Peruse the crafts: Gallery in the Garden (148 Sandogardy Pond Road, Northfield) will be held on Saturday, July 27, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, July 28, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., according to their website. It is the place to purchase a perfect piece from an array of fine handcraft, meet talented artists and walk around the pondside gardens of annuals and perennials at your leisure. Visit their Facebook page for more information.
• Bagpipes and adventure: The Oscar Foss Memorial Library will host Shirefest on Saturday, July 27, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at T.L. Storer Reservation (1513 Province Road, Barnstead) to wrap up their summer reading program with food and drinks, creative activities, and adventures for fellow hobbits, wizards and elves, according to their website. Local vendors will be there with unique goods, and special musical guest Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki will perform. Visit oscarfoss.org for tickets.
WINDHAM BANDS The Windham Community Bands will perform at Crows’ Feat Farm (178 Drinkwater Road, Kensington, 498-6262, crowsfeatfarm.org) on Sunday, July 28, at 3 p.m. The Windham Community Bands (WCB) were established in May 1997; membership quickly increased from the original eight musicians and now consists of about 80 members comprising three performing groups: the Windham Concert Band, the Windham Swing Band, and the Windham Flute Ensemble, according to their website. Tickets start at $10.
• One screening only: The Park Theatre in Jaffrey will show Seven Samurai, the Akira Kurosawa classic, in 4K on their giant screen on Friday, July 26, at 6:30 p.m. in Japanese with English subtitles, according to their website. Part I lasts 1 hour and 52 minutes; then there will be a brief intermission before Part II, which lasts 1 hour and 35 minutes, according to their website. Visit theparktheatre.org.
• Interesting instruments: The Strawbery Banke Museum (14 Hancock St., Portsmouth) will host the lecture “Tuneful Treasures — Discovering Musical Instruments in American Collections” with Darcy Kuronen on Thursday, July 25, from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Lawrence J. Yerdon Visitors Center. Kuronen, the former Curator of Musical Instruments at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, will share anecdotes from his career of working with historical instruments in collections throughout the United States, according to the website. Tickets cost $20. Visit strawberybanke.org.
CELTIC BAND Celtic band The High Kings will perform at The Flying Monkey (39 Main St., Plymouth, 536-2551, flyingmonkeynh.com) Sunday, July 28, at 7:30 p.m. The High Kings continue to set the bar high for Irish folk bands across the world and are widely regarded to be at the forefront of the genre, according to a press release. Tickets start at $39 through the Flying Monkey website.
Running through mid-October, “Summer at The Fells” is an exhibition of work from more than a dozen members of New Hampshire Furniture Masters. Held at the John Hay Estate, it’s an event that should be attended more than once, as new pieces will be coming and going in the coming months. Many items will be available for purchase.
The venue befits the display. It was built in 1892 for John and Clara Hay as a place to summer — when that was a verb. The 83.5-acre property includes the 22-room Colonial Revival mansion, along with forest trails, lush gardens and shorelines. It is the only early 20th-century summer estate on Lake Sunapee that’s still intact and open to the public.
Some of the pieces on display were done by Ted Blachly, who’s been a Furniture Masters member since its inception in 1995. Blachly’s past work includes a sensuously curved chest made of curly sugar maple and rosewood, created in 2014 for the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester.
In a recent phone interview, Blachly said the makers at the Fells event range across several disciplines, like Dan Faya, who taught at the traditionally based North Bennet Street School in Boston. “He’s an expert carver, and his work is very clean,” Blachly said. “He has a chair up there that looks like an antique shield-backed chair, the carvings, that’s where his roots are.”
A distinctive room divider from relatively new member Lynn Szymanski blurs the line between form and function. “She has a more sculptural approach to making work,” Blachly said, “It’s a take on a three-panel screen that might be used in an old antique farmhouse; it has that feel about it. There’s a saw blade integrated in the top sections of the frame, and it’s kind of an interesting piece.”
Blachly began his road to furniture making in the early 1970s.
“It was during the back-to-the-land movement,” he said. “I fell into working on old houses with two really fussy carpenters, and I learned a lot. They saw that I had patience [so] they would often give me a fussy job or a pain-in-the-ass job, because they knew I would stick with it or work my way through it…. Having to solve odd problems, I think, really sort of helped me along.”
The following decade, he became part of a guild that included 17 furniture makers who would meet and discuss their work, and through that he met Jere Osgood, one of New Hampshire Furniture Masters’ founders. Osgood died last year.
“He was a world-renowned figure in the studio furniture field, a teacher and a very innovative maker,” Blachly said. “I ended up assisting him in his shop on an as-needed basis in 1993. I would go down there and help him with runs of chairs. Working for him at that level, I learned so much. It was a really wonderful part of my life. I stayed closely connected to him right up until he died. I worked on his stuff. I feel fortunate to have had that experience.”
Blachly’s Currier Chest is a testament to the painstaking discipline at his level of furniture making. From the initial curator outreach to completion, the elaborate piece took well over a year to finish. Made of sugar maple, Bolivian rosewood, white oak, quarter-sawn red maple and Sitka spruce, the piece is part of the Currier’s permanent collection.
“That was quite a woodworking adventure,” he said. “Through my work with Jere Osgood … his pieces are very sculptural with lots of curves — I had learned how to articulate and figure things with full-scale drawings and mock-ups [and] for that Currier chest I took it pretty far [and] a lot of the techniques or ways of figuring out how to do something was learning this stuff from Jere. It’s not something where you just take some wood and start hacking away and sawing away and get that. There’s all this other work that has to go in so you can build it.”
Summer at The Fells – NH Furniture Masters When: Daily through Friday, Oct. 12, with a House Party on Thursday, Aug. 8, from 4 to 6 p.m. Where: John Hay Estate at The Fells, 456 Route 103A, Newbury More: Free, register at eventbrite.com
Featured image: Currier Chest by Ted Blachly. Courtesy photo.
In this week’s cover story, we take a look at some of the places you and your doggos can head for some out-of-the-house fun — don’t forget to pack the water.
Our fuzzy canine companions who treat us better than we treat ourselves are always ready for an adventure. There are tons of locales in the Granite State for dogs and their owners to explore, whether it’s a dog park, a trail or even a sidewalk.
Samantha McKeon, the Vice President of Development of the Manchester Dog Park Association, a nonprofit organization, has two dogs, Fable and Zoey.
“It’s the bonding time,” McKeon said of taking dogs on outdoor adventures. “That’s the fun stuff. When you get a pet, you share activities together, you do things together and that builds your bond with your companion. Play time, walking, travel, adventures, those are experiences that you’re building with your best friend. It’s part of the relationship that you have with your pet. You do stuff together. It would be kind of messed up if you got a dog and you’re like, ‘You’re never leaving the house.’”
Dog parks
Most dog parks have some combination of “chairs, dog toys, and probably some agility platforms, poo poo bags, and just a space to run around in, off leash.”
The Manchester Dog Park (344 Second St., Manchester) has “chuck-it sticks, water holes, we have picnic tables, we have a dog house, an A frame, a cat walk…. Pretty soon there’ll be a water catchment system with a filter so we’ll have a water resource as well,” she said.
The Manchester Dog Park does require membership, so if you live outside Manchester or aren’t ready to make that kind of leap, there are other dog park options as well, like the dog park in Derry (Fordway, off Route 102).
“They have trails there as well as a boat launch and a lot of the people let their dog swim at the boat launch, which is a lot of fun,” McKeon said. “There is no water source for drinking so I do suggest you bring your own water.”
Bigger dog parks have their perks that wind up helping the littlest of puppers.
“They usually have two separate sections. For example, the Derry [dog] park, they have a small dog section and a big dog section. So they have a separate fenced area for smaller dogs although usually Zoey’s fine with big dogs but there’s a lot of small dogs that do need that separate area,” McKeon said.
Another fun park is Hudson Dog Park (19 Kimball Hill Road in Hudson) with a huge draw because it is located right by Benson park.
“They share a parking lot…. If I’m going to a dog park with my family I will tend to go to the Hudson Dog Park because Benson park is right there so we can have family fun as well as our pups…. They have a pond you can walk around and they have a bunch of swans and ducks there.”
A dog park McKeon is interested in exploring is the Terril Dog Park (7 Manchester St. in Concord).
“This month we’re going to be planning a trip to drive to Concord so we can visit the new dog park there,” she said.
So why bother to take your furry companion to a dog park?
“Socializing is huge. It’s a game-changer and parks are a great place for that. Also, it’s off leash. When you’re on trails or when you’re taking them out you have to have them on leash, but at a dog park … they can run really far, they can go fast … it’s more focused play and exercise so it just goes further,” McKeon said. And dogs can learn “proper dog play, how they communicate with each other.”
People parks
Gabrielle Tayag, a dog owner from Manchester, had recommendations for dog adventures at on-leash city parks.
“I own a Great Pyrenees; her name is Callie,” said Tayag, who was walking Callie around White Park in Concord. “She’s a rescue dog, so we always look for new places to take her, get her exposed to things. White Park in Concord is great and we actually do some training around here.”
Yawkey is Sam and Joe Newman’s mini Australian shepherd. Courtesy photo.
That’s not all. “Livingston Park in Manchester is great too to do some training at, walking around, there’s a beautiful trail there. Lots to see, lots of distractions…. Another good place is Heads Pond up in Hooksett. It’s a really nice trail that opens up to a beautiful lake … a good place to take the pups,” Tayag said.
Sam and Joe Newman from Granite State Glizzys, who were grilling up some hot dogs at Arms Park, mentioned a few of their favorite places for cool dog adventures.
“We have a mini-Australian Shepherd, who is 4 years old, his name is Yawkey, ideally we love to take him on hikes. In Hooksett there’s a path right near the dog park on the water, so we go there,” Sam Newman said.
“It’s the Hooksett Riverwalk Trail. It’s a great spot to bring dogs,” Joe added.
“Livingston Park, we’ll go for hikes there,” Sam Newman said. That’s one more vote for Livingston Park.
“If we’re going to take him out to run we go to Derryfield Park in Manchester, like to bring him on the fields just so it’s fenced in but sometimes we’ll just go right up on the hill because there are a lot of other dogs… really the main places we take him out and about,” Sam Newman said.
David Mack from Bedford and his wife, Rachel, take their dog Charlie, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, to fun spots in their area: “He is full of energy, we take him, in Bedford, to Pulpit Rock Hiking Trail, which is a beautiful little couple-mile hiking trail, very nice. It’s got lots of different flat sections, hills. Other than that, going around the Goffstown rail trail is I think just the perfect spot… lots of other dogs for him to sniff and just a really nice area to go on… .”
Katie Barker, from Bow, knew of some cool trails too.“We have a dog named Cleo and she is a little rescue puppy who’s about two years old and we usually take her to the Winant Park {Trails] area, it’s near St. Paul and it’s really pretty, you go up a little hill, there’s a really nice lookout at the top, so that’s one nice walking trail to take your dog on.”
Bow has its share of dog friendly spaces too. “I would say another one that we do is in Bow, it’s called Nottingcook Forest off of South Bow Road, that’s a really great one. There’s a couple of good outlooks there as well, so they’re just really fun little walks in the woods near some rivers so your dog can swim in the river. Cleo loves it, so I’m sure a bunch of other dogs will love it too,” Barker said.
Adventure supplies
What’s the No. 1 thing to bring on the adventure besides your puppy and sense of wonder? “Definitely water,” McKeon said. “Super important to bring water. We have a pop-up water bowl. Also, for trips where I am bringing a lot of stuff already, I also have a Kong brand water bottle and the top turns into a bowl itself. You take off the cap and it’s like open and you can pour the water in.”
First aid is a good idea too.
“If we’re going on a camping trip … I also have a sling that I bring with me so if she gets hurt or whatever I can carry her back if needed. Especially with bigger dogs like that, you’ve got to be prepared for any emergencies,” McKeon said.
Once you find a good leash and collar combo (see sidebar), some added flair can help you keep track of any dogs that get so sucked into their adventure they disappear.
“What I do for both of my dogs, and I always talk highly of it, Apple Trackers, they actually have cases that can slide on collars, and I have an Apple Tracker on both of my dogs’ collars so if they ever get loose I can track them on my phone,” McKeon said.
Tips on adventuring
Be aware of any rules before heading out: “Technically in New Hampshire for any State Parks, dogs aren’t supposed to be at beaches. Not everyone follows those rules….”
Charlie, David and Rachel Mack’s dog, at Cathedral Ledge. Courtesy photo.
What the trail is made up of is important too, especially in a hot summer, Mckeon said.
“Be mindful of pavement. Try to avoid places with a lot of pavement because that heats up. If you wouldn’t walk barefoot on it, don’t make them do it, because their paws can get really burned on the hot pavement in the summer,” she said.
The most important thing is that everyone, human and canine, is having fun.
“Be mindful before you take your dog on an adventure, like how much they’re capable. Dogs have personalities too. So if you take a dog, or you have a puppy, and you love going for a hike, camping, it doesn’t mean your dog’s going to like it. If you are going to adventure with your dog you have to make sure they’re comfortable too…. Don’t force your dog to go on an adventure they don’t want to go on,” she said.
If everyone is on board and all the supplies are accounted for, adventuring with dogs is one of the best things to do, she said.
“It’s just fun, it’s fun to take your dogs out. … You want to create those memories. You want to make sure they have a good experience and it’s healthy for them, it’s important for them, and that’s the fun thing for you as a human, getting that time with your dog,” she said.
Adventure spots
Find a list of the rail trails across the state at nhrtc.org or visit nhstatepark.org for a myriad of state parks to adventure with your dog. Here are some other spots worth a visit.
Dog Parks
• Manchester Dog Park 344 Second St. in Manchester manchesternh.gov/Departments/Parks-and-Recreation/Parks-Trails-and-Facilities/Recreation-Facilities/Manchester-Dog-Park
• Hudson Dog Park 19 Kimball Hill Road in Hudson hudsonnh.gov/bensonpark/page/dog-park
• Derry Dog Park Fordway, off Route 102 in Derry derrynh.org/animal-control/pages/derry-dog-park)
• Terril Dog Park 7 Manchester St. in Concord bringfido.com/attraction/902
Other Parks
• White Park 1 White St., Concord, 225-8690, concordnh.gov
• Livingston Park 244 Hooksett Road, Manchester, 624-6444, manchesternh.gov/parks
• Benson’s Park 19 Kimball Hall Road, Hudson, 886-6000, hudsonnh.gov/bensonpark
• Greeley Park Concord Street, Nashua, 589-3370, nashuanh.gov
• Mine Falls Park Whipple Street, Nashua, 589-3370, nashuanh.gov
Fable, Sam McKeon’s dog. Courtesy photo.
State parks
Day use fees for most state parks: adults, or those 12 or older, $4 to $5 depending on the park; ages 6 to 11 $2; free for those age 5 and younger and New Hampshire residents 65 or older with a valid NH license. Visit nhstateparks.org for rules about pets in specific parks (pets are prohibited seasonally at some parks and year-round at four state parks) and a list of parks and spots in the parks where pets are permitted. At all parks, animals must be leashed, owners must clean up any animal waste and animals can not be left unattened, the website said. Pets are prohibited at beaches and designated swim areas and picnic areas, pavilions and group use areas from May 1 to Sept. 30, the website said.
• Pawtuckaway State Park 128 Mountain Road, Nottingham, 895-3031. This park is always open for recreation unless closed or restricted by posting, according to their website.Dogs are prohibited at beaches, swim and picnic areas and the campground from May 1 to Sept. 30. Dogs are permitted on hiking trails through Reservation Road and Round Pond Road only, the website said.
• Bear Brook State Park 61 Deerfield Road, Allenstown, 485-9869. A majority of Bear Brook’s trails are impassable by bicycle or horse due to downed trees but cleanup is underway, according to their website. The fee for ages 12 to 17 is $2, according to their website.
• Wellington State Park 614 W. Shore Road, Bristol, 744-2197. When the park is unstaffed during the season, deposit payment in Iron Ranger (self-serve pay station), according to their website.
• Clough State Park 455 Clough Park Road, Weare, 529-7112. This park is always open for recreation unless closed or restricted by posting, according to their website.
If you were a dog, what would a great night out look like for you? Maybe watching a bunch of humans running around chasing a ball?
The Fisher Cats have that covered.
The New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Delta Dental Stadium, 1 Line Drive, Manchester) have expanded one of their most popular programs from last season, Waggin’ Wednesdays. Fans can bring their dogs to any home games that are played on Wednesday nights. Last year the club held three dog-friendly games during the season; this year it has opened the promotion up for the entire season.
Courtesy photo.
“We have a doggy ticket on our website that people can purchase,” front-office representative Andrew Marais said. “They just fill out a simple waiver saying, ‘I know I’m responsible for my dog.’ Marais said the dog-friendly games have been “1,000 percent successful.”
Marais said the Fisher Cats are following a growing trend in baseball.
“This has been done throughout not only minor league baseball but major league baseball too,” he said. “We definitely wanted to incorporate more of those too.” With the recent hot weather, fewer dogs have been showing up to Wednesday night games. “But we still see dogs,” Marais said. “But definitely in the early months, [and] in the latter months of the calendar season that we play, we see a good amount. I remember about a month ago, it seemed like we had like over 70 dogs.”
In addition to their tickets, dogs can expect other swag and amenities.
“We give a nice little treat bag,” Marais said, “…and obviously some relief bags too. We put some doggy bowls out across the concourse, [and] keep them filled. We sell pup cups in the ballpark too; just like the humans like a little ice cream, our dogs do, too. We always try to put those little nuances in there to make people and dogs feel great when they come to the ballpark.”
Waggin’ Wednesdays Dog tickets to Fisher Cats home games start at $10 and can be purchased on the Fisher Cats’ website. Waivers can be signed at the ballpark on the night of a game. The next Waggin’ Wednesday will be Wednesday, Aug. 21, at 6:35 p.m., when the Fisher Cats will play the Hartford Yard Goats.
According to New Hampshire Health Statute Title XLV: Animals, Chapter 466: Dogs and Cats, “No person shall bring any animal into any restaurant or any store that sells food; and no person shall allow any animal to enter in any store that sells food, except for service animals…. A restaurant owner may allow dogs in any outdoor dining area at his or her place of business.”
The statute goes on at some length defining terms like “service dog” and “patio,” but most of it discusses the legal dog requirements on the part of a restaurant. For a customer with a dog, it breaks down to this: You and your dog are allowed to dine at any restaurant with outside tables, provided the restaurant agrees, and you, your dog and the servers all behave yourselves.(For more information about service dogs and restaurants, consult the Governor’s Commission on Disability, 271-2773, disability.nh.gov, [email protected].)
The Rockingham Brewing Co. in Derry is about as dog-friendly as it can legally be. Ali Lelleszi is the owner.
“We often partner with Darbster Doggy,” she said, “for monthly dog adoption events where the dogs are outside on the patio. They usually bring four to six dogs that are all available for adoption. And we’ve had great success finding them homes with events like that.”
Lelleszi likes the idea of relaxing outside a restaurant with a dog but knows her dog Rennie well enough that she wouldn’t bring him to a restaurant patio.
Gus the Pug at Rockingham Brewery. Courtesy photo.
“I’m definitely pro-dog at a brewery,” she said. “Outside, you know, well-behaved, on a leash. I think those are two very, very important things. Not every dog can handle it. It’s unfortunate, but we would never put our dog in a situation where you set him up for failure. You have to know your dog’s limitations, and lots of dogs can be very, very well-behaved and respectful of other parties and other animals and children. And other dogs, you know, just don’t have those boundaries. So you just have to know your own dog’s strengths and play toward those. They can never ever be off leash; that’s probably a recipe for disaster.”
Ice cream stands that sell ice cream to customers through a window, generally to be eaten at outside tables or in customers’ cars, also generally welcome dogs. Many soft-serve places even sell a dog-sized mini-portion called a “pup cup.” (See the July 4 issue of the Hippo for a list of soft-serve spots.)
King Kone in Merrimack has a reputation for serving enormous portions of soft-serve ice cream. There are Small, Medium, and Large sizes there — a Large cone is topped with over a foot of ice cream — but there are smaller portions, too. At the bottom end there is a Baby size, followed by a Pup Cup.
Mikayla Plante is a shift leader at King Kone.
“The Pup Cup,” she said, “is usually vanilla ice cream with a dog bone, but you can also substitute the vanilla ice cream for whipped cream. It’s about the size of half a Baby [a Baby-sized portion — not half the size of an actual baby] so most people do order it for their dogs, but occasionally we will have someone order it for themselves and just remove the dog bone from it.” Because the weather has been so hot recently, she said, fewer customers have been bringing their dogs out for ice cream, but in an average week King Kone probably sells 30 Pup Cups.
“Usually people with smaller dogs request less ice cream,” she said, “because we do overfill them a little bit because we just love dogs so much. And all of our servings are kind of crazy.”
Leashes If the adventure takes place outside of a dog park, a leash and collar will most likely be necessary. Not all leashes are made the same.
“I’m sure every leash company thinks their leash can do everything, but unfortunately that’s not the case. It really depends on the level of experience your dog has walking,” said Samantha McKeon. And the needs of the dog may change over time.
“When I first started walk training with Fable we had a gentle lead. She doesn’t use that anymore because she’s much better with just your standard collar,” she said. “A gentle lead is basically a collar that goes over their snout. So if they pull it pushes their head down so if they’re pulling their head actually goes down so they learn not to pull. Gentle leads are really good for when you’re first starting to train your dog.”
Dog size is a factor in leash and collar selection. For Zoey, the Yorkiepoo, “I would never use just a standard collar with her. I only use a harness with her because she’s so tiny…. Well, the harness, it’s more evenly proportioned on her body. It’s more comfortable for her when she walks. It’s more secure,” McKeon said.
For her larger dog, it’s a different story: “With Fable I tend not to use harnesses because they’re really heavy, they’re really clunky and Fable backs out and she can come out of harnesses. As you’re walking your dog, their leash and collar leads may change. You have to see what are things they are doing well, what are things they can improve on, are they ready to take off the training wheels and go to a regular collar or do they still need that gentle lead?”
