Tag: 240919

Discover the Corn Maze Craze

Where to have fun on farms with a live action puzzle

By Zachary Lewis
zlewis@hippopress.com

In addition to filling totes with apples and picking out a pumpkin or two, at many farms you can extend your visit with a corn maze. These live-action puzzles offer an all-ages fall activity and another way for the farms to benefit from visitors during the harvest season.

At the Coppal House Farm in Lee, you’ll find a different design each year. “Every year our corn maze theme encompasses something that you would see in your own back yard, be it animal, plant, reptile, amphibian, or avian,” according to the farm’s website. “Our crops are rotated around the farm for the health of the soil, so our corn maze is a different experience every year. Depending on the weather, the corn maze has been planted by our Belgian Draft Horses and it is almost always harvested by them. Our corn is not of the human eating variety, instead it is a feed corn used for the nourishment of our sheep flock and our horses.”

At Elwood Orchards in Derry, they posted photos of green corn stalks in early July: “Corn maze construction is underway!” the post read, highlighting the multi-step process and long journey of turning corn to maze.

At Moulton Farm in Meredith, a post from fall 2023 also talks about starting the maze in the summer: “Our corn maze is planted every year in mid to late June, depending on the weather. The field is planted in both directions to create a grid. The maze is then designed by hand. ​An outline of the field is drawn on about 20 pieces of graph paper taped together. Each line on the graph paper represents 1 row of corn. Wes Thomas, who has worked at our farm since he was in high school, starts translating his design idea onto graph paper. This process alone takes one or two days and several erasers.”

At Beech Hill Farm and Ice Cream Barn in Hopkinton, the farm creates two unique corn mazes every fall. This 200-acre farm, under conservation and going back to 1771, is open every day until Thursday, Oct. 31, for corn maze fun until dusk. An admission price of $7 covers both mazes, and children 3 and under get in free.

Holly Kimball, one of the owners of the farm, is a former educator whose love of her family’s farm is apparent.

“This is a multigenerational farm, so we have the seventh, eighth and ninth generations running the farm,” Kimball said. Much of the farm is run and maintained by Holly as well as her son, Nate Kimball-Barr, and his wife, Hannah Kimball-Barr.

Besides corn mazes they have around 500 trees tapped for maple syrup, they raise pork, and there’s a menagerie of farm animals that include baby goats, sheep, lambs, peacocks, Shetland ponies and more.

“We have a wide array of farm animals that people love to visit,” Holly Kimball said. “Over 100 animals here, actually.” Beef cattle are a mainstay as well.

“We have a nice mixture of Black and Red Angus and then we have some Simmental blood mixed in there…. We were a dairy farm for 225 years, and the dairy cattle were sold in 1996. That’s when my parents decided to sell ice cream to keep the farm going,” she said.

Ice cream is as big a draw as the animals at Beech Hill, she noted. “So many times when I’m outside taking care of the plants I’ll hear people come and they’ll say, ‘Do you want to see the animals first or get the ice cream first?’”

As the weather begins to get cooler, fall becomes apparent. “We also grow acres of pumpkins so it won’t be long before we’ll start picking pumpkins and gourds … the barnyard is just a sea of orange once the pumpkins get ripe.”

The mazes opened on Aug. 1 this year, and although they start in the summer the mazes lead the farm into the new seasons.

Kimball’s background in teaching fuels each new maze theme.

“I want one that’s good for school-aged [visitors] and one that’s for everyone,” she said. “We come up with two fresh new themes each year and we come up with designs that complement the themes. I vary it each year so that the format is different. People can make it competitive or a team-building activity.”

These are not your typical mazes.

“I work on some kind of a scavenger hunt-style activity for each one,” she said. “That is hugely popular with people because they are not just walking through a maze. They actually have a piece of paper in their hand and they’re trying to solve a giant crossword puzzle or sometimes it’s a Jeopardy! game. I always try to have at least one that’s a game style.”

One of the themes this year is Museum Mixup.

“It’s based on the Smithsonian Museums that my family actually went and saw last January. I chose a lot of the artifacts that we saw from five different museums and then I turned that into a scavenger hunt where people need to find all of the items listed and match them to the museum that they are displayed in,” she said. These include the National Zoo, the American History museum and the Air and Space Museum. “It’s a lot of pop culture, things that are multi-generational and people will kind of get a kick out of.”

The concept is easy to follow, Kimball said. “What we do is we hide the signs in the maze, all throughout it, and if people can find all the items on the scavenger hunt list they know they’ve been through the entire maze.”

In honor of Hawaii’s 65 years as a state, the second maze is The Amazing Aloha State Maze. “That one’s a giant crossword puzzle. People really love the crossword puzzle. They’re finding signs in the maze that say one-across or 13-down, whatnot, and they fill in the puzzle as they go,” Kimball said.

Mazes have a little something for everyone.

“It appeals to all ages. The kids like to go in because they can spy all the signs and the older children that are reading, that becomes another level, and then the ones that want to do the crossword and check the answers as they go through, and some do it as a team, some as a family, it really makes for a fun fall outing for people,” she said.

Kimball is always figuring out new ways to maze.

“It’s always in the back of my mind. I do research. I look at every different angle…. It gets very tricky not to repeat,” she said.

How do Holly’s designs come to life? First is the planting.

“My son grows the fields, the acres of corn. He plants the corn very close together. It’s almost cross planted so it’s very dense, very close-growing stalks of corn in the field. We’re also using a hybrid corn that grows quickly and it grows tall,” she said. It has reached 10 feet.

The corn is not just for the mazes.

“First and foremost, we’re planting this corn anyway because we have 50 head of beef cattle here on the farm. That corn is 100-day corn that gets planted and it has nutritional value for our cows,” she said. “We have a lot of signs up that say, ‘Please don’t pick the corn,’ because that’s a food crop that is really essential for our farm.”

After agriculture comes the technology.

“Nate and his wife, Hannah, actually use Google Earth and a lot of math and figure out how to put that design and make it fit in the shape of that field,” Kimball said.

“The first step after that is the design. They draw out on graph paper, then they’re looking at Google Earth and they’re deciding which design is going to fit better on one piece rather than the other,” she said.

The shape of each plot is a deciding factor: “One is a little longer and thinner. The other one is a little more boxy, the acreage.”

The growth of the corn helps dictate when the structure gets crafted.

“There’s the old farmer’s saying, ‘knee high by the fourth of July’ — that’s when we start thinking about wanting to cut the corn because if you wait until the corn is eye level, it’s really, really hard to see where your next point is that you’re trying to go to,” Kimball said.

Farm engineering lends a hand as the maze is sculpted out of corn.

“They have to scale the dimensions of the design to the 4-acre plot. They use a GPS point finder and Nate is able to mow the path while his wife is standing and holding a surveyor stick,” she said. “He does an amazing job because his designs come out with a lot of symmetry and that is not easy to do. He’s done an octopus, he’s done a cow, a beehive, some Olympic medals, and it’s remarkable how precise he can be just using your own basic tools like an old beater lawn mower. You have to go over all the paths in the maze several times until it’s just dirt…. It’s very labor-intensive.”

How long is this path? “We do know that it takes 30 to 40 minutes to do each maze. That’s finding the signs, stopping, writing in the answer. People like that too because they don’t want to go in there and get really lost. You still can’t see over your head but the size is very doable.”

After Halloween the corn is siloed. “It will feed our cows all the way through the winter up until April. Not many people that have corn mazes actually do something with the corn, and ours go to the cows.”

How did the maze craze start? Kimball was with her father around 25 years ago in Vermont and saw either a brochure or bumper sticker that sparked the interest. “There’s a maze they call the Great Vermont Maze, and I said to my dad, ‘I think we can do that,’ and over the winter we tried to think of everything that would be involved and what we would have to do…. That’s what started it, a maze in Vermont.”

The belief in themselves has sparked a new tradition at this old farm, Kimball said: “We get a little better each year, I think.”

Where to corn maze

Here are some of the area corn mazes. Call before you go to make sure the maze is open that day as availability can change based on weather and other factors. Know of a maze not mentioned here? Let us know at adiaz@hippopress.com.

• Applecrest Farm Orchards (133 Exeter Road, Hampton Falls, 926-3721, applecrest.com) Hours: Daily, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Cost: $9 per person and free for ages 5 and under. This 8-acre corn field features a maze of twists and turns that typically remains open through Halloween or early November depending on weather conditions. Applecrest, which features pick your own apples, also hosts a fall festival every weekend through the end of October with live music, tractor rides and food for sale, according to the website. On Sunday, Oct. 20, it’s the annual Great Pumpkin Carve from noon to 4 p.m. when the master carver creates a many-hundred-pound jack-o’-lantern, the website said.

• Beans & Greens Farm (245 Intervale Road, Gilford, 293-2853, beansandgreensfarm.com) Hours: Daily, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; a night maze is offered Friday and Saturday from 7:30 to 10 p.m. with last entry at 9:15 p.m. Cost: $14 for adults and $10 for kids 9 and younger Monday through Friday. $16 for adults and $12 for kids 9 and under for Saturday and Sunday. The cost for the night maze is $24 according to their website; it is anticipated to open Friday, Sept. 20. On Saturday, Sept. 28, the Notch Biergarten by Beans & Greens Farm will hold its second annual Oktoberfest from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. (with activities such as a sausage toss at 1 p.m., chicken dance-off at 2 p.m., a beer stein holding contest at 3 p.m., a kids’ fun park and more) and a Harvest Festival on Saturday, Oct. 12, and Sunday, Oct. 13, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with live music, a kids’ fun park, candy cannon, craft fair, hayrides and more, according to the website.

• Beech Hill Farm and Ice Cream Barn (107 Beech Hill Road, Hopkinton, 223-0828, beechhillfarm.com) Hours: Daily, noon to dusk. Cost: $7 per person and free for kids ages 3 and under. Beech Hill Farm and Ice Cream Barn has two 4-acre corn mazes, and $7 gives you access to both. This year’s themes are “Museum Mixup” and “The Amazing Aloha State Maze,” and maze-goers search for signs with clues in a scavenger hunt style. Complete the puzzles to navigate through. The mazes are open daily through Oct. 31. In addition to the ice cream and homemade waffle cones, Beech Hill offers pumpkins, mums and more in its Gardner’s Barn. On Sunday, Sept. 22, from 1 to 4 p.m., author Matt Forrest Ensenwine will sign copies of his picture books; his new book Tractor Dance is for sale at the ice cream barn, according to the farm’s Facebook page.

• Brookdale Fruit Farm (41 Broad St., Hollis, 465-2240, brookdalefruitfarm.com) Hours: Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cost: $4 per person. The corn maze is among several family-friendly activities that will be available at Brookdale Fruit Farm this fall, along with hayrides and apple picking. The farm also features an ice cream stand and a wide variety of local products in its farm stand, including the farm’s own honey, canned vegetables and jellies and more, according to the website.

• Brookford Farm (250 West Road, Canterbury, brookfordfarm.com, 742-4084) Corn maze hours: Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission costs $8 for everyone 3 and over; free for kids 2 and under. This coming weekend, the farm’s pick-your-own offerings include raspberries and pumpkins, according to the website, where you can find the picking schedule through the end of October and purchase corn maze tickets. The weekend of Saturday, Oct. 12, through Monday, Oct. 14, is Pumpkins and Puppets, which will feature pumpkin picking, Wicked Witches of the Lakes Region (on Oct. 12 at 11 a.m.), marionettes (Oct. 14 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m), feed the pigs, cow parades, farm basketball, hayrides, puppet show, build your own scarecrow and more, according to the website, where you can purchase tickets for a day’s admission.

• Coppal House Farm (118 N. River Road, Lee, 659-3572, nhcornmaze.com) Hours: Monday, Thursday and Friday, noon to 5 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (last entrance is at 4:30 p.m.). Columbus Day hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cost: $10 for adults, $8 for kids ages 5 to 12 and for students, seniors and active military service members, and free for kids ages 4 and under. This year’s theme is the 2024 Anniversary Moose Corn Maze to celebrate 20 years of Coppal House Farm. There are also three nighttime maze dates that are open to the public, scheduled for Sept. 28, Oct. 12 and Oct. 26 (general admission is $15 per person; online ticketing only) — bring your own flashlight. The farm’s farm stand is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and offers meats, local maple syrup and more, according to the website. A Harvest Weekend celebration will be held Saturday, Sept. 21, and Sunday, Sept. 22, with events including horse-drawn wagon rides, fairy house building (Sept. 21 from 1 to 3 p.m.), acorn scarecrow building (Sept. 22 from 1 to 3 p.m.), wildlife encounters (Sept. 22 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.) and farm animals, according to the website. Catch live music both days and food will be for sale from Crescent City Kitchen, Refuge BBQ and Ken’s Corn, the website said.

• Elwood Orchards (54 Elwood Road, Londonderry, 434-6017, elwoodorchards.com) Hours: Daily, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (last entrance is at 5 p.m.) Cost: $12 per person and free for kids ages 5 and under. The 15-acre corn maze at this family-owned and -operated farm and orchard is open now and typically through the first weekend of November. In addition to pick-your-own apples, the orchard offers “delicious treats at the farm stand” and fall decorations, according to the website.

• J & F Farms (124 Chester Road, Derry, 437-0535, jandffarmsnh.com) Hours: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cost: $10 per person. The corn maze is Fall-themed in September and Halloween-themed in October at this longtime family-run farm and is open to the public now through the end of October. Also at the farm, you can visit and feed the animals at the petting farm and buy some fresh produce and honey, according to the website.

• Lavoie’s Farm (172 Nartoff Road, Hollis, 882-0072, lavoiesfarm.com) Hours: Daily, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Cost: Free. At the family-owned and -operated Lavoie’s Farm, visitors can traverse the 3-acre corn maze. Visitors in the fall “can … enjoy hay rides, a corn maze, a corn boil, and apple cider — all free with any produce purchase,” according to the website. Pinky’s Traveling Smokestack is expected to be selling barbecue at the farm on weekends in September and October, according to a Facebook post from the Farm.

• Mack’s Apples (230 Mammoth Road, Londonderry, macksapples.com, 432-3456) Corn maze is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Saturdays and Sundays Mack’s also has weekend Bee Train rides from noon to 5 p.m. and hayrides around the orchard from 1 to 5 p.m.

• Moulton Farm (18 Quarry Road, Meredith, moultonfarm.com, 279-3915) Corn maze hours: 8 a.m to 4 p.m. daily. The cost is $10 per person, $6 for ages 3 to 6, free for under 3, the website said. The corn maze opens for the season on Saturday, Sept. 21, which will also see the opening of pumpkin picking (which will run through Oct. 14), according to the website. Other events include a view of the baby goats (called “New ‘Kids’ On the Block”), horse drawn carriages and live music some weekends (starting Saturday, Sept. 28) and face painting from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12, through Monday, Oct. 14. The farm also features Sal’s Fresh Seafood Thursdays through Sundays; baked goods, salads, meals, soups, sandwiches and more for sale at the farm market; Cider Bellies cider doughnuts Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Moutlon’s Hay Wagon food truck Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sundays 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and fresh produce from Moulton’s and other farms in the market, according to the website.

• Riverview Farm (141 River Road, Plainfield, 298-8519, riverviewnh.com) Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Cost: $8 per person and free for kids ages 4 and under. Artist and illustrator Emily Zea comes up with new themes each year for Riverview Farm’s corn maze, and visitors this year will see monsters and folklore, a similar theme to last year but with a whole new path. The Farm Store is open through October, offering doughnuts, cider, jams, honey and more; visitors can bring a packed lunch to eat at the picnic tables on the lawn.

• Trombly Gardens (150 N. River Road, Milford, 673-0647, tromblygardens.net) Hours: Daily, from 9 a.m. to dusk. Cost: $9 per person and free for kids ages 3 and under. Bringing in a canned good will result in $1 off entry (one can per person) and the item will be donated to a local food bank. Visitors can also “grab an ice cream and visit the animals while you are here,” according to a recent Facebook post from the Gardens. Starting in October on Friday and Saturday there will be a night maze whose times vary based on the schedule of The Dark Woods (thedarkwoodsnh.com), which is a haunted trail on the other side of the farm, through Halloween.

• Washburn’s Windy Hill (orchard 66 Mason Road, Greenville, 878-2101, washburnswindyhillorchard.com) Hours: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Cost: $5 per person and free for kids ages 3 and under. The 5-acre corn maze at Washburn’s Windy Hill Orchard is open daily, rain or shine, through the end of October. Visitors can visit farm animals and browse the gift shop; there are picnic tables and a play area for children.

Featured Photos : A previous maze at Beech Hill Farm. Photo by Jody Reynolds.

Quality of Life 24/09/19

Good year for falcons

In a Sept. 1 blog post New Hampshire Audubon released the figures for New Hampshire’s peregrine falcon population’s 2024 breeding season: Statewide there were 28 territorial pairs, a new state-record high; there were 23 incubating pairs, down one from 2022’s record high, and 21 of those pairs successfully raised chicks, up 16 percent over 2023’s record high “This season also saw a record-high 50 young falcons fledge,” the post reported, “a conservation milestone that comes nearly 50 years after wildlife managers first started releasing captive-raised peregrine chicks at Owls Head and several other northern New England cliffs beginning in the mid-1970s.”

QOL Score: +1

Comment: NH Audubon reports that the weatherproof nest box near the top of the Brady Sullivan Tower in Manchester was successful for the 24th consecutive year: “It has produced 76 fledglings since 2001.”

Unbeleafably good year for foliage

In a Sept. 6 radio story and online article, New Hampshire Public Radio quoted Dave Anderson, Senior Director of Education at the Forest Society and co-host of Something Wild on NHPR: “I’m willing to go out on a limb here and say that this year’s fall foliage display could be the best that we’ve seen in the past decade,” Anderson said. In contrast to 2023, the weather in New Hampshire has been excellent for healthy trees and bright foliage. The NHPR story explained that leaves on different species of trees change color at different times throughout the fall, so we can expect waves of color over the next month or so.

QOL Score: +1

Comment: According to Anderson, “Orange and yellow have been there all along, you just didn’t see it. It was masked beneath the green chlorophyll in the leaves all summer.”

Leaf sleeping bears alone

WMUR aired footage on Thursday, Sept. 12, sent in by a viewer of a family of bears asleep in the limbs of a tree in Merrimack. The mother bear and two cubs spent the morning in the tree, from “at least 7 a.m. to just after noon,” according to the accompanying online article.

QOL Score: +1, for the peaceful nap

Comment: In a telephone interview with the Hippo, Daniel Bailey of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department said that regardless of how appealing animals like these bears are, people should leave them alone. “With bears, or any wildlife, it’s best to appreciate them from a distance,” he said. “They aren’t inherently dangerous, but they are always unpredictable.”

Three NH veterans take an “Honor Flight” to Washington

WMUR reported in a Sept. 16 online story that three World War II veterans from New Hampshire were flown to Washington, D.C., on Sunday, Sept. 15. “The three veterans are all between the ages of 100 and 101,” the story read. According to its website, Honor Flight New England (193 Londonderry Turnpike, Unit 4, Hooksett, 518-5368, honorflightnewengland.org), the organization responsible for this trip, “is a nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring America’s most senior veterans.” This week’s Honor Flight honorees will stay in Washington for eight days.

QOL Score: +1

Comment: According to WMUR, this was Honor Flight New England’s 67th flight.

QOL score last week: 81

Net change: +4

QOL this week: 85

Tell us what’s affecting your Quality of Life at adiaz@hippopress.com.

Near miss for Pats

The Big Story: So much for hopes of an undefeated season as the Patriots went down in a 23-20 OT loss to surprising Seattle on Sunday. The Pats’ limitations (the wide receivers had three catches for 19 yards) and strengths (defense) were on display for most of the day. Though when they needed stops at the end of regulation and OT Geno Smith drove the Seahawks downfield for the tying and winning FGs.

In a quick turnaround the Jets are up next for the 1-1 Pats tonight on Thursday Night Football.

Sports 101: Aaron Judge has reached the 50 home run mark for a third season. Name the four others in MLB history to do that.

News Item – Looking Bleak for the Red Sox: After losing three of four to the Yanks over the weekend the end is in sight. At 75-75, they trailed three teams for the final wild card spot as the week started, 4.5 games back with 12 to play.

The weekend’s lowlight was Alex Cora doing something even Grady Little wouldn’t do. That is loading the bases by intentionally walking Juan Soto on Friday to bring major league home run leader Aaron Judge to the plate to face a lefty in a one-run game. I know — WHAT??

Predictably Judge deposited one in the left field bleachers for a grand slam to give the Yanks a 5-4 lead and the game.

News Item – Historic Stat Watch Update: That slam by Judge was No. 52, and 53 came on Sunday. That gave him a 10+ lead in the home run race, and with an even wider lead in RBI he’s going to win 2/3 of the triple crown for sure. And the whole TC is possible too, but he needs to make up 10 points in the batting average, at .322, to reach leader Bobby Witt at .332, which is a big gap at this time of year.

Shohei Ohtani started the week needing just two steals and three homers to reach the 50-50 club.

And finally, gulp, at 17-3 with 219 K’s and a 2.35 ERA Chris Sale leads in all three categories for the NL pitching triple crown.

The Numbers:

4.78 – ERAfor Tanner Houck in his nine starts since the All-Star game as he’s lost all four of his decisions.

5 – first downs made by Pats tight end Hunter Henry on all five balls thrown to him in the first quarter Sunday.

… Of the Week Awards

Thumbs Up – Joe Castiglione: The Red Sox radio voice announced on Sunday he’ll hang it up at year’s end after 42 years on the job and 6,500 broadcasts. Congrats on a job well done, young fella.

Clutch Moment of the Week – Francisco Lindor: The Mets shortstop enhanced his MVP candidacy by breaking up Bowdon Francis’ no-hit bid in the ninth inning to spark a comeback rally that gave the rampaging Mets a shocking 6-2 win over Toronto to keep their wild card playoff hopes alive.

A Little History – No-Hitter Break-ups: Incidentally, Francis is the first guy to lose two no-hitters in the ninth inning in the same season since — who else? — Nolan Ryan in 1989. Everyone knows about Ryan’s amazing seven no-no’s, but he narrowly missed 12 more by throwing that many one-hitters.

Random Thoughts:

It was way too early for analyst Jonathan Vilma to say just four plays into Seattle’s second possession, “so far Christian Gonzalez is getting the better of DK Metcalf,” and two plays later Metcalf caught a 56-yard TD pass with CG 15 yards behind him as the ball arrived. And by game’s end it was 10 catches for 129 yards overall.

Nice of the Lakers to honor the late Jerry West this coming year with a uniform patch with his number 44 on it. Though given the irreparable broken relationship between the team and West in recent years when his season tickets were rescinded, it must seem a little hollow to those in the know.

Sports 101 Answer: Babe Ruth, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa hit 50-plus homers in four seasons while Alex Rodriguez did it three times.

Final Thought – Whiny America Strikes Again:

Now that the Chiefs are football’s best team they’re getting the same whining over their wins that the Brady-Belichick Pats did in theirs during the good old days. I understand the frustration that comes from losing to a team that always pulls it out at the end. But the receiver’s foot was on the end line for the negated Ravens TD that saved KC in Week 1 and it was definitely interference on the fourth-and-forever play that set up the winning FG vs. the Bengals on Sunday.

I don’t know if all the whining in today’s lunatic political climate over imagined biases migrated to sports, or if sports whining sent politics that way. I just know I’m sick of both. As sometimes your guy/team loses because they just didn’t do enough to win.

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

Burns on Da Vinci

Ken Burns looks at Leonardo Da Vinci for his latest documentary


Ken Burns lives in Walpole and is an American filmmaker who is well-known for his documentary films and television series on a wide variety of topics ranging from baseball to jazz, from the Roosevelts to the Vietnam War, and much more. His latest, Inside The Mind Of A Genius: Leonardo Da Vinci, a film made by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon, is a two-part four-hour documentary that will air on PBS on Monday, Nov. 18, and Tuesday, Nov. 19, from 8 to 10 p.m. ET. Check local listings and visit pbs.org or kenburns.com.

Theatre Kapow will be starting its 17th season with Life Sucks, a play described as a “brash and revelatory reworking of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya.” The show will run Friday, Sept. 20, and Saturday, Sept. 21, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 22, at 2 p.m. at the Bank of NH Stage (16 S. Main St., Concord, ccanh.com). The Hippo spoke with Director Matthew Cahoon and Managing Director Carey Cahoon about the upcoming performance and season. Visit tkapow.com.

Your work is typically focused on American themes, so was there any particular reason to make a film on Leonardo da Vinci?

No, I mean, you’re absolutely right. Everything I’ve done for the last 45, 50 years has been in American history. I was working on a film on Benjamin Franklin and I was having dinner with an old friend, Walter Isaacson of the Aspen Institute — then of the Aspen Institute — who happened to be a biographer of Franklin. We’d already interviewed him, and he was terrific for that film. But he had also written a biography of Leonardo. And he spent most of dinner trying to push me into doing Leonardo. And I said, ‘No, I do American stuff.’ And he said, ‘But they’re both scientists and artists and all of this.’ I finally laughed and I happened to be talking to one of my producing teams, and that is led by my daughter, Sarah, and her husband, David McMahon. I said, “but Walter was pushing this, doing Leonardo,” and they said, “We should do Leonardo.” I called Walter the next day and I said, I think there’s people who want to do Leonardo. So I was sort of backed into it, but it was wonderful. Sarah and Dave moved with my two oldest grandchildren to Florence for a year from ’22 to ’23, did all the stuff and we’ve really broken new ground with our kind of visual grammar for this film to help bring alive this person who’s so central to who we are as human beings.

How does film as a medium, as well as the new visual effects, affect the story that you’re able to tell?

Well, I’m working right now, and have been for years and years, on a big history of the American Revolution, which is incredibly challenging because there are no photographs or newsreels. So you’re calibrating new different things. This is a guy who lived in the 1400s and the early 1500s. There are no photographs either. So what we ended up doing is realizing that he was so modern, he was so far thinking, that we could just split the screen, quadruple the screen, have nine panels. We could have modern footage, anticipating the things that he would invent. We could just throw in things and we could have a different kind of soundtrack that would do it. The composer, Caroline Shaw, is the single composer of the entire track, and we don’t usually have that. We usually have multiple different things going on. So it’s kind of exciting and new for us, and at the same time is most definitely one of our films and the style is the same…

Was there anything that you all discovered that you didn’t know about?

Oh, God, everything. We never make films about stuff we know about. That would be … we’d be telling you what you should know. Rather, we’re sharing with you the process of discovery. Everything is amazing. This is a born-out-of-wedlock gay man who is arguably the greatest painter in existence, who has fewer than 20 paintings. Half of them are incomplete. He has thousands of pages of notebooks. He is, as the greatest scientist of his age, without a doubt, prefiguring Galileo and Newton and Einstein. He’s investigating the nature of flight. He’s inventing machines. He does the first, we think, the first landscape in all of Western art. He does the first experimental painting in Western art. He does the first overhead view without the benefit of being up there. He’s just a capacious mind that’s restless. He doesn’t have a microscope. He doesn’t have a telescope. But what he sees with his eye, stuff people are verifying 500 years later. He did experiments on a cow’s heart using silk and grass seed and water to see how the ventricles might work. It wasn’t proven right until we had MRIs in the 1970s.

Was it that he just innately knows certain things?

Not innately. I think it’s all about this curiosity, this sort of demanding of the universe to give up its secrets.

Was there anything you think that he didn’t get to accomplish, that he was trying to do?

Well, you know, he abandoned a lot of paintings, even commissioned paintings, because he just sort of felt like he’d explored all the things he needed to explore, and yet is restless. I think he was always trying to learn how to square the circle, which is that ancient mythological concept.

What would you say to someone who doesn’t know a lot about the Renaissance to get them interested in Leonardo da Vinci?

Well, I think all you have to do is watch the film.

He’s lived such a compelling life. Let me put it in another way. This is a two-part, four-hour film, not that long by binging standards. … You’ll know exactly why [the Mona Lisa] looks the way she looks. And that is one of the great secrets of the universe, which is what he is getting at, this profoundly deep inquiry into the meaning of all of this stuff. Why I’m here, why you’re here, what our purpose is, where we came from, where we might be going, and how things work, you know, in a practical way, he’s an inventor and it’s just wonderful to get to know him.

What are the similarities between Benjamin Franklin and Leonardo Da Vinci?

Ben Franklin is the greatest scientist of the 18th century, he’s certainly the most famous American in the world. He’s also a great artist with his pen, his words, his humor. Leonardo’s a great artist, he’s a great scientist, he’s a great inventor, so there’s lots of similarities. And yet, Leonardo doesn’t tower over him, it’s apples and oranges, and we don’t need to make comparisons but he [Franklin] is so remarkable. Flying a kite and getting an electrical charge to come down the string to a key is a big deal. The Mona Lisa and a half a dozen other paintings are way bigger deals. As are most of the experiments he made about anatomy. First person to really dissect a brain and a skull. I mean, he just did it all. It’s unbelievable.

Was Leonardo received in the same way during his time as he is now? Did people during the Renaissance know how big a deal he was?

I can say he knew that he was without peer, but he published nothing in his lifetime. So all of those images, you know, were discovered later on. All of a sudden they realized he knew everything.

—Zachary Lewis

Featured image: Courtesy photo.

News & Notes 24/09/19

New library

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on Sept. 12 for a $6 million library project that will replace Mont Vernon’s Daland Memorial Library with a larger, modern, accessible structure, according to a press release from the Mont Vernon Library Charitable Foundation.

The new library is expected to be completed in the fall of 2025 and is a “public/private partnership with financial support provided by a bond and capital reserve fund approved by taxpayers, a significant gift from the Sophia G. Daland Trust and a successful capital campaign conducted by MVLCF,” the release said. The current building was built in 1909; the new building will allow for a “significant expansion of the library’s collection” as well as offer “space, technology and accessibility to allow library staff and visiting presenters to offer high-quality programming for area residents,” the release said. For more on the project, see mvlcf.org.

Daland Memorial Library produces the Tiny Town Library Podcast, which offers monthly episodes with town news, community updates, book recommendations and guest interviews, according to the description on Apple Podcasts. The most recent episode includes an interview with “special guest Howard Brown, beloved school bus driver,” according to the library’s website, dalandlibrary.com.

Driving for all

The New Hampshire Department of Education’s Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation has acquired an adaptive driving van to help individuals with disabilities gain access to adaptive driving training, according to a press release. The department acquired its 2021 Chrysler Pacifica wheelchair-accessible van and handicap vehicle from MobilityWorks in Londonderry, the release said.

“The addition of this high-tech adaptive driving van represents a major milestone in our commitment to supporting Granite Staters with disabilities,” said Frank Edelblut, education commissioner, in the press release. “We understand how important it is for teens and young adults living with disabilities to learn how to drive and achieve another step toward independence.”

The department is seeking a qualified Certified Driver Rehabilitation Specialist to oversee the vehicle and provide the specialized training, the release said.

Manchester bike tour

The nonprofit Queen City Bicycle Collective hosts the 2024 Tour of Manchester on Sunday, Sept. 22. Join the 30-mile family-friendly ride around the city, from 8 a.m. to noon, or just the 8-mile West Side loop with its views of the city from Rock Rimmon and the Hands Across the Merrimack footbridge, which starts at 10 a.m. There’s also a 22-mile option. Bicyclists receive lunch and a commemorative T-shirt, and proceeds from the ride help QCBC continue its affordable bike repair offerings and its Earn-a-Bike program. Registration is $55 for ages 14 and older, $20 for ages 6-13, free for those under 6 years old. Ages 13 and younger must be accompanied by an adult rider. The tour offers rest stops, bike support, and lunch at the end of the ride, according to the website. Visit qcbike.org to sign up and see some nifty video from previous rides.

Always next year

The New Hampshire Fisher Cats concluded their 2024 season with a loss to the Somerset Patriots on Sunday, Sept. 15, who took the Eastern League Northeast Division second half title, with the Fisher Cats finishing the season in sixth place in the Northeast Division, according to a Fisher Cats release. But season tickets are already on sale for the 2025 season, which kicks off on Friday, April 4, at Delta Dental Stadium with a matchup against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, the release said. See nhfishercats.com.

Staying warm

The United Way of Greater Nashua is holding a “Button Up Workshop” as part of their monthly “Coffee and Causes” series on Friday, Oct. 4, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Amherst Town Library, 14 Main St. in Amherst, according to press release. Presentations by Andy Duncan, energy trainer, and Tim McDonald, weatherization director from Southern NH Services, will focus on explaining how to improve a house’s energy efficiency, weatherization programs, available rebates on gas and electric appliances and more, the release said. The presentation is followed by a Q&A; register at tinyurl.com/Oct2024-Coffee and email info@unitedwaynashua.org for more information.

Healthy lakes

NH Lakes, a statewide nonprofit organization whose mission is to “restore and preserve the health of New Hampshire’s lakes,” is urging homeowners to get their septic systems inspected for Septic Smart Week, which runs through Sept. 20, according to a press release. Problems in septic systems can “lead to nutrients and bacteria seeping into groundwater and finding their way into our lakes, causing potentially toxic cyanobacteria blooms,” the release said. The release said a licensed professional should inspect an entire system once every three years, in addition to regular pumping of septic tanks based on type of system and usage. See nhlakes.org.

Woodworking

The second annual New England Woodworking Competition will be held Saturday, Nov. 2, at University of New Hampshire in Durham, with both amateur and professional woodworkers encouraged to enter, according to a press release from the Guild of NH Woodworkers, which is organizing the event in association with the university and the New Hampshire Furniture Masters. The deadline to enter is Friday, Oct. 18, up to two pieces per woodworker allowed for judging, according to the press release and the rules for entry at gnhw.org. The cost is $60 for the first piece, $30 for the second piece for non-members, with no charge for students (of middle or high school, college or technical school) who enter (students are limited to one entry), the website and release said. Judges will evaluate the entries in 11 categories relative to ability and experience, the release said.

Many of the submissions will be for sale, the press release said. Admission is $22 in advance, $25 at the door, and includes complimentary hors d’oeuvres and an awards program, the release said.

Eclipse art exhibit

The Museum of the White Mountains at Plymouth State University will open a new exhibition, “In the Path of Totality,” about the April 2024 solar eclipse, on Friday, Oct. 4, from 3 to 5 p.m., according to a press release. The exhibition will feature more than 20 art pieces in a variety of media as well as weather data gathered by students and faculty who participated in NASA-funded eclipse research, the release said. The museum is located at 34 Highland St. in Plymouth and is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (closed Mondays, Sundays and university holidays), according to plymouth.edu/mwm. The exhibition is free and open to the public Saturday, Oct. 5, through Friday, Dec. 13, the release said.

BioBlitz!

BioBlitz, the annual dawn-to-dusk biological survey of Odiorne State Park in Rye, will take place Saturday, Sept. 21, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., according to the website and a press release for the Seacoast Science Center. Come for all or part of the day; admission costs $17 for ages 12+, $15 for ages 3 to 11 and senior and military, according to seacoastsciencecenter.org, where you can sign up. Explore the park with the center’s experts as well as guest experts, the release said. “In 2023, we found a total of 426 species, 34 of which were new to our list! That brings the total number of species identified since our first BioBlitz in 2003 to 2,388,” according to the website, where you can find an exploration schedule.

UNH Wildcats women’s basketball team, under first-year head coach Megan Shoniker, has released its 2024-2025 game schedule, with the first home game at Lundholm Gymnasium at UNH Durham versus Worcester State University on Monday, Nov. 4, according to a press release. See unhwildcats.com for the full schedule and to purchase tickets; single game tickets to women’s basketball games at UNH are $12 in advance ($14 on the day) for general admission and $10 in advance ($12 on the day) for youth and seniors. Single game courtside tickets are $17 in advance, $19 on the day. Wildcats men’s basketball will play their first home game on Wednesday, Nov. 6, against UMass Boston.

Franco-American Centre will hold a black-tie-optional Beaujolais Nouveau Gala dinner and dance on Saturday, Nov. 23, from 6 to 10 p.m. to celebrate the release of the 2024 Beaujolais in France. The three-course meal, with optional wine pairing with each course, will be at Oscar Barn Wedding Venue, 191 W. River Road in Hooksett. Tickets cost $115 ($90 without wine) for non-members. See facnh.com.

Tickets are on sale now for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra appearance on Friday, Nov. 29, at the SNHU Arena in downtown Manchester. The shows are at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $59.99 to $119.99, according to snhuarena.com.

NH Roller Derby will hold a Charity & Community Yard Sale on Saturday, Sept. 28, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 57 Joppa Road in Merrimack. According to the group’s Facebook page, there will be a large variety of items for sale including a “cappuccino maker, kids’ toys, stained glass, shoes, beach gear” and more.

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