Entering its eighth season, Labrie Family Skate at Puddle Dock Pond is now open at Strawbery Banke Museum, one of more than 15 museums located on the New Hampshire Heritage Museum Trail.
“After a successful 2020-21 season providing safe outdoor recreation, the Museum is looking forward to another highly anticipated skating season,” said Lawrence J. Yerdon, President and CEO.
In addition to daily public skating, Labrie Family Skate at Puddle Dock Pond offers skate lessons, adaptive ice time for those with physical challenges, pop-up performances, rink rentals, and more.
Located in Portsmouth, NH, Strawbery Banke Museum is a 10-acre history museum interpreting over 300 years of history—from Indigenous history to the present day—through historical houses on their original foundations, heirloom gardens, traditional crafts, and costumed roleplayers who share the stories of the families who lived in the authentic waterfront neighborhood of Puddle Dock. To learn more about Strawbery Banke Museum, or Labrie Family Skate at Puddle Dock Pond, visit strawberybanke.org.
On Saturday, December 18 at 12:00 p.m., Albacore Park in Portsmouth will participate in National Wreaths Across America Day, which remembers and honors veterans and their families. Albacore Park is one of more than 2,500 participating cemeteries and sites.
National Wreaths Across America Day at Albacore Park in Portsmouth
“At Albacore Park, 27 wreaths were placed in 2020, and we hope for more this year,” said Executive Director Patricia Violette, who noted this year’s event theme is “Live up to their legacy.” “We urge everyone to look to the people and the families that have made these sacrifices to keep this country free and live up to their legacy.”
Free to everyone, National Wreaths Across America Day is Saturday, December 18. For more information on how to volunteer locally or sponsor a wreath for a hero, visit wreathsacrossamerica.org/NHAPPS.
Albacore Park is the formal site for the USS Albacore Submarine and museum and home of the Portsmouth Submarine Memorial Association. To learn more, visit ussalbacore.org.
Formed in 2014 to share resources and better promote their respective collections, programs and events, the New Hampshire Heritage Museum Trail includes members in Canterbury, Concord, Dover, Exeter, Laconia, Loudon, Manchester, Moultonborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Tamworth, and Wolfeboro.
With 17 museums from Portsmouth to Plymouth and several points north and west, the NH Heritage Museum Trail features two unique events on Saturday, October 26.
Canterbury Shaker Village At Canterbury Shaker Village in Canterbury from 3pm to 8pm, guests will be treated to traditional music performed by a variety of artists and groups and food from local Canterbury food and drink vendors. Musicians expected to perform include High Range Band, Liz Faiella with Lindsay Straw, The Wholly Rollers, Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki Trio, Jim Prendergast with Hanz Araki and others. Food and drink vendors will include a seasonal selection from the Village’s own Creamery Café and Canterbury Aleworks.
“It is a wonderful outdoor event, marked by beautiful fall foliage and perfect for the entire family,” said Maggie Stier, interim executive director.
The Canterbury Shakers composed over 10,000 pieces of music at the Village and there will be special programming throughout the evening highlighting some of their work as well as a program showcasing the newly restored 1887 Hook & Hastings pipe organ in the Chapel of the Dwelling House.
Canterbury Shaker Village is a non-profit museum and historic site located 12 miles north of Concord, NH. It features 25 historic buildings, 700 conserved acres of fields, orchards, and gardens, and offers easy walking trails that encircle several ponds on the property. For more information about this event and to purchase tickets, visit shakers.org.
American Independence Museum In Exeter, the American Independence Museum (AIM) will host Ghosts of Folsom Tavern and Winter Street Cemetery Tour beginning at 3 pm with cemetery tours every half hour from 4-5:30pm. At this family-friendly event, Colonel and Mrs. Folsom invite guests to join them in their historic tavern to celebrate the waning light and autumn season.
“You will meet the Folsom family, tour their historic tavern and hear how they once hosted George Washington while enjoying seasonal refreshments,” said museum Executive Director Emma Stratton.
Afterwards, guests will make their way to Winter Street Cemetery to meet their colonial tour guide and see the Folsoms’ final resting place and gravesites of many of Exeter’s (in)famous and revolutionary residents.
Home to a world-class collection of 3,000 historic artifacts, AIM welcomes more than 5,000 visitors annually and distinguishes itself with educational school programs and events that make history fun and relevant. To learn more about the event, or to purchase tickets (which include tours), visit independencemuseum.org.
About The Trail
Comprised of 17 museums, the NH Heritage Museum Trail is divided into the Seacoast, Merrimack Valley and Lakes Regions with stops in Canterbury, Concord, Dover, Exeter, Laconia, Manchester, Moultonborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Tamworth, and Wolfeboro.
Featuring 17 member institutions from Portsmouth to Plymouth and several points west and north, the NH Heritage Museum Trail features numerous events for all ages in early August.
On Saturday, August 3 in Exeter, American Independence Museum will express its appreciation for residents in SAU 16 with Free Admission Day. Sponsored by Kennebunk Savings, the day will provide free admission to residents who live in the towns of Exeter, Brentwood, Kingston, Newfields, and Stratham as well as town employees, including teachers, with valid ID.
“We are so grateful for the support of Kennebunk Savings,” said Museum Executive Director Emma Bray. “This is a wonderful opportunity for people of all ages to visit us and see all the new enhancements in our museum.”
For individuals who may live closer to the state’s center, Saturday August 3 features Changemakers, a dance performance that concludes Arts Week at Canterbury Shaker Village in Canterbury. Arts Week is a two-week long event that engages visitors of all ages in the creative process.
“We will have dance, art, sculpture, even a performance by aerialists,” noted Maggie Stier of Canterbury Shaker Village, “and children get free admission from 10 – 4 on August 3rd for Shaker Saturday activities.”
A dance collaboration between Ballet Misha and Nsquared, Changemakers takes place at Canterbury Shaker Village’s Education Center at 5:30 p.m. Advance ticket purchases are strongly recommended.
On Wednesday, August 7, The Libby Museum in Wolfeboro will hold its final Live Animal Show.
According to Executive Director Alana Albee, Live Animal Shows are one of the “most popular” events at the museum.”
“It’s a chance to learn and get up close to exotic and local animals,” she said. “Our first event this summer included a 6 foot Australian Python, an African Frog and a distant relative to the raccoon, a Guatamuny.”
Held in partnership with Wildlife Encounters, the free event begins at 2 p.m.
For more information about these events or the many others on the NH Heritage Museum Trail, visit the website.
Comprised of 17 museums, the NH Heritage Museum Trail is divided into the Seacoast, Merrimack Valley and Lakes Regions with stops in Canterbury, Concord, Dover, Exeter, Laconia, Manchester, Moultonborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Tamworth, and Wolfeboro.
With all museums now open for 2016 on the NH Heritage Trail, which extends from Portsmouth to Plymouth and several points west and north, visitors have no shortage of choices for entertainment in June.
Special events At Nashua Jet Aviation in Nashua on Saturday, June 11, Londonderry”s Aviation Museum of NH will host a BBQ and Fly-In. Much more than a fly-in, though, visitors are encouraged to bring their antique car, motorcycle, railroad car or other mode of transportation. To learn more, visit www.aviationmuseumofnh.org.
In Moultonborough at Castle in the Clouds, stargazing and a murder mystery dinner theater will take center stage in late June. On Thursday, June 28, experts from the New Hampshire Astronomical Society will first explain the wonders of the night sky after which visitors will take a trolley up to Historic Lucknow to see the stars, constellations, planets and more.
On June 29 and 30, Castle in the Clouds will welcome Get-A-Clue Productions for their eighth performance where visitors can experience a sixties beach party complete with a picnic, a volleyball game and “murderous intentions.” Costumes are optional. This event is sponsored by Pine State Beverage Co. For more information, visit www.castleintheclouds.org.
In Exeter, craft beer, live music and local food will take center stage at the second Beer for History event at the American Independence Museum”s Folsom Tavern. Sponsored by Hoefle Phoenix Gormley & Roberts, P.A. Attorneys at Law of Portsmouth, the event will feature various regional brewers, including Neighborhood Beer Co. of Exeter and D.L. Geary Brewing Company of Portland, Maine. To learn more, visit www.independencemuseum.org.
At Remick Country Doctor Museum & Farm in Tamworth Village, New Hampshire residents can take advantage of a full day of free activities on Saturday, June 18. Activities will include tours, demonstrations, historic crafts, animal meet and greets, and more. Visit www.remickmuseum.org for more information.
Educational talks At the New Hampshire Boat Museum in Wolfeboro on June 23, well-known Lake Winnipesaukee diver Hans Hug, Jr. will kick off their summer lecture series with a talk on interesting shipwrecks he has encountered on the lake and their history. The event is free of charge. For more information, visit www.nhbm.org. People are also encouraged to make a reservation in advance by calling the museum at (603) 569-4554.
Hug Jr. will also present on the same subject at the Lake Winnipesauke Museum in Laconia at 11 am on Saturday, June 25. His presentation will be followed by Author and Photographer Ron Guilmette on Wednesday, June 29, as he will discuss his paddling adventures to all 260 islands on Lake Winnipesaukee, which he chronicles in his new book, “The Islands of Winnipesaukee.” Learn more at www.lwhs.us.
On Wednesday, June 22 at 4:30 pm in Plymouth at the Museum of the White Mountains (MWM), Lindsey Rustad, Research Ecologist with the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, will discuss her latest research on climate change and the Northern Forest. Her presentation, entitled “Changing climate, Changing forests: linking global and local perspectives on how a changing climate sculpts forests of New Hampshire,” relates to the exhibit, “Forecasting: Climate Change and Water Impact,” which opens in January of 2017. For more information, visit www.plymouth.edu/museum-of-the-white-mountains.
Museums on the Trail include the Aviation Museum, Albacore Park, American Independence Museum, Castle in the Clouds, Lake Winnipesaukee Museum, Libby Museum, Millyard Museum, Museum of the White Mountains, New Hampshire Boat Museum, New Hampshire Farm Museum, Portsmouth Historical Society @ Discover Portsmouth, Remick Country Doctor Museum & Farm, The Belknap Mill, Woodman Museum, and Wright Museum of WWII.
