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.
Aside from special programs, exhibits, virtual and in-person tours, the New Hampshire Heritage Museum Trail often features special events that provide visitors with unique experiences.
On Wednesday, August 25, Castle in the Clouds in Moultonborough will take people back 100 years to the 1920s for a night of Gatsby-era music, dancing and fun to support restoration of the historic Lucknow estate. In addition to live music, the event will feature a buffet dinner and a live auction, which includes eight unique Castle experiences.
“People often express that when they visit the Castle and grounds, they feel like they could live here,” said Executive Director Charles Clark. “Offering opportunities to experience more private moments at Castle in the Clouds gives auction winners a taste of what it was like living here and the lifestyle that Tom and Olive Plant enjoyed in the early-to-mid 1900s.”
To purchase tickets, or learn more about the auction (and experiences) or museum, click here.
On Saturday, September 11, Strawbery Banke will host its largest fundraiser, Vintage & Vine, returning for the 33rd year. Taking place outdoors throughout the Museum’s 10-acre site, heirloom gardens, and historic landscapes, the event features an extensive selection of fine wines and imaginative cuisine prepared by Greater Seacoast-area top chefs and caterers.
“Acknowledging that this year’s event falls on September 11 and the enormous challenges of the pandemic, we are offering First Responders who purchase tickets and attend this event a complimentary individual one-year membership,” said Robyn Aldo, Vintage & Vine Event Chair and Strawbery Banke Trustee. “Existing members will get a three month extension.”
Featuring a mini-wine auction and raffle, the event is also a kick-off for the Vintage & Vine Online Auction, which runs through October 10 and includes home goods, great escapes, beauty products, health and fitness packages, and more.
To purchase tickets, or to learn more, click here.
Formed in 2014 as a way to share resources and better promote their respective collections, programs and events, The NH Heritage Museum Trail is divided into the Seacoast, Merrimack Valley and Lakes Region. Member institutions are located in Canterbury, Concord, Dover, Exeter, Laconia, Loudon, Manchester, Moultonborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Tamworth and Wolfeboro.
This summer on the New Hampshire Heritage Museum Trail, many museums feature live music.
At the Woodman Museum in Dover, their Summer Concert Series continues through the first week in August. On Sunday, July 25, Great Bay Sailor will perform an extensive repertoire of maritime, Irish/Scottish, British, and old-timey music. On Saturday, July 31, the series welcomes Reverend Todd Seely, whose musical talents draw from Americana, country, bluegrass, gospel, rock and roll, and punk rock. Comprised of key brass players from the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra, the Portsmouth Brass Quintet will perform on Saturday, August 7.
Reverend Todd Seely performs at the Woodman Museum
Part of their Concerts in the Clouds series, Castle in the Clouds in Moultonborough will host Classic Albums Live, who will perform The Eagles’ Hotel California, on Saturday, July 31. To learn more, click here.
Classic Albums Live to perform at Castle in the Clouds
Held from June 22 – September 14, Strawbery Banke’s Tuesdays on the Terrace will welcome the Chuck Walker Trio on Saturday, August 3. Blending a classic mix of jazz, blues, and soulful grooves, the Chuck Walker Trio celebrates the music of Django Reinhardt, Miles Davis, Antonio Carlos Jobim, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, and others.
To learn more about the series or Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth, click here.
Formed in 2014, the NH Heritage Museum Trail features member institutions in Canterbury, Concord, Dover, Exeter, Laconia, Loudon, Manchester, Moultonborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Tamworth, and Wolfeboro.
For many museums on the NH Heritage Museum Trail in the Seacoast Region, July marks the beginning of an eagerly anticipated 2020 season.
Portsmouth Historical Society
On July 10, Portsmouth Historical Society (PHS) will reopen its Welcome Center and Gift Shop and feature two new walking tours (groups of 6 or less).
Offered every Sat at 3:30 through July, “The Portsmouth Path of President Washington” will be led by walking tour guide Jeff Thomson. One of the stops along the way is the Tobias Lear House. “Tobias Lear was President Washington’s personal secretary,” said PHS’s Robin Lurie-Meyerkopf. “Since many folks may not know that George Washington spent time on the Seacoast in 1789, we thought this would be an interesting addition to our walking tour line up.”
Offered every Sunday at 3:30 through July, “Gay” Old Times: Stories of Portsmouth’s LGBTQ Community will explore the hidden history of LGBT clubs, organizations, and people that impacted the NH Seacoast.
In Portsmouth, Strawbery Banke Museum reopens July 1 with “Emerging Renewed — An Interpretive Tour of the Historic Waterfront Neighborhood of Strawbery Banke.”
Featuring daily tours beginning on the hour and half-hour through October 31, the re-imagined experience will take visitors through four outdoor sites that explore the resiliency of the historic waterfront neighborhood over time. In the program, small group tours (10 individuals or fewer) will meet costumed role-players, discover architectural and landscape details and learn about the history of the site from the 1600s through efforts in 1958 that created the museum.
In Dover, the Woodman Museum also opens on July 1 with five available reserved tours daily from 10am to 3pm, Wednesday to Sunday for groups of 10 or fewer.
One highlight in 2020, according to Executive Director Dave Tompkins, is a season long exhibition that celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Woman’s Suffrage Movement. “It explores the role of NH Suffragette Marilla Ricker, local Dover and other women from around the state who contributed to the 19th Amendment, which allowed women the right to vote,” he said.
The Woodman, founded in 1916, is a traditional early 20th-century style natural science, history, and art museum with exhibits for all ages. To learn more, or check for hours (The Woodman is closed July 4 and 5), visit woodmanmuseum.org.
About The Trail
Formed in 2014 as a way to share resources and better promote their respective collections, programs and events, The Trail is divided into the Seacoast, Merrimack Valley and Lakes Regions. 18 member institutions are located in Canterbury, Concord, Dover, Exeter, Laconia, Manchester, Moultonborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Tamworth and Wolfeboro.
Recently, Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth joined the NH Heritage Museum Trail as a Seacoast region member. Welcoming more than 100,000 visitors annually, Strawbery Banke Museum interprets the waterfront neighborhood of Puddle Dock from 1695 to 1955 through 32 historic buildings, eight gardens, costumed roleplayers, traditional crafts people and professional staff.
Formed in 2014 as a way to share resources and better promote their respective collections, programs and events, The Trail is divided into the Seacoast, Merrimack Valley and Lakes regions with 16 members in Canterbury, Concord, Dover, Exeter, Laconia, Manchester, Moultonborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Tamworth and Wolfeboro.
“There is always strength in numbers,” said Strawbery Banke Museum President and CEO Lawrence J. Yerdon. “Each of us knows that partnership is essential to the success of our museums, whether collaborating along geographical, thematic or mission-driven lines.”
For Jeff Barraclough, president of The Trail, this expansion “could not come at a better time.” “In the coming months, we plan to roll out a Trail Passport that will incentivize people to visit not just one museum, but all museums on The Trail,” he said. “We are thrilled Strawbery Banke Museum has elected to join our collaborative.”
Yerdon said he looks forward to working with other members “to increase visitation everywhere along ‘The Trail.’ As the NH Heritage Museum Trail continues to build awareness among the traveling public, it makes sense to collaborate on initiatives like the joint Trail Passport,” he added. “By leveraging our individual marketing efforts into a larger collective initiative, members can better promote one another and NH’s unique and rich heritage.”
