Community Calendar

The "Oil & Water" exhibit
Artwork by Gil Perry & Robert O'Brien

Images: Marita's Irises by Gil Perry and Glory in Pink by Robert O'Brien

The use of oils or watercolors demands totally different approaches when constructing a painting. Each medium has unique attributes for rendering imagery and light. This exhibit features the oils of Gil Perry and the watercolors of Robert O'Brien, showing their masterful expertise in their chosen media.

Opening Reception: August 29, 5:30-7:30pm - Join us in the Artistree Community Gallery to meet the artists and celebrate their work.

Holderness, NH – This unforgettable guided tour has something new to delight everyone.

Learn about the natural history of Squam Lake, look for majestic Bald Eagles, and listen for the haunting call of Common Loons. Hear about the people who have lived on its rocky shores surrounded by scenic mountains for over 5,000 years. Cruise on this pristine lake where nature reigns.

All Squam Lake Cruises are 90 minutes in length on canopied pontoon boats. Binoculars are available for viewing or bring your own. Cruises depart on Route 113 across from the Science Center. Squam Lake Cruises are not recommended for children under age 5. Advance reservations required by purchasing tickets at nhnature.org.

Cost: $32/adult; $30 senior (age 65+); $28 youth (ages up to 15); members receive a $4 per person discount

To purchase cruise tickets and see the full cruise schedule visit nhnature.org.

Monday, July 21, 2025 5:00pm—7:00pm

Monday, August 4, 2025 5:00pm—7:00pm

Monday, August 18, 2025 5:00pm—7:00pm

Our new trivia night – Trivia on the Patio – brings DJ Corey Genest’s energetic hosting style to the Fairbank Lodge Patio. Enjoy mountainside views, tunes, friendly competition, and themed trivia nights that challenge and entertain. Drinks and shareables available for purchase.

Run club is an all inclusive group of runners and walkers that meet at Henniker Brewing Company every Wednesday from April to October (weather permitting). Typically the participants go out for anywhere from 1 - 5 miles and meet back at the brewery for a discounted pint! Dogs and strollers welcome!

The Hatter’s Ball is the bash of the year, and you’ve finally received an invitation! This year, Mayor Riley White has moved the event to the M/S Mount Washington on a special moonlit cruise.

Some think the event is an attempt to divert attention from a series of scandals that have plagued the town in recent months. And you have to admit, the fact that the event will take place right before the mayoral election is certainly suspicious.

Regardless, the town’s most influential (and notorious) citizens will be there, and you’ve always wanted an invitation. So why not? What could go wrong?

Now… you need a hat that will be the envy of the town. It’s the Hatter’s Ball, after all.

This special event dinner cruise and work together to solve a fictitious murder. Passengers not only have to investigate the murder, but they also become the suspects. By the end of the cruise, guests must figure out who did it, how they did it, and why. There will be clues that show that the murderer, and no one else on the cruise, had motive and opportunity to commit the murder.

All passengers are encouraged to arrive for the cruise with a fun and flamboyant hat reflective of their own personal sense of style. The favorite hat will win a prize!

Come sing for joy with the Suncook Valley Chorale's open sing. The Suncook Valley Chorale is a non-audition community choir. Our open sings are a chance for you to see what we are all about and the music we will be working on for our concert during January, 2026.

The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests (Forest Society) invites outdoor enthusiasts across the state to take part in the 2025 Five Hikes Challenge, running from August 30 through October 31.

This year’s theme, “Hike with Heart,” celebrates the connections people form with New Hampshire’s forests and the shared responsibility to care for them. Participants select five hikes from a list of more than 30 Forest Society destinations statewide, ranging from quiet woodlands to scenic summits.

Upon registering, participants will receive printed trail guides, interpretive materials, and the official Five Hikes Challenge sticker. The Forest Society Mobile App (powered by OuterSpatial) offers additional tools, including maps, photo sharing, check-ins, and guided group hike opportunities.

By hiking with heart, participants are encouraged to:
• Walk the land, share the love by posting photos and tagging @ForestSociety with #5HikesChallenge.
• Demonstrate thoughtful stewardship by following the Wildly Responsible principles: plan, pack, and prepare; care for others; protect and preserve; and go have fun.
• Inspire belonging by inviting friends, family, or neighbors to join the challenge and feel connected to a growing community that cares for the land.

“The Five Hikes Challenge is about more than reaching a destination — it’s about building connections,” said Carrie Deegan, vice president for recreation management and public engagement at the Forest Society. “When people hike with heart, they discover new trails, share those experiences with others, and help strengthen a statewide community that values and protects our forests.”

Registration is open now at forestsociety.org/5hikeschallenge2025.

For more information about Wildly Responsible, please visit https://www.visitnh.gov/wildly-responsible.

ABOUT THE FOREST SOCIETY
Established in 1901, the Forest Society is a private, nonprofit land trust and forestry organization that owns more than 200 forest conservation properties—nearly 67,000 acres in 105 New Hampshire communities—and holds conservation easements that permanently protect an additional 140,000 acres statewide. Forest Society properties are open to the public and draw more than 500,000 visitors annually. To learn more or become a member, please visit forestsociety.org.

THROUGH LINE
September 5 – November 23, 2024
Reception: September 19, 5-7pm

Works by Carly Glovinski, Lynne Harlow, Katherine Mitchell DiRico, Rachel Perry, Patricia Rangel, and August Ventimiglia

THROUGH LINE celebrates basic mark-making as a foundation for the remarkable. Each of the six artists on view explores line through the lens of their distinct practices and mediums, ranging from marker to string, chalk, and even dirt! Together, they apply their shared interest in using lines as the basis for their work to boldly illustrate how understated, rudimentary marks can be explored more deeply. Collectively, the artworks on view act as tributes to the mark, celebrating the multitude of ways lines can be made, manipulated, and made monumental. In dialogue with one another, thematic commonalities or through lines between the works emerge and bring the exhibition into focus.

The featured artists shake up flat presentations of line, most breaking the plane entirely to render gesture and form in physical space. While their mediums are vast and divergent, each artist enters the conversation through painstakingly repetitious, modest, and slow gestures. They amass into vibrant works that arrest the viewer just as quickly as they entice them to slow down and look more closely. Through drawing (on and off the wall) digital media, sculpture, and installation, THROUGH LINE reminds us that simple lines are the basis of what can truly shape anything.

Holderness, NH – Squam Lakes Natural Science Center celebrates the start of the 2025 public trail season on opening day, Thursday, May 1. Regular hours are 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (last trail admission at 3:30 p.m.)

For nearly 60 years, Squam Lakes Natural Science Center has been a favorite New England family destination, bringing joy, connection, wonder, and discovery to generations of visitors through live animal exhibits, natural science education programs, guided Squam Lake Cruises and the vibrant charm of Kirkwood Gardens. The Science Center is Certified Sensory Inclusive by KultureCity. The 3/4 mile live animal exhibit trail features coyote, fisher, red fox, bobcat, black bear, mountain lion, river otters, white-tailed deer, various owls and raptors, and more. Plan at least two and a half hours to walk the animal exhibit trail, which meanders through open meadows, mature forests, and marsh boardwalks on a packed gravel path.

Trail rates for 2025 are $28 for adults; $26 for seniors (age 65+); $22 for youth (ages 3-15); free for children 2 and under and Science Center members.

Tickets and information are available at www.nhnature.org

Strange Kin
September 2 – November 22, 2025
RECEPTION: September 18, 5:00-7:00pm

Exhibiting Artists: Jennifer Angus, Catherine Chalmers, Kate Kato, Ruth Marsh, and Britt Ransom
Strange Kin is a swarm of tiny critters (real and faux) that playfully inspect and reimagine the miniature marvels that live among us. The five artists on view embrace their affection and comfort in entomology, using arthropods as their muses and collaborators. Each artist explores how creatures, ranging from crickets to bees, can work within an artistic practice rather than merely being the inspiration for it. Collectively, the works on view braid pure aesthetic joy with stinging commentary on environmental issues, species decline, and conservation.

Come see what all the buzz is about!