What is it? W.H.A.T.’S. Keene 2013 … A 10-Day Celebration of Keene’s Wine, Hospitality, Arts, Tastes and Shopping

Come April, most northern New Englanders are weary of winter and ready to celebrate.

Keene is offering up the best excuse yet to don your spring jacket and get out into downtown with its W.H.A.T.’S. Keene! Festival, a 10-day celebration of Keene’s wine, hospitality, arts, tastes and shopping, i.e., the acronym for the event.

Forty local businesses are participating in the event, which begins on Thursday, April 4 and ends Sunday, April 14. The celebration, sponsored by several local non-profit and for-profit organizations, will feature daily events by downtown merchants including discounts, two-for-one specials, free gifts, and special offers by Monadnock Region B&Bs and inns. And some merchants – such as Kristin’s Bistro & Bakery, Life is Sweet, Luca’s Café, Local Burger, Good Fortune and Colonial Corner -- will open their doors to featured musicians.

The event will also host the first annual Monadnock International Film Festival, with an April 4 opening night film at the Colonial Theater, and films shown throughout the 10 day festival. If that wasn’t enough, there will also be a guitar festival at Keene State College, a burger eating contest at Local Burger, and much more.

Don’t miss all the fun at the first annual W.H.A.T.’S Keene! Celebration.

Snow Fun – Skiing and Snowshoeing -- in the Monadnock Region

The Monadnock Region doesn’t have the big (read: crowded) downhill ski resorts that the White Mountain region to the north of us does. But we do have some of the most beautiful and serene cross country and snowshoeing trails in the state.

Snow can be found in our region from about early December until March – and the latest snowstorms have dumped a foot or more of light powdery snow all over our region. It is a winter wonderland here in the Monadnock Region right now! Perfect for a jaunt out into our woods and forests on cross country skis or snowshoes.

There are endless Monadnock Region hiking trails waiting to be discovered by ski or snowshoe this winter.  You could also ask your local innkeeper for tips as there are too many trails to list in this blog posting.  If you prefer groomed trails, here is a list of maintained trails (some have facilities for rentals and lessons as well):

Granite Gorge Ski Area, Keene/Roxbury: Downhill skiing, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, tubing park. Lessons and rentals.

The Inn at East Hill Farm, Troy: Cross country and snowshoeing trails.

Road's End Farm and Ski Touring Center, Chesterfield: (603) 363-4703. Cross country and snowshoeing trails.

Stonewall Farm, Keene: Snowshoeing. Daily snowshoe rentals: adults $3, kids $1.

Windblown Cross Country Ski Area, New Ipswich:  Cross country and snowshoeing trails.

Woodbound Inn, Rindge: Cross country and snowshoeing trails. (No trail fee for guests of the inn)

I Scream, You Scream...

It was 1984 when President Ronald Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month. He also proclaimed the third Sunday of July as National Ice Cream Day, where all people of this great nation should observe the day with “appropriate ceremonies and activities.”

Ice cream lovers in the U.S. will forevermore tip their cones to the 40th president of the United States for this awesome proclamation. We can eat our favorite dessert with abandon throughout the hottest month of the year – and relish some sweet celebrations held everywhere on the third Sunday – this year held on July 15 – that’s right, this Sunday!

Before digging into those cones and dishes laden with frozen desserts, here are some fun facts courtesy of the International Ice Cream Association) about ice cream:

• America is the ice cream capital of the world – it produces 1.5 million gallons per year; each American consumes an average of 22 quarts per year.
• Not surprisingly, vanilla is the most popular flavor in the U.S. (it comprises about 20 to 29 percent of all ice cream sales); chocolate is a distant second and garners about 10 percent of the market.
• One out of every five ice cream eaters admit to binging on ice cream in the middle of the night; this study discovered that men binge in the middle of the night more than women.
• About 9 percent of all the milk produced in the U.S. is used for ice cream.

In the Monadnock Region we are fortunate to have our own share of locally-made, high quality (okay, its amazing!) ice cream.  Below is a list of some of your local innkeepers favorite ice cream places.

• The best known in the area may be Walpole Creamery, which not only sells out of its Scoop Shop in Walpole, but is available in many retail locations in the region.  Their ice cream is of the highest quality and some of the tastiest around!
• Kimball Farm in Jaffrey is known for its huge portions, extensive variety of flavors, and great quality.  It is more than just an ice cream stand, it's more like a clam shack that's not on the beach since they serve plenty of lobster rolls, fried clams, burgers, fish and chips and chicken finger baskets.
• Connolly Brothers Farm in Temple is a true farm experience.  You drive up the dirt entrance road till you reach the dairy barn...cows on the right and dairy store on the left.  If you drive up on the right day you can walk in on them (the owners...not the cows) actually making and packing the ice cream.  This is not a scoop shop, their delicious home made ice cream is available in cups or pints or as cookie sandwiches and chocolate covered pops.  Don't forget to thank the cows on your way out :)
• Step back in time at the Central Square Ice Cream Shop in Hillsborough, an old fashioned soda-shop and parlor reminiscent of a bygone era.  The ice cream is homemade and worthy of a stop!

The latest local entry into the frozen dessert business is Stonewall Farm, a non-profit educational farm in Keene that is now producing ice cream from certified organic milk from its own cows.To commemorate the day with a celebration Reagan would have most certainly approved of, visit Stonewall Farm this Sunday where the farm will be celebrating National Ice Cream Day from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you get there early (at 9 a.m.) you’ll catch the “Bikes for Bovines” fundraiser race.