Become a Localvore

It’s easy – not to mention healthy -- to eat local food in the height of the summer season in New England. In New Hampshire, we celebrate Eat Local Month the entire month of August (August 5-11 is NH Farmers’ Market Week.

How can you learn about the art of preserving, growing and even foraging for your own food?  The Monadnock Localvores have workshops almost year-round on just how to do that. These workshops are run by knowledgeable farmers and backyard enthusiasts who will expertly guide you through the art of gathering your own mushrooms, cooking with your CSA bounty, baking bread, making cheese and even brewing your own beer or local apple wine.

Visit the Monadnock Region, the unspoiled Southwest corner of New Hampshire, and take advantage of the opportunity to "eat local" at one of our charming B&Bs or Inns serving the most scrumptious breakfasts you will find anywhere.

Here are some upcoming workshops (click through to link to find out pricing and remaining slots available):

• August 16, 2012 (10 a.m.-12 p.m.) Wild Mushroom Foray 
• September 6, 2012 (6-8 p.m.) Brewing a Local Beer
• October 14, 2012 (2-4 p.m.) Apple Wine Making
• October 21, 2012 (1-3 p.m.) Beginner Beekeeping

Full of Hot Air - The Hillsborough Balloon Festival & Fair

Whether you love floating high in the sky in a piloted hot air balloon, or you prefer to watch balloons from terra firma, there is something for everyone at the Hillsborough Balloon Festival & Fair, held this year Thursday through Sunday, July 19-22, 2012. Parking is $5 per car, but entrance to festival itself is free.

The festival has become a major four-day extravaganza for this small town of 6,000  since the festival merged dates with the former Hillsborough Fireman’s Weekend, and recently, an artisans fair has been added to the weekend. Today, Hillsborough welcomes more than 30,000 people each year to the festival.

There are lots of activities within these four days of this charming New England summer festival to satisfy everyone in your family: carnival rides, an artisan fair, live music, a parade, a 5K road race, fireworks, and a bevy of colorful hot air balloons, which will dramatically lift off twice a day at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. (weather permitting) on Saturday and Sunday.

The balloons are, of course, the main attraction to the festival. And there are several ways to enjoy them:

• Flights over the Monadnock Region. Full-fledged flights piloted and crewed by regional balloon enthusiasts – will be available to the general public. The rides last anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour and cost $200 per passenger (most balloons can carry 3-5 passengers as well as the pilot).  Cash, checks and all major credit cards are accepted. To make flight reservations, call (603) 464-0377. 
• Tethered flights. For those who prefer to remain closer to the ground, there will also be tethered flights available – meaning the balloon is secured to the ground and are piloted into the air about 50 feet for about 5 minutes then floated gently back to the ground. The cost is $15 per person.
• Night glow show. For those who don’t want any part of jumping into a balloon’s basket, but appreciate the beauty of hot air balloons, don’t miss the “Night Glow Show” at dusk on Friday night where a half dozen (or more) balloons will remain on the ground but inflate (using the white flame) and become dramatically illuminated. This show is free to the public.

The Hillsborough Balloon Festival & Fair is sponsored by civic organizations and groups (the Hillsborough Civic Organization, comprised of the three original local groups, the Hillsborough Fire Department, Hillsborough Lions Club, and the Hillsborough Chamber of Commerce) and the proceeds from the festival provide major financial support for these organizations.

Need a place to stay while attending the festival?  Inquire with a local B&B for great overnight accommodations to make your weekend getaway complete.

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.

Treasure Hunting in the Monadnock Region

After watching the Antiques Roadshow, you can’t help but fantasize that a sweet little ceramic bowl you picked up for a buck or a wood armoire you got for a steal will fund your retirement or put your kid through college.

While finding priceless treasure is a rarity (even Roadshow guests are sometimes disappointed), the thrill of the antiquing is still a wonderful pastime.

If you are in the Monadnock Region this summer, you might want to spend a rainy day or two trying your luck in the region’s many antique haunts – from shows to shops to dealers and auctioneers. You never know what treasures you might uncover!

One of the most well known antiquing opportunities in the Monadnock Region happens every year in the historic town of Fitzwilliam and this year is no exception.  Saturday, July 21st is the 37th Annual Fitzwilliam Historical Society Antiques Show & Sale held on the town commons with more than fifty dealers invited.  A special exhibit, "Wedding Bells", will be presented in the Amos J. Blake House Museum during this time. Admission to the Museum is free and tours are conducted by trained docents.

In addition to the Fitzwilliam Show, here are some of the shops you may want to include in your tour around the region:

Fitzwilliam is worth a special trip for its nine antique shops in town – including Dennis and Dad,  which specializes in 18th and 19th  century English ceramics and Macreay Landy, which collects unusual architectural hardware, wrought iron, oil lamps and fireplace equipment.

Head northeast from Fitzwilliam to Peterborough and you’ll find five antique shops in town, all with a different focus. Bowerbird & Friends on Depot Square sells antiques, gifts and plants for the home and garden … and don’t miss their fabulous collection of antique children’s books. Visit Grove & Main Antiques on Grove Street for their intriguing mix of French and Swedish enamelware including body pitchers and turn-of-the-century lunch pails and more. Murray’s Home Again on the corner of Routes 101 and 123 sells an eclectic mix of household and garden items, check out their Facebook Page where they update new items almost daily.

If you happen to be staying the western part of the Monadnock Region, check out the several antique shops in Walpole. Of note is Robin Fernsell Antiques on School Street, where Robin sells folk art, furniture, art work and accessories for the home. And for the dog and horse lover, take a side trip to Dog and Pony Show on the outskirts of town on Country Road, located in a horse barn. Their collection of horse- and dog-related items date from the late 18th to the first quarter of the 20th century and include porcelain, pottery, metal ware, prints, paintings and home furnishing. They also sell custom-made needlepoint dog collars for your furry friends.

Have fun treasure hunting in the Monadnock Region and let us know what you find! For a complete list of the Monadnock Region’s antique shops, visit the Monadnock B&B Association's website and listing of Antiques stores all across the region.

It Takes a Village … to Hold a Music Festival

Actually it takes many villages – more than a dozen -- in the Monadnock Region to host the annual summer Monadnock Music Festival. The village concert festival – now in its 46th year -- is a series of free classical music concerts set in intimate New England venues – from town halls to churches to historic meeting houses.

“What has always made Monadnock Music special is the intimacy of our venues and the quality and range of offerings across a spectrum of periods, styles and genres,” says William Chapman, executive director of Monadnock Music.

The 2012 summer festival season – July 6-August 11 -- brings some rising stars and renowned artists; selections include a season-long examination of the works of Virgil Thomson, the return of opera, Sanford Sylvan and Appalachian Spring. At the helm of the season is Monadnock Music’s new artistic director, Gil Rose, the former artistic director of Boston Modern Orchestra Project and Opera Boston, and a three-time Grammy Award nominee.

The concert series is a perfect excuse to catch a world-class concert, and explore some old New England villages in the Monadnock Region such Peterborough, Harrisville, Wilton, Francestown, Walpole, Jaffrey and Dublin.  It is also a way to get to know village residents, who come out in droves to support the concert series; the goal of the concert series, after all, say organizers, is to make classical music accessible to people in rural areas.

So, this summer, spend a day (or night) in some of the Monadnock Region’s most picturesque towns – and listen to some beautiful music.   Complete your evening of classical music with an overnight stay at one of our many wonderful local B&Bs or inns.

Here’s the lineup:

Note: Village Concerts are free, other concerts require ticket purchase; visit Monadnock Music  for details and reservations.

Friday, July 6, 7:30 pm – Peterborough Town House
Town House Concert (tickets required)
OPENING NIGHT

Monadnock Sinfonietta performs music commissioned by Martha Graham

Sunday, July 8, 3:00 pm – Harrisville Community Church
Village Concert (free)
Monadnock Players

Wednesday, July 11, 7:30 pm – Deering Community Church
Village Concert (free)
Guest Artists: Irina Muresanu (violin), Rob Auler (piano)

Friday, July 13, 7:30 pm – Peterborough Town House
Town House Concert (tickets required)
Guest Artist: Claremont Trio

Sunday, July 15, 3:00pm – Wilton Center Unitarian Church
Village Concert (free)
Monadnock Players

Wednesday, July 18, 7:30 pm – Keene Ahavas Achim Synagogue
Village Concert (free)
Guest Artists: Hirsch-Pinkas Duo (pianos), 
Jonathan Hess, Robert Schulz (percussion)

Friday, July 20, 7:30 pm – Peterborough Town House
Town House Concert (tickets required)
Guest artist: Alan Feinberg (piano)

Sunday, July 22, 3:00 pm – Francestown Old Meeting House
Village Concert (free)
Monadnock Players

Wednesday, July 25, 7:30 pm – Temple Community Church
Village Concert (free)
Guest artists: Terry Everson (trumpet), Scott Jarett (organ)

Thursday, July 26, 7:30 pm – Sullivan Congregational Church
Village Concert (free)
Guest Artists: F. A. E. Duo, Nicholas DiEugenio (violin), Chi-Chen Wu (fortepiano)

Sunday July 29, 3:00 pm – Keene Colonial Theatre
Opera Celebration (tickets required)
Guest Artists: Heather Buck (soprano), James Maddalena (baritone), Frank Kelley (tenor), Aaron Engebreth (baritone); directed and conducted by Gil Rose

Wednesday, August 1, 7:30 pm – Hancock Congregational Church
Village Concert (free)
Monadnock Players with Krista River

Thursday, August 2, 7:30 pm – Washington Congregational Church
Village Concert (free)
Monadnock Players

Saturday, August 4, 7:30 pm – Peterborough Town House
Town House Concert (tickets required)
Guest Artists: Sanford Sylvan (baritone), David Breitman (fortepiano)

Sunday, August 5, 3:00 pm – Walpole Unitarian Church
Village Concert (free)
Monadnock Players

Wednesday August 8, 7:30 pm – Jaffrey Center
Village Concert (free)
Monadnock Quartet

Friday, August 10, 7:30 pm – Peterborough All Saints’ Church
Village Concert (free)
Guest Artists: Lorelei Ensemble

Saturday, August 11, 3:00pm – Dublin Emmanuel Church
Village Concert (free)
Monadnock Quartet

Gilsum Rocks!

Forty eight years ago a Gilsum, N.H. postmaster and barber (and apparently an avid rock hound and collector) had an idea to start a “rock swap” in his hometown. The idea was not so far fetched in this tiny town about 10 miles north of Keene, since it was home to many commercial mines that operated until the 1940s that produced feldspar, mica and beryl.

While those mines have long been closed down (although one, the Beauregard Mine is available to mineral clubs by reservation only) the tradition of rocks and minerals lives on with the annual Gilsum Rock Swap & Mineral Show.

In late June this otherwise sleepy town of 807 residents comes alive (yup, it rocks!) when 6,000 to 8,000 people from all over the country roll in to attend the show. The show features about 60 dealers, swappers, collectors and distributors who buy, sell or even swap (which was the original intent of the show 48 years ago) rocks and minerals of all stripes including beryl, quartz crystals, semi-precious stones and more. The displays include not only rough cuts of these rocks, but also fossils, prized collections and semi-precious stones fashioned into beautiful jewelry.

The weekend activities include educational presentations on how semi-precious gemstones are extracted and made into jewelry and how to begin prospecting for minerals yourself. You can also crack a geode, pan for minerals and try your luck at the diamond dig site.

The town of Gilsum opens it arms to visitors for the weekend and features other events all weekend long including a daily pancake brunch, bake sale, book sale, chicken barbeque dinner and a traditional Saturday night New England ham and bean supper with all-you-can-eat homemade pies.  For overnight accommodations, contact one of the local B&Bs, Inns or Cottages.

The Gilsum Rock Swap & Mineral Show takes place this year on June 23 and 24, 2012 at the Gilsum Elementary School fields, Route 10 in Gilsum, just north of Keene, N.H. (about a 2-hour drive from Boston). Show hours are 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday and 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Sunday. Admission to the event is free, although donations are appreciated; the proceeds from contributions are earmarked for the town’s youth recreation and community programs.

And this year, as a special tribute to the originator of the event, Francis “Bunk” Malony’s entire rock collection will be on display on Saturday at the Gilsum Historical Society from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

If you love rocks and minerals – or you just love a great community event -- this is a show that you cannot miss! For more information visit Gilsum Rocks!

Secret Gardens

For a gardener, there is something enticing about a “secret garden” … those home gardens that you might catch a small but inviting glimpse of an arbor, the turn of stone path, a flower bed alive with color.   For us avid gardeners, it takes every ounce of restraint not to edge in and take a closer peek.

The best way to indulge the voyeuristic gardener in us – and to get new ideas for your own garden – is to go on a garden tour. The most popular garden tour in the Monadnock Region is the annual Secret Gardens of Keene.

The Secret Gardens of Keene tour, hosted by the Cheshire Housing Trust, is held this year (rain or shine) on June 23 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The tour is actually a successful fundraiser for the nonprofit organization to support its mission to provide affordable housing for moderate- to low-income families (the Cheshire Housing Trust runs 63 affordable apartments or rooms in Keene, Marlborough and Hinsdale).

Each year the tour features new gardens throughout Keene – from traditional landscapes to more eclectic gardening styles. Tickets can be purchased in advance for $12 each at various locations throughout the region, or purchased at the day of the tour for $15 at Ashuelot River Park (273 West Street in Keene).

Once the Secret Gardens of Keene tour day is over, make sure you mark your calendar for The Garden Conservancy’s “Open Days” which will be held twice this year in the Monadnock Region.

The Garden Conservancy’s Monadnock Region Open Days:

• June 30, 2012, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. A tour of four exquisite private family gardens in Peterborough, Harrisville and Nelson. 
• July 1, 2012, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tour includes gardens in Walpole, Alstead Center and nearby Wilmington, Vt.

Here are some tips for attending a garden tour:

• Stay on the paths. Don’t ever wander into a garden bed.
• Never take any seeds, seedlings or plants without permission.
• Don’t stop in the middle of the pathway – if you want to linger to admire a plant or take photographs let other visitors pass you.
• Don’t go into any roped off areas for any reason.
• Carpool to each location with friends in order to reduce traffic and pollution.
• Thank the host at each stop – it is a lot of work getting a garden ready to be viewed by the general public.

The best way to enjoy a garden tour is with your family or a group of friends. If you are from outside the Monadnock Region, book an overnight stay at a B&B or inn to get an early jump on the tour; and take a break during the middle of the day with lunch at one of the many Monadnock Region’s restaurants.