Welcome to the Top 10 Events in New Hampshire
Explore the selection of the top 10 annual events and festivals, fairs and celebrations (listed in calendar priority) across the State of New Hampshire, including events in Portsmouth, and Hampton Beach.State Snow Sculpture Competition
January
Jackson, New Hampshire
The three day Winter Fest event brings breathtaking snow sculptures to the Jackson Town Park in the center of Jackson Village, a location with lots of visibility, free parking and close proximity to lodging and restaurants.
The annual New Hampshire State Sanctioned Snow Sculpting Competition and Invitational, held the last weekend in January, attracts a wide variety of sculptors, both amateur and professional.
For more information visit: www.jacksonnh.com/snowsculpting.html
Maple Sugaring in New Hampshire
March
New Hampshire
A statewide event in which more than 50 sugar houses across New Hampshire open their doors to visitors, offering plenty of opportunities to tour maple orchards and sugar houses, learn how maple syrup is made, and taste free samples of maple products and fill up on pancake breakfasts.
Each year, the New Hampshire maple industry produces close to 90,000 gallons of maple syrup. Maple sugaring time in New Hampshire runs from mid-February to mid-April.
For more information visit: www.nhmapleproducers.com
Fields of Lupine Festival
June
Franconia, Sugar Hill and Easton, New Hampshire
Held every summer, this regional festival celebrates the blossoming of the lupine, a captivating and bountiful wildflower. The communities of Franconia, Easton, Sugar Hill, Bethlehem, Littleton and Lisbon join together to showcase this colorful pageant.
There are also a number of events such as historic tours, garden workshops, concerts, contests, and performances. Artists and crafters using all types of media, whose work is inspired by regional flowers and plants, exhibit their work.
For more information visit:
http://www.franconianotch.org/special-events/lupine-festival.aspx
Hampton Beach Sand Sculpting Competition
June
Hampton Beach, New Hampshire
This event began in 2001 with 220 tons of imported sand and three-day competition of ten world class masters creating their own unique sculptures. Since then, this invitational only event has grown in leaps and bounds making it the largest Masters competition in the Northeast United States.
Hampton has attracted the attention of millions of visitors who came to watch something which is part sculpture part performance art.
For more information visit: www.hamptonbeach.org/sandcastle-competition.cfm
Prescott Park Arts Festival
July
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
The New Hampshire Art Association and Prescott Park Arts Festival hold a juried exhibition of original artwork by NHAA members and Seacoast Area artists, including a fantastic variety of sculpture, painting, pastels, collage, and photography are on exhibit throughout the summer.
The art exhibit is located at the historic Sheafe Warehouse, near the waterfront at Prescott Park. Admission is free.
For more information visit:
www.prescottpark.org/events/art_show/exhibit_sale.asp
League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair
August
Newbury, New Hampshire
The country’s oldest craft fair, the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair is one of the finest, most prestigious craft events in the country today. This annual nine-day event features both traditional and contemporary fine craft work by state-juried members of the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen.
Features include more than 200 individual craft booths, the museum-quality Living With Craft Exhibition, the new Sculpture Garden Exhibition, demonstrations, children's, teen & adult Workshops.
The Fair always begins on the first Saturday in August.
For more information visit: www.nhcrafts.org/craftsmens_fair/fair_home.html
New Hampshire Highland Games
September
Lincoln, New Hampshire
The New Hampshire Highland Games, the largest Scottish cultural festival in the Northeast, is presented by The New Hampshire Gathering of the Scottish Clans, Inc., a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the furtherance of the music, dance, athletics and customs of the Scottish people and to the continuance of the Gaelic culture.
Known for its diverse program, highlights include the Gathering of the Scottish Clans, with over 60 clans and societies, Massed Bands, Sheepdog Trials, Celtic World Music Concerts, the New England Regional Scottish Fiddle Championship, Heavyweight Scottish Athletics, National Highland Dance Competition, Solo Piping & Drumming, Scottish Harp (Clarsach) & other instrument competitions.
For more information visit: www.nhscot.org
Hampton Beach Seafood Festival
September
Hampton Beach, New Hampshire
New England’s largest seaside event features more than 60 of the Seacoast's top restaurants serving an abundance of mouthwatering seafood delicacies.
Attractions include 80 arts & crafts vendors promoting locally made products, end-of-the-season Sidewalk Sales, a Kiddie Land with the region's most notable celebrities in children's entertainment, continuous culinary chef demonstrations, and two stages of continuous entertainment with 15 Bands and Orchestras. HIghlights of the festival are the spectacular fireworks display and an amazing Sky Diving extravaganza.
For more information visit: www.hamptonbeachseafoodfestival.com
Keene Pumpkin Festival
October
Keene, New Hampshire
The street’s of downtown Keene light up each year as visitors from all over New England (and abroad) carve and illuminate thousands of jack-o-lanterns. The event holds eight world records for “the most illuminated jack-o-lanterns, in one place, at one time.”
Other attractions at the festival include a craft fair, food vendors and adventure activities, dancing and live musical entertainment on 3 stages, a parade and the ever popular, seed spitting contest.
For more information visit: www.pumpkinfestival.com
Candlelight Stroll
December
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
The quaint lanes of Strawbery Banke Museum, New Hampshire's oldest waterfront neighborhood, are aglow with hundreds of candles. The historic homes are festively decorated, and the alluring scents and sounds of the holiday season fill the air.
Through its restored houses, its featured exhibits, its historic landscapes and gardens, and its interpretive programs, Strawbery Banke tells the stories of the many generations who settled in the Portsmouth since the late 17th century.
Today, visitors travel from all over the state in December to experience American midwinter traditions past and present.
For more information visit: www.strawberybanke.org
