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24th Annual Celebration of Lupines

Paying homage to the annual blossoming of this captivating wildflower, the Celebration of Lupines is a time honored regional event. The brilliant spikes of the lupine flower carpet local fields and pastures in a rolling sea of vibrant purples, pinks, blues and whites. The long-lasting blossoms attract equally dazzling butterflies and create a breathtaking floral display against the majestic backdrop of the Franconia, Presidential, and Kinsman Mountain ranges. Every visitor is sure to find abundant photo and recreational opportunities in the Northeast’s most spectacular mountain region. Our local greenhouses and businesses will be offering lupine plants and seeds so you to start your own field of lupine.

Special Lupine Events (download a printable pdf of the events here)

Ongoing Events:

Photo Contest! The Annual Lupine photo contest is back & better than ever! Photos must be taken between June 1^st and the 30^th in and around area towns participating in the Celebration of Lupines with all contest photos including lupine and the Gladness of the Celebration placard of Pollyanna Celebrating Lupines Gladly. Placards may be downloaded here or are available at the Chamber of Commerce Information Booth in Franconia, in Sugar Hill at Harman’s Cheese & Country Store, Polly’s Pancake Parlor, The Sugar Hill Sampler, Inn At Sunset Hill and the Sugar Hill Inn and in Littleton at the Chamber of Commerce Office and The Nest. AWARDS: Grand prize: Best photo depicting the theme will receive a grand prize (TBA soon) 2^nd and 3^rd place will receive cash awards of $25 and $50 accordingly. Full details available here.

Free Lupine “Inspirational Walk” on a specially mowed path through the Sugar Hill Sampler’s Lupine Fields, with poetry along the way. Great photo op! The entire month of June at the Sugar Hill Sampler, Sunset Hill Road, Sugar Hill.

Horse Drawn Wagon Rides Through the Lupines First three weekends of June. Enjoy riding through the Lupine fields. Great for families and photo ops. Weather permitting. Nominal charge. Children under 3 free. Sugar Hill Sampler, Sunset Hill Road, Sugar Hill
Franconia Heritage Museum, 552 Main Street (Route 18). Open Saturdays, 1-4 pm.
Sugar Hill Historical Museum, 1402 Route 117. Open Fridays & Saturdays, 11 am-3 pm.

Special Events:

Open Air Market with Artisan Demonstrations – June 3 & 4 – Sugar Hill Carolina Crapo Building Sugar Hill Historical Museum, Sugar Hill Meetinghouse. Free Weekend Festival of Open-Air Market, vendors, artisans, businesses, entertainment, museum exhibits, Cooks Corner demonstrations, concerts and more. Plenty of Parking in the field behind the Meetinghouse. Handicapped Parking Available on the Grounds of the Meetinghouse and at the Crapo Building * Full details here
- Special open-air market events:
  - June 3 – Sugar Hill Meetinghouse
    - Native Flute with Path of Harmony – 10:00am to 11:30pm.
    - Piano Concert by Joseph Hansalik – 11:30am to 12:30pm – Classical, popular and perhaps an original piece. The Willing Workers of Sugar Hill will be serving lunch, stop in and enjoy lunch while listening to Joseph play the grand piano.
    - Northern NH History through Family Stories – 12:30 to 1:30pm. Sara Glines shares her family’s history which mirrors NH history. During this hour, she’ll share some of the stories behind the figurines: grandmother’s promise to her mother about dating, secrets to white laundry, feeding lambs, fishing, hiking, running hotels, working in the mills. Visit Sara’s website for more information on her folk art and the stories: ravinehousestore.com
    - Rebecca Rule: NH’s Story Teller – 1:30 to 3:30pm. Sugar Hill Meetinghouse. Drawing on research from her book, Moved and Seconded: Town Meeting in New Hampshire, the Present, the Past, and the Future, Rebecca Rule regales audiences with stories of the rituals, traditions, and history of town meeting, including the perennial characters, the literature, the humor, and the wisdom of this uniquely New England institution.
  - Inside the Carolina Crapo Memorial Building – Cooks’ Corner A great chance to taste some delicious food!
    - Using Artisan Eggplant Relish in Recipes -11:30 am. A versatile, artisanal Sauce with roots in Asia. It can be eaten on a sandwich with tuna, seafood or chicken. It also goes well on a burger, or in a taco! Try also as a side dish with baked fish, rice, or pasta. Spruce up your soup or salad, with our healthy relish!
    - Making and Cooking with Maple Sugar – 12:30pm. Kim of Old Man Maple: We’ll be demonstrating how to make maple sugar in your own kitchen and sharing a few of the unlimited uses of it. The process involves a “WOW” moment for folks of all ages but children are especially welcome as that’s why we started making maple sugar, for our grandchildren!
    - Using Ruth’s NH-Made Mustards in Recipes – 2:00pm. We’re planning to do mini “pigs in a blanket”, a cracker spread, a salad dressing using some of the 7 flavors of Mustard we make.
  - Artisan Demonstrations – Look for the Red Signs
    - On the Crapo Lawn
      - Making hand-woven reed baskets – Linda Lomasney, Deeda’s Baskets
      - Carving wooden folk figures (featured in family stories at 12:30 pm in the Meetinghouse) – Sara Glines, Mt. Crescent Crafts
      - Carding and Spinning Wool – Robin Peters Henne, Wandering Woolies
    - On the Meetinghouse Lawn
      - #2 – Thrown Pottery made on a Potter’s Wheel – Stephanie & Sam Marston, Marston Pottery & Art
      - #12 – Carding & Spinning Wool – Dori Hamilton, Tranquil Vewe Croft
      - #50 – Making Socks on Antique Sock Knitting Machine – Margaret Hoyle
  - Authors at the Market – Look for the Orange Author Signs
    - 10:30 am Crapo Building, Author Laurel Smith. Depending on the audience she will either share from her childrens’ books or from her newest book – My Parents Told Me to NEVER put Anything into Writing, Ooops!
    - 12:30 pm, Meetinghouse Lawn #42: Author Rebecca Matthews shares from her newest books, children & adult..
    - 3 pm Crapo Building, Author Laurel Smith. See details from 10:30 above.
    - Marilinne Cooper on the Crapo Lawn, Mystery Novelist
    - Eric Pinder on the Crapo Lawn, Mt. Washington Experiences and Childrens Books
    - Cathy Strasser on the Meetinghouse Lawn #26. Mysteries set in the White Mts
  - June 4 – Sugar Hill Meetinghouse
    - Piano Concert with Madison Brown– 10:30 am
    - “Uncommon Folk” Concert – 1:00 to 4:00pm. Free Concert of Folk Music mixed with Bluegrass, Country, Humor, and just a few Fibs. A plethora of instruments played by Sam, Tom, and Paul: Fiddle, Bass, Banjo, Dulicer.

Wildflower Festival at The Rocks Estate – June 3. For more information, program times and to reserve a place on the tour, please visit therocks.org, e-mail info@therocks.org, or call 603-444-6228.

Touch A Truck – June 3 – 10:00am to noon. Dow Park, Franconia. Everyone is welcome! Kids Activities. Touch a fire truck, dump truck, helicopter, Old Peppersass from The Mount Washington Cog Railway, a logging truck, school bus, tractor & a race car! Hosted by Lafayette Recreation & Franconia Children’s Center

Family Hat Decorating – June 3. 11:00am to 2:00pm. At the Sugar Hill Museum Shed, Sugar Hill. Babies, kids, teens, adults, guys or gals; all welcome. Bring your hat to decorate or pick one up at the Museum. We’ll provide the trimmings. Free Event, but donations welcomed. A Sugar Hill Richardson Memorial Library family event.

Disc Golf Tournament June 3 – 2:00pm. Dow Park, Franconia. $10 per person/teams of 2. First come, first served. Limit 10 teams. First place: $100. Closest to the pin: $25. Most accurate drive: $25. Putting contest: $25. Click here to register. Sponsored by Franconia Recreation, Franconia Sports Shop & Boy Scouts of America.

Gladfest Weekend – June 9-11 – Three days of music, food, live theater, markets & more events throughout the Glad Town! Friday Art Night – History Walk, Galleries open, restaurant specials and Music. Saturday – Pancake Breakfast, AHEAD Family Walk/Run, Glad Town Bazaar, 15th Anniversary Gathering at the Pollyanna Archway and Pollyanna Signature Awardee announced. Group photo and Annual Glad Wave at the Pollyanna Statue. Pollyanna’s Bazaar. Upstage Players present Pollyanna, the Musical at the Littleton Opera House. Sunday – Pancake Breakfast. Upstage Players present Pollyanna, the Musical at the Littleton Opera House. More information here.

Vintage Civil War Era Baseball Game – June 11 – 1pm, Dow Field, Franconia. Vintage Baseball Game pitting NH’s only vintage baseball team, the New Hampshire Granites (nhgranitebaseball.com), v.s. Dirigo Vintage Baseball Club of Maine (dirigobaseball.org) on the Dow Field- a free event for all to watch players execute America’s game of “Play Ball!” by the rules as it was played in the late 1800’s. Hurlers, Strikers, Ballists, and the Behind make up a team, all with no gloves! Bring your lawn chairs and root for the team of your choice (that makes you a Crank). Hotdogs and all “ballpark” goodies will be sold by Adaptive Sports Partners of the North Country. Sponsored by Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank. Supporting sponsors: Harman’s Cheese, Franconia Hardware, Franconia Recreation. Note: No rain date for this event.

A Country Afternoon Tea – June 17. 2:00 to 4:30pm. Sugar Hill Meetinghouse. Everyone very welcome! Incredible refreshments! Any attire – hats optional. Suggested donation $5.00 each. Sponsored by the Richardson Memorial Library, Sugar Hill Historical Museum & Sugar Hill Willing Workers.

Swingin’ Tapas n’ Sweets – Cancelled

Celebrate the month-long brilliance of the awe-inspiring spikes against the grandest vistas in the White Mountains.

Follow the Celebration’s Facebook page – here

Click here to download a .pdf Lupine map