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Things to do
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20th Annual Fields of Lupine Festival
June 1 - 15, 2013
 Paying homage to the annual blossoming of this captivating wildflower, the Fields of Lupine Festival 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 guaranteed 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.
The communities of Franconia, Easton, Sugar Hill, Bethlehem, Littleton and Lisbon join together to showcase this colorful pageant. Complementing the natural beauty of the floral show, the Fields of Lupine Festival offers special events within the festival. Retailers and restaurants will be offering, promotions, discounts, entertainment, and refreshments, as will museum and historic inn tours, an open-air market on Main Street Sugar Hill, and other locations throughout the communities all month long.
Fields of Lupine Festival Program Tour Book
This complete guide to the Festival contains a page by page calendar of daily and weekend events, a location map of Lupine fields and directions, interesting historical facts, as well as full details of special events, concerts and the open-air markets. The Tour Book contains information on the Lupine Photo Contest and an entry form. Many discounts and specials are included on the pages of supporting sponsors and Festival participants throughout the area. One of the more popular features of the book is the many unique and delightful recipes included on the pages of the many supporting sponsors of the Festival. This book is your admission ticket to many of the festival events and entitles you to all area business discounts and specials mentioned above . The Book will be available for purchase in early May at local participating businesses, at the Welcome Center of the Franconia Notch Chamber of Commerce in Franconia off Exit 38 from I-93, and on-line on this page as soon as available.
Annual Lupine Photo Contest
The Lupine Festival is a photographer's paradise! Enjoy the endless photo opportunities and then enter your best photo in the annual Lupine Festival Photo Contest. Your can watch a slideshow of previous winning photos. The Best Overall Photo Winner will be featured on the cover of the 2013 Fields of Lupine Tour Book. The complete rules and application for the photo contest is included in the Fields of Lupine Festival Program Tour Book.
2013 Schedule of Events
A daily schedule of events throughout the area from June 1- 15 will be listed in the Lupine Tour Book- exciting features, special events, sales at many businesses, museums and attractions such as the Sugar Hill Historical Museum, New England Ski Museum, Franconia Heritage Museum, Iron Mine Furnace, Robert Frost Home, and the Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway. Open Air Market in Sugar Hill with feature concerts each weekend (see below), a list of Historic Inn Tours, and a schedule of dates for walking path through a Lupine Field and/or horse drawn wagon rides.
Events scheduled for the 20th Fields of Lupine Festival will be listed here as soon as scheduled. Visit this page often in early spring for a listing of events and participating businesses throughout the North Country who will be celebrating this iconic spring event for the 20th year!
Saturday, June 1
The 20th annual Festival will begin with a parade celebrating Lupines 2013, events within the event and the originators of the festival as grand marshals. Teachers Ben Woo and Bill Mellekas of Lafayette School will organize class entries of floats, walkers and wheels featuring the history of the festival, lupines, and 2013. Many other parade entries will join the fun! The parade will step off at 11:00 am from Lafayette School in Franconia, proceed on Main Street, cross the Gale River bridge and proceed to the Dow Field to join the Open Air Market and festivities at the gazebo.
Sunday, June 2
An annual special concert by the Pine Hill Singers, a ladies chorus of some of the best voices in the area, in song for a musical delight at 4:00pm at the Sugar Hill Meetinghouse, Main Street Franconia. Saturday & Sunday, June 1-2Open Air Market on the Dow Field in Franconia, sponsored by Franconia Heritage Museum. Many crafts, vendors, foods and entertainment will be open to all from 10am throughout the day. Saturday & Sunday, June 8-9Open Air Market on the Crapo Building lawn in Sugar Hill on Main Street, Route 117, where lupines line the routes, fields and front yards on every loop and road along with the market of vendors, demonstrations and homemade products and produce, there will be workshops and seminars on a variety of topics..Local businesses of Franconia Notch Regional Chamber of Commerce are welcome to set up displays or a booth to promote their business. Weekend sponsored by Harman's Cheese & Country Store.This webpage for Open-Air Market: details of participants and events will be updated by March 1st at HarmansCheese.com/market. Tuesday, June 11
Swing & Sweets - Come to the Sugar Hill Meetinghouse on Route 117, (Main Street) at 7:30pm for an evening of amazing desserts provided by chefs of our favorite local restaurants, fine dining lodges and Inns. Enjoy and dance the evening away to the tunes and sounds of the famed Big Band Swing Band from St. Johnsbury, VT. where dancing is dancing from the days of the grand ballrooms, and wonderful music for listening! Listen and tap your toes while enjoying dessert, or dance it off to make room for more! This is a small fee event, singles and couples of all age welcome.
Saturday, June 15 - 2 Events
2nd Annual Taste of the Lupine Festival in Sugar Hill
Chef's of local restaurants and Inns will offer samplings of their delicious and favorite dishes. Attendees will have an opportunity to vote for their favorites in a friendly "food fight" contest.
Annual Festival Art Show & Sale - Sugar HillA one-day show and sale featuring our North Country talented artists in our Western White Mountains of New Hampshire. A 20th Anniversary cookbook will be available throughout the festival. The project is a collection of recipes and memories from the 20 years of Lupine Festival recipes published in the annual Fields of Lupine Tour Guide Books published each year. Contacts for More InformationFestival Co-Chairs:Maxine Aldrich: Cheese@HarmansCheese.com
Ilja Chapman: innkeeper@adairinn.comParade Information:Barbara Ashley: bashley@franconianotch.org
Sue Rysanek: prysanek1@roadrunner.comSugar Hill Open-Air Market (Contact after March 1st)Brenda Aldrich: Cheese@HarmansCheese.comLupine Festival Art ShowFrank Kaczmarek: naturallines@roadrunner.comDeborah Aldrich: dcolors55@gmail.com Lupine Festival TasteBrenda Aldrich: Cheese@HarmansCheese.comIlja Chapman: innkeeper@adairinn.com
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Franconia Notch Region Chamber
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