Temperatures have finally snapped the 90-degree mark, and the sultry weather brings thousands of visitors to the Seacoast to absorb the cool ocean breezes that massage the beaches and docks. Residents and tourists alike can find plenty of outdoor gatherings over the next few months, celebrating the area’s diverse foods, art, music and history. Summer is festival season on the Seacoast, and there are well over 20 to choose from this year. What follows is The Wire’s annual summer festival guide.


Prescott Park Arts Festival
begins June 6

Portsmouth’s summer-long attraction in Prescott Park kicks off with the 25th annual WOKQ Chowder Festival on Saturday, June 6. When the gates open at 11 a.m., thousands of residents will flood the waterfront park and sample fresh chowders from a record number of area restaurants. Judges from Taste of the Seacoast magazine and local food critic Rachel Forrest will award the finest selections.

And with that, the 35th annual Prescott Park Arts Festival gets underway. Ben Anderson, entering just his second year as the festival’s executive director, has announced some intriguing developments for 2009, including an impressive array of local and national musical acts. The Wednesday night concert series begins on July 1 with a set from songwriting legend Tom Rush, and the series will feature other sets from David Francey (July 8), Richie Havens (July 29), Jonathan Edwards (Aug. 12) and others.

Anderson said the music schedule will surpass last year in both caliber and diversity, with acts ranging from the Cajun soul of the Lost Bayou Ramblers (Aug. 27) to the Irish folk of The Makem Brothers (Aug. 15) to the alt-country rockabilly of Elsa Cross (Aug. 8). In addition to the Wednesday night shows, the festival will feature several themed music festivals, starting with “Freedom Rocks!” on July 4.

A new element to the music this year is that Anderson will bring in local bands to open for some of the nationally touring acts on Wednesday nights. “We’re in the process of securing some local and regional acts to serve as supporting acts to promote the talent we have here on the Seacoast in front of a larger audience that those national acts will attract,” Anderson said.

Also new this year is a Monday night partnership with the Seacoast Repertory Theatre, bringing four shows to the Prescott Park stage. The lineup includes a presentation of “The Wall” on July 6, “Hair” on July 20, “Smokey Joe’s Café” on Aug. 3 and “Dark Side of the Moon” on Aug. 17.     

The calendar again features several food festivals, including the first-ever N.H. Fish & Lobster Festival on Sept. 19. The event, a collaboration between Prescott Park, the Portsmouth Fishing Industry Committee, Seacoast Local, Seacoast Eat Local, Slow Food Seacoast and UNH Sea Grant, will bring attention to the area’s vital fishing industry with samples of locally landed fish and tours of docked boats.

This year’s Main Stage theater production is “Grease,” which opens on Friday, June 26. Last year’s staging of “Beauty and the Beast” was dampened by numerous rainouts, and Anderson is hoping for more cooperation from the weather this summer.
“It was kind of a wet first year for me, but it was still pretty good. We had a lot of great shows and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ was very well-received,” he said. “But I’m definitely looking forward to a lot of sunshine.”

For a full schedule of festival events, visit www.prescottpark.org.


Market Square Day
June 13

Now entering its 32nd year, Market Square Day is an opportunity to celebrate all things Portsmouth. The festival draws tens of thousands of visitors to the downtown hub, including hundreds of competitors in the annual 10k Road Race and around 200 event volunteers.

Organized by Pro Portsmouth, this year’s event will feature close to 150 vendors with tents and tables set up along Market, Congress, Pleasant and Daniel streets. Live bands will alternate throughout the day on stages in Market Square and on Pleasant Street. There will also be a children’s block party on Daniel Street this year, with music, martial arts demonstrations, hula hoop lessons and other activities. 

Market Square Day actually begins on the evening of Friday, June 12, when a historic walking tour will leave from North Church at 6 p.m. “You do learn things about your town you never knew about,” said Pro Portsmouth executive director Barbara Massar. “You start to look at buildings in a whole new way.”

The 10k Road Race leaves from Market Square at 9 a.m. on Saturday, June 13, ultimately winding its way to Strawbery Banke Museum. Massar increased the race’s registration capacity this year to 1,850 people, and she expects it to sell out easily (there were 1,750 runners last year).

Massar unveiled the 2009 Market Square Day logo during a press conference at North Church on May 21. The logo, created by Phillips Exeter Academy Spanish teacher Fermin Perez, includes illustrations of people singing, running, eating, playing, dancing and living free—a summation of the celebration’s main attractions.

Massar admitted that parking for Market Square Day can be a bit tricky. She encourages people to park at a designated area at Fox Run Mall in Newington, where a free shuttle will carry people to and from the festival from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

A Market Square Day kickoff party will take place in the downstairs lounge of The Portsmouth Brewery on Market Street on Wednesday, June 3, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. The door charge is $20 and the event will include a 50/50 raffle with half the proceeds from the $5 ticket sales going to the winner and half to Pro Portsmouth.

The event will end at 4 p.m. this year instead of the traditional closing time of 5 p.m., giving volunteers more time to clean up before nightfall. Other than that change, Massar said, the festival will be largely the same as years past. For more information, visit www.proportsmouth.org.

American Independence Festival
July 18

Downtown Exeter will warp through time on Saturday, July 18, providing a one-day window into American history. Sights and sounds of the Revolution will stretch from the American Independence Museum on Governors Lane through a portion of Water Street and across the green fields of Swasey Parkway.

Originally known as the Revolutionary War Festival, the American Independence Museum’s celebration of freedom and the founding of our nation is now in its 19th year. The event will feature live music, fireworks and historic reenactments from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Professional groups will occupy colonial military encampments, with the British soldiers setting up in Swasey Parkway and the American troops stationed at the museum. As always, there will also be a traditional artisans’ village at Swasey Parkway.

One of the themes of this year’s Independence Festival is “The Sounds of the Revolution.” Audible highlights will include hourly cannon blasts, soothing music from the Sea Chantey Singers, the clatter of a blacksmith’s hammer and anvil, the subtle whir of a spinning wheel and the jaunty melodies of fife and drums.  

A second theme asks visitors to “Make the Connection,” observing and trying traditional techniques for spinning, weaving, leatherwork, basketry, hand-set type, carpentry, hammer dulcimer and blacksmithing. Guests can later identify authentic items created through these techniques in the museum’s collection.

For more information, visit www.independencemuseum.org.

Stratham Fair
July 23-26

Always a highlight of festival season, the 42nd annual Stratham Fair returns to Stratham Hill Park on Route 33 from Thursday to Sunday, July 23 to 26. Originally established in 1967 as a celebration of the town’s 250th anniversary, it is one of the oldest ongoing country fairs in all of New England. 

The four-day festival typically draws between 20,000 and 30,000 visitors who enjoy the various amusement rides, games, horse pulls, concerts, animal shows and countless other exhibits. The festivities begin each morning at 7 a.m. and continue until 10 p.m., concluding with a fireworks finale at 9:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Reflecting Stratham’s rich farming history, the fair includes numerous 4-H events, including goat and dairy shows, beef and dairy cattle shows, working steer shows, sheep and swine shows, as well as tractor driving and forestry events. There will also be horticultural and livestock judging, dog shows and farm-related contests.

Other highlights include a 5.7-mile road race, a baking competition, a Miss Stratham Fair pageant, karate demonstrations, barn dancing and many other events, plus numerous food concession stands and exhibitors. Tickets to the fair are $7 per day or $20 for a four-day pass, with discounts for people ages 6 to 12 or over 65. The fair is free for children under 6. For full daily schedules and other information, visit www.strathamfair.com.

Dover Children’s Home Music & Arts Festival
July 25

A new addition to this year’s slate of summer festivals is the Dover Children’s Home Music & Arts Festival, which takes place in Henry Law Park along the banks of the Cochecho River on Saturday, July 25, from noon to 9 p.m.

The new festival replaces Dover Night Out, which was cut from the city’s budget this year. A total of 10 area bands will perform in the park, including Monkey Bar, The Speed of Film, When Geeks Unite, Maniacal, The Lower Village People, Forging Reverie, Approaching the Fall and a youth all-star band. Donna Coraluzzo, executive director of the Dover Children’s Home, said the acts range from hard rock bands to mellower solo performances.

The free festival features many child and teen friendly activities. In addition to the music, there will be arts and crafts, dancing performances, caricature artists, face painting, a professional psychic reader and plenty of food vendors. Wildlife Encounters Zoo will be on hand with live animals, and Coraluzzo also plans to bring in some kind of amusement ride.

“The focus of this event is to celebrate family, communities and children,” she said.

Several business vendors will have booths at the festival, and Coraluzzo still has space for more. Interested businesses should contact her at 603-742-4289 ext. 12 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it For more information, visit www.doverchildrenshome.org.