-
The 5th Annual Winnipesaukee Wine Festival at Church Landing!
Posted on June 18th, 2010 No commentsGet ready for two great nights of music, food, and wine next week, as the Fifth Annual Winnipesaukee Wine Festival and the Pre-Festival Beach Party come to the shores of Meredith Bay on Wednesday, June 23rd and Thursday the 24th!
The Wine Festival will be held on Thursday from 5:30 – 8:00 in the Winnipesaukee Ballroom at Church Landing, where 21 vendors and winemakers will offer tastings of hundreds of fine wines accompanied by delicious hors d’oeuvres. These delectable dishes will be prepared by several local eateries, including Lakehouse Grille, The Corner House Inn, The Coe House, Wild Coyote Grill, Owen’s Farm Stand, Town Docks, Lago, and Camp.
Also on hand will be Cisco Brewers, a microbrewery and distillery from Nantucket, offering samples of their small-batch beers, as well as their popular Triple Eight Vodka. They will even set up an ice bar, where folks can enjoy martinis poured through the ice luge!
Music will be provided by the talented local jazz duo of Don Williams and David Tonkin, who play frequently throughout New Hampshire in various jazz ensembles and bands, and are also on staff at the Concord Community Music School. Nothing goes better with fine wine and food than great jazz music!
A $50 donation per person is requested, and all proceeds benefit The Haiti Limb Project, a small charity that was started locally to help survivors of the recent earthquake in Haiti. All the money raised will be hand delivered to the people who directly help the amputees there.
The Inns and Spa at Mill Falls are helping out too, by extending special rates just for the occasion. With proof of your ticket purchase for the festival, a room at Mill Falls is $99, and a room at Chase House or Bay Point only $109. You can wine and dine all night long and not worry about driving home!
Frank Barbagallo of Duckhorn Wine Company in Napa Valley, California pours samples for attendees at last year's Winnipesaukee Wine Festival.
“It’s the biggest bang for your buck,” says Diane Downing of the Common Man Family, who is organizing the event. “There will be over 100 wines, beautiful food, wonderful music, rooms at the Inns at half price… and every penny goes to our charity.”
To top it off, there will be a raffle for the fundraiser with some great prizes, including magnums of wine from some of the vendors, an overnight stay at the Inns and Spa at Mill Falls, an overnight stay at the Common Man Inn, something special from Wholly Tara Boutique in Ashland, and a vacation package of three nights and four days for four people at a beach cottage on Nantucket.
Kick off the event early at the Pre- Festival Beach Party to be held at Town Docks Wednesday evening at 6:00. Enjoy some summer sangria while you dance on the sand! Robbie Leblanc, formerly of Toto, will be there with his new band to keep the party jumping! There will be no cover charge for this event and half the proceeds will go to the Haiti Limb Project.
These two days of festivities are “more than just sipping wine,” says Diane. “These people give so much.” To join the fun and the good cause, call the Common Man Family at 603-968-9330 or visit their website at www.thecman.com. For the special room rates at the Inns, please call 800-622-6455 and mention the Winnipesaukee Wine Festival. Hope to see you there!
Carrie Reed
The Mill Falls Blogging TeamImage credit: yashima at Flickr.com
-
Celebrate the Season at the NH Boat Museum’s Spring Fling!
Posted on April 27th, 2010 No comments
This coming Friday, April 30th, The NH Boat Museum is hosting its annual Spring Fling in Wolfeboro at Club 59 at the Kingswood Golf Club. The event marks the beginning of the museum’s 10th season in Wolfeboro, and serves as a mini fundraiser for all the exhibits, programs, and activities the non-profit organization offers throughout the year.The evening promises to be a real treat, with a cash bar and hors d’oeuvres at 6pm, followed by a full dinner at 7pm with your choice of entrée (indicated with your advance ticket). A small live auction will be the highlight of the night, with many fun summer items generously donated by the community. Some of the items up for grabs are a three-day get-away at a beachfront cottage at Goose Rocks Beach, Kennebunkport, Maine, a one-hour Lakes Region aerial tour, antique wooden boat rides, Jersey Skiff rides, gift certificates, and more!
According to their website, “The New Hampshire Boat Museum is an educational organization focusing on the boating heritage and life on the lakes and rivers of New Hampshire. We serve the local community and visitors by presenting exhibits and outreach programs, events, publications and hands-on activities.” The museum is located just two miles from the center of Wolfeboro, “The Oldest Summer Resort In America,” and features many of the finest examples of vintage mahogany and antique boats.
There are still a few seats available for the Spring Fling, and ticket sales close at the end this Wednesday, the 28th, so don’t miss this last chance to get on board! For more information visit the NH Boat Museum’s events page, or call Bruce MacLellan at 603-253-9887 or Ann Sprague at 603-677-2196.
Image credit: Let Ideas Compete at Flickr.com
-
Meredith Hosts First Annual Pond Hockey Classic Tournament
Posted on January 28th, 2010 No commentsGet ready for another busy weekend in the village—The New England Pond Hockey Classic will be held February 5th through the 7th and will bring together 77 teams from across the northeast to compete on seven rinks that are ready on the ice of Meredith Bay.
Pond hockey is a form of ice hockey that is a traditional winter game played by pick-up teams on a natural frozen body of water in northern towns. “It’s going to be a throwback experience, like going back in time to hockey’s roots, to the real basics. People have a lot of good memories of pond hockey and that’s really how the game was born,” said Scott Crowder, tournament director.
The 3-day tournament will accommodate adult teams in five different age divisions. Games will be played in a four-on-four, no goalie, round-robin format, with small, six-inch high goals. “That discourages slap shots and makes accuracy and passing a big part of the game,” Crowder said. There will be no referees, but instead a rink monitor who will ensure that the competitive spirit of the players stays in place.
The New England Pond Hockey Classic (NEPHC) has partnered with four non-profits: The Greater Meredith Program, Restore Hockey, Lakes Region Youth Hockey and the Special Olympics of NH. All will be present throughout the course of the weekend hoping to raise some money to benefit their missions. NEPHC will hold a silent auction and raffle in the Chase House Flagship Ballroom on Friday and Saturday from 9:00 – 5:00, with all proceeds going to benefit the non-profit partners.
NEPHC is also planning two socials to take place in the Flagship Ballroom. On Friday evening, tournament participants and guests can be merry while watching the Hockey East game live on NESN, and at the Saturday night social, winners of the Silent Auction and Raffle will be announced. Both events will have a cash bar and light fare provided by the Common Man Restaurant.
“We have received a wonderful response from participants, sponsors, and volunteers alike,” says Crowder. “We currently have over 35 teams on a wait list for the tournament. We have over 60 volunteers and a number of wonderful sponsors on board to help make this event a great success in its first year.”
Crowder, the founder of Ekal Excursions LLC, which was formed to promote the Lakes Region lifestyle year-round, says, “I couldn’t be happier to call Lake Winnipesaukee and Meredith my home. Visitors during tournament weekend will truly feel like they have traveled back in time as they pull into the village with its charming character and old New England architecture and see a frozen lake filled with pond hockey rinks.”
Crowder says the New England Pond Hockey Classic is looking to run an event that will grow over the years and ultimately involve multiple locations around the lake for much larger tournaments. “It’s nice to provide this opportunity for pond hockey players from New England. We hope the Pond Hockey Classic will become an annual event for the players of this region for years to come.”
Can’t make it to the event? Thanks to InterLakes.TV, you can watch the 2010 New England Pond Hockey Classic from the comfort of your own home! Some videos will be pre-recorded and others will be streamed live from Lake Winnipesaukee. Please visit www.interlakes.tv to watch the action!
Pond Hockey Tournament in Maine:
sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pond_hockey
-
Coming Soon: The 2010 Great Meredith Rotary Fishing Derby!
Posted on January 13th, 2010 3 comments
On the weekend of January 30th, the frozen surface of Lake Winnipesaukee will be transformed into a bustling metropolis of ice-fishing bob houses and folks gathered to participate in one of the Lakes Regions biggest winter events—The 31st Great Rotary Fishing Derby!
The two-day Ice Fishing Derby is one of the top fund-raising events in the state, enabling The Meredith Rotary Club to donate more than $1.6 million back into the community for charitable projects, area improvements, and scholarships. The Rotary Club, in consultation with the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, also stocks tagged fish in several New Hampshire Lakes as part of an ongoing fisheries management plan.
The Derby brings visitors to New Hampshire from all over the country. Fishermen, their families, and friends come to Meredith in hopes of catching the heaviest Rotary-tagged Rainbow Trout and claiming the grand prize. This year’s First Prize is an 18-foot Pioneer sport fiberglass fishing boat and Tidewater trailer valued at over $25,500. Second Prize is a Honda ATV and trailer valued at $6,500, and Third Prize is an Old Town sporting kayak with trolling motor package valued at $1,100.
On Friday, January 29th, The Rotary Club will host a free ice fishing panel discussion from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Meredith Community Center to kickoff the weekend. According to Rob Wichland, chairman of the 2010 Great Meredith Rotary Fishing Derby, “The panel discussion events we’ve hosted since 2006 were such a great success, we’re doing it again in 2010.” Don Miller of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, as well as Travis Williams and Adrien Lavoie, licensed New Hampshire fishing guides, will discuss ice fishing tips, techniques, and equipment. Light refreshments will be served.
Tickets for the Derby are $30 and are available at more than a dozen locations around Lake Winnipesaukee, including A.J.’s Bait and Tackle, the Winnisquam Trading Post, Skelly’s Market, Alton Circle Grocery and at Paugus Bay Sporting Goods. You can also purchase tickets online (click on “items”), or by calling The Meredith Rotary Club at 603-279-7600. Online ticket sales prior to January 18th will be mailed to the address provided. After that, requested tickets may be picked up at Derby Headquarters at Hesky Park in Meredith. Headquarters will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. on Friday, January 29th, 2010 and will open again at 5:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 30th. If the Derby is postponed, your tickets cannot be refunded, but will be honored when the event is rescheduled.
Postponement is unlikely. As of January 12th, virtually all of Lake Winnipesaukee is now frozen. The current lake temp is 32.9ºF and dropping slowly. Low temps for this upcoming week are expected to range between five and ten degrees, allowing the ice to thicken up quickly. Looks like the conditions will be right for a great Derby!
sources:
http://www.weirsonline.com/fishingderby.htm
http://www.meredithrotary.com/2010_Derby_with_cart/Fishing_Derby.html
-
“Freezin’ for a Reason” in Meredith
Posted on January 9th, 2010 No comments
Come on out for a good cause tomorrow—the second annual Winnipesaukee Dip to benefit the Special Olympics of New Hampshire (SONH) will be taking place at noon near the Meredith town docks on Sunday, January 10th. The Winni Dip is one of the fundraising efforts of the Law Enforcement Torch Run sponsored by the NH Association of Chiefs of Police. Approximately one hundred dippers representing police, fire, emergency response crews, and other public safety agencies are expected to plunge into the ice-cold waters of Lake Winnipesaukee to benefit the 3,500 participants of SONH.Participation is open to everyone, and it’s not too late to sign up. Registration is taking place online at the SONH website, or on the day of the event at the Winnipesaukee Ballroom at Church Landing. A twenty-five dollar, non-refundable commitment fee is due at registration for each individual and a total of $250 in contributions is the minimum to participate.
The costume theme for this year’s event is “Superheroes.” Prizes will be awarded for individuals and teams with the best costumes, as well as to individuals and teams who raise the most money for SONH.
Carol Cray, Special Olympics Development Director, said that the Winni Dip Management Team expects the number of participants in 2010 to be double that of 2009.
Participants may also designate 15% of the funds they raise to the not-for-profit organization or government agency of their choice. Mike Sielicki, Chief of Police in Rindge and Director of the Torch Run said, “This is a great way for all public safety agencies to support the Special Olympics and earn some money for local projects.”
So even if you’re not dipping in the Lake, come down to Meredith tomorrow to cheer on those brave “Superheroes!”
sources:
http://www.nh.com/features/recreation/505084-167/meredith-gets-ready-for-2nd-annual-winni.html