Children’s Museum and BAE Systems Thank Military Members and Their Families

DOVER—
Throughout the month of May, the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire is focusing on honoring military personnel past and present. By providing families opportunities to communicate their thanks to service men and women, and welcoming military families for a free weekend visit, the museum and partner organizations hope to convey support and gratitude to soldiers in all branches of the military.
During Memorial Day Weekend, the families of military service members will be able to enjoy free admission to the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire thanks to BAE Systems. Generous corporate sponsorship from BAE is allowing the Children’s Museum of NH to admit active-duty and retired military personnel and their immediate families at no charge from Saturday, May 28 through Monday, May 30, 2011.
“We are thrilled to be able to honor and thank the people serving our country during Memorial Day Weekend,” stated Jane Bard, Director of Education for the Children’s Museum of NH. “Whether it’s an enlisted person serving locally or the family of an officer deployed overseas, we look forward to welcoming all of these guests thanks to the generosity of BAE Systems.”
During Memorial Day weekend, military personnel and/or their immediate family members will be admitted free to the Children’s Museum of NH by showing a valid military ID at the museum’s front desk. Additional guests would be asked to pay the museum’s standard admission fee. The museum offers a year-round 10% admission discount for active-duty and retired military members.
“Military families endure many hardships as a result of their loved ones service to our country,” says Lu Goncalves-Getty, Community & Business Relations Manager at BAE Systems. “BAE Systems’ partnership with the NH Children’s Museum is not only a way to say thank you but also provide an opportunity for military families to spend cherished time together.”
Throughout the entire month of May, the Children’s Museum is partnering with the Operation Military Kids and Blue Star Families organization to thank those who serve our country. Museum visitors can write notes and letters of thanks to be sent to active duty military personnel, their spouses, families and children. Museum visitors an also create cards for veterans who have served this country. Operation Military Kids and Blue Star Families will collect the cards and letters from the museum and distribute them around the country and overseas.
Photo caption: Visitors to the Children’s Museum of NH are invited to stop at the “Operation Appreciation” station in May to make cards or write letters of appreciation that will be delivered to military personnel around the world. (Courtesy photo)

St. Thomas Aquinas Students Donate to Lucy’s Love Bus

DOVER—
At the request of St. Thomas sophomore Signe Frick of Amesbury, MA and under the guidance of art teacher Paula Maskwa, St. Thomas Aquinas High School honors art students recently made a donation of paintings for an art auction in support of Lucy’s Love Bus. Truly living our mission to serve others, Signe, a Lucy’s Love Bus volunteer, knew the students at St. Thomas would step up to help this worthy cause.
Lucy’s Love Bus, also based in Amesbury, MA, was started at the request of 12-year-old Lucy Grogan. At eight years old, Lucy was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. During her battle, friends and family in the community helped her receive the benefits of acupuncture, massage, reiki and chiropractic care, which provided her great comfort. Before she died, she told her mother she wanted to start a program that would provide these same relief services to other children undergoing cancer treatment. Since 2006, Lucy’s dream has been a reality and Lucy’s Love Bus has been able to deliver therapies to children dealing with the painful effects of cancer.
For more information about Lucy’s Love Bus, visit their website at www.lucyslovebus.org.
Photo caption: Front row: (left to right) Maria Sutryn, Meredith Marino, Lydia Wolter, Nicole Cornell, Chelsea Paine. Back row: (left to right) Marianne Russell, Meaghan Morrison, Julia Mardin, and Andrew Foss. (Courtesy photo)

Active Start to the Outdoor Farmers’ Markets

PORTSMOUTH/EXETER—
Mark your calendars! The outdoor farmers’ markets in Exeter and Portsmouth will get off to an active start this year.
While the Exeter market opened on Thursday, May 5, the Portsmouth market will open on Saturday, May 7, from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Additional outdoor markets in Dover, Durham and Hampton will follow in June.
After much ado about moving the Exeter Farmers’ Market to a new location to accommodate road construction in town, the Exeter Board of Selectmen voted Monday night to keep the Exeter Farmers’ Market at Swasey Parkway, after all. The Portsmouth Farmers’ Market returns to its perch on the hill overlooking South Mill Pond, in the City Hall lot at 1 Junkins Avenue.
The markets, coordinated since 1977 by the local nonprofit Seacoast Growers’ Association, are known for their focus on local agricultural products and what they call the “SGA Guarantee” that participating vendors grow, raise, catch and make 100 percent of the products offered at SGA markets.
How local is local? Real local, organizers say. SGA farmers, food producers and artisans all hail from the immediate Seacoast region of Rockingham and Strafford counties in New Hampshire and York County, Maine.
The array of local offerings is vast, including everything from staple produce to heirloom variety fruits and vegetables to heritage breed meats, locally caught fish and raw, organic dairy products. Homemade baked goods, gourmet food items and take-home meals round out the grocery shopping potential at local farmers’ markets. A bounty of annual and perennial bedding plants, veggie starts, and hanging flower baskets are also available for gardeners. Fine crafts by juried artisans sweeten the list with pottery, jewelry, photography, furniture and more.
This year, in addition to the weekly music series at Portsmouth Farmers’ Market, sponsored by Portsmouth Community Radio, Seacoast Growers’ Association is offering up special activities and educational programs. The weekly events will rotate through all five market towns, starting in May with bountiful opportunities for planting:
Saturday, May 7: music by Mike & Mike from 9:00 a.m. to noon, plus “Marigolds for Mom” at Portsmouth Farmers’ Market, 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Not just for kids! Join us at the market activity booth for Marigolds for Mom, a chance to seed your own marigolds, just in time for Mother’s Day on May 8! We’ll provide the seeds, pots, soil mix, and popsicle sticks for labeling. SGA’s own John Wakefield of Shagbark Farm will be on-hand for planting guidance and growing advice. If you’re inspired to do more planting at home, stop by our guest vendor booth to pick up some locally produced compost from EcoMovement.
Thursday, May 12: “May Marigolds” at Exeter Farmers’ Market, 2:15 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Join us at the market activity booth for May Marigolds, a chance to plant your own marigolds from seed. We’ll provide the seeds, pots, soil mix, and popsicle sticks for labeling. And SGA’s own Sofie Larsen of Applegard Farm will be on-hand for planting guidance and growing advice.
Saturday, May 21: music by Bob Halperin from 9:00 a.m. to noon, plus “Start Your Garden Day” at Portsmouth Farmers’ Market, 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Start your garden at the farmers’ market! Join us at the market activity booth for a compost give-away and free transplanting demonstration offered by SGA’s own Sofie Larsen of Applegard Farm. Sofie will also bring her personal library of beautiful gardening reference books for you to peruse, and of course you can tap into her expertise, too! A bounty of seeds from High Mowing Organic Seeds will be available for purchase.
Thursday, May 26: “Start Your Garden Day” at Exeter Farmers’ Market, 2:15 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Start your garden at the farmers’ market! Join us at the market activity booth for a compost give-away and free transplanting demonstration offered by SGA’s own Sofie Larsen of Applegard Farm. Sofie will also bring her personal library of beautiful gardening reference books for you to peruse, and of course you can tap into her expertise, too! A bounty of seeds from High Mowing Organic Seeds will be available for purchase.
Area nonprofits, businesses, municipal representatives and individuals interested in participating in SGA’s Community Partners program to bring educational activities for all ages to market are invited to contact Public Relations Director Hilary Niles at newsletter@seacoastgrowers.org or (603) 969-8004.
All markets are held rain or shine every week. The outdoor farmers’ market season extends to mid-October and early November.
For more information about Seacoast Growers’ Association’s five weekly outdoor farmers’ markets or to sign up for their weekly e-newsletter with tips on what’s in season, new recipes and “Know Your Farmer” profiles, visit www.seacoastgrowers.org.
Photo caption: A cornucopia of veggies are in season and available direct from the farmers at Portsmouth Farmers’ Market. (Photo by Hilary Niles)