Yesterday we took in something that was new to us, THE REDNECK REGATTA.  This little known fund-raising event is held every year in Campton (a town about a 15 minute ride away).  The cost to participate is $20.00 per person and all proceeds go to charity.  The day starts with free coffee and donuts and then the fun begins.  This is a two mile race down the Pemi River ending at the Country Cow Restaurant where participants are treated to a free bar-b-que and live music.  We didn't see any racing, just a lot of relaxing, music and fun, floating down the river.  The trip downriver takes about 3-4 hours.   The fun part of this event is that you go downriver by any means possible.  We saw canoes, kayaks, air mattresses, truck tire tubes, plastic rafts, and even wood rafts built on sealed drums.  Participants are encouraged to decorate their means of transport in any imaginative way they can come up with.  This is a must-do for next year.  It was just TOO COOL!  Once their website is created, I will post a link to it.

At long last, Jean's Playhouse is now open.  This brand new structure replaces the now demolished Papermill theatre.  Through the summer, you can see both MainStage and children's performances brought to you by NCCA, THE NORTH COUNTRY CENTER FOR THE ARTS.  Below is the summer 2012 schedule. Children's Performances are only on wednesday and saturday mornings).  Tickets are $6.00 each.

The Wedding Singer – In THE WEDDING SINGER, it’s 1985 and rock-star wannabe Robbie Hart is New Jersey’s favorite wedding singer. He’s the life of the party, until his own fiancee leaves him at the altar. Shot through the heart, Robbie makes every wedding as disastrous as his own. Enter Julia, a winsome waitress who wins his affection. Only trouble is Julia is about to be married to a Wall Street shark, and unless Robbie can pull off the performance of a decade, the girl of his dreams will be gone forever. With a brand new score that pays loving homage to the pop songs of the 1980′s, THE WEDDING SINGER takes us back to a time when hair was big, greed was good, collars were up, and a wedding singer might just be the coolest guy in the room.  This show has some adult language and innuendo.

Performances:  July 21, July 23, July 26-27, July 31-Aug. 1, Aug. 4, Aug. 6, Aug. 9, Aug. 10, Aug. 14, Aug. 21, Aug. 24, Aug. 29

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels – Based on the popular 1988 film, DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS centers on two con men living on the French Riviera. The first is the suave and sophisticated Lawrence Jameson, who makes his lavish living by talking rich ladies out of their money. The other, a small-time crook named Freddy Benson, more humbly swindles women by waking their compassion with fabricated stories about his grandmother’s failing health. After meeting on a train, they unsuccessfully attempt to work together only to find that this small French town isn’t big enough for the two of them. They agree on a settlement: the first one to extract $50,000 from a young female target, heiress Christine Colgate, wins and the other must leave town. A hilarious battle of cons ensues, that will keep audiences laughing, humming and guessing to the end!  This show has some adult language and innuendo.

Performances: July 19-20, July 24-25, July 28, July 30, Aug. 2, Aug. 3, Aug. 7-8, Aug. 11, Aug. 13, Aug. 18, Aug. 20, Aug. 22, Aug. 25, Aug. 28

A Grand Night for Singing – Taste and imagination, the two key ingredients for a first-rate revue, abound in this fresh take on the Rodgers & Hammerstein canon conceived by Tony Award winner Walter Bobbie. Over three decades after the duo’s final collaboration, THE SOUND OF MUSIC, took the Great White Way by storm, it was in fact this new R&H musical that opened the 1994 Broadway season with flair and distinction, garnering wildly enthusiastic notices as well as earning two Tony nominations, including Best Musical. Rodgers and Hammerstein probably never imagined ‘Shall We Dance?’ as a comic pas de deux for a towering beauty and her diminutive admirer, nor did they suspect that one day a lovelorn young lad might pose the musical question, ‘How do you solve a problem like Maria?’ But that’s precisely the kind of invention lavished upon this new revue, with innovative musical arrangements including a sultry Andrews Sisters-esque ‘I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Out-a My Hair,’ a swingin’ ‘Honeybun’ worthy of the Modernaires, and a jazzy ‘Kansas City’ which leaves no question about how terrifically up to date the remarkable songs of R&H remain.
 
Performances: Aug. 16-17, Aug. 23, Aug. 27, Aug. 30 – Sep 1, Sept. 27-29, Sept. 30, Oct. 3, Oct. 5, Oct. 7, Oct. 10, Oct. 12, Oct. 17, Oct. 19

For more information on Jean's PlayHouse, please click here.

Do you have a sweet tooth?  NECN Reporter Lauren Collins headed out to the candy shop to taste a little bite of heaven.  Did you know that Chutters is in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the longest candy counter?  Chutters has a smaller version of their Littleton store right here in Lincoln, NH.  Click here to see Lauren's video.

Aerial Forest Adventure Park at Loon NEW! Aerial Forest Adventure ParkOpening Friday, July 13!

Challenge yourself in Loon's new Aerial Forest Adventure Park, the newest aerial adventure park in New Hampshire’s White Mountains!  The Park offers exciting adventure that allows individuals, families and groups to engage in a healthy, fun and challenging activity that builds balance, agility and self confidence while enjoying a beautiful natural mountain forest setting.

The Park consists of 5 courses and 4 levels of varying difficulty (yellow, green, blue and black) which are fun for all ability levels. Participants are challenged to maneuver from platform to platform high up in the trees, by crossing various bridges, climbing ladders, obstacles and zip lines.

The park, a Swiss design that is built to the standards of the Association of Challenge Course Technology (ACCT), consists of 62 platforms and 61 elements that range from 9 to 46 feet off the ground. Here’s a partial list of what you'll find there:

• 9 different ziplines
• Trapeze bridge
• Oscillating walk
• Tibetan bridge
• Chain loops
• Log tightrope walk
• Log suspension bridge
• Himalayan bridge
• Trapeze
• Various ladders
• Hanging wooden blocks and More!

After guests are fitted with harnesses and gloves, they go through a safety and park usage orientation, and then head up to the Park to navigate their chosen courses. The park is self-guided and uses the Smart Safety Belay (SSB) system, which is a permanently-activated securing system where one safety hook is always firmly anchored, even when switching courses.

• For ages 7 and up. Children 7-13 must be supervised or accompanied by an adult (18+)
• Maximum weight is 250 lbs.
• No previous experience is needed

Pricing / 2-Hr. Session:July 13 through August 10 (the first 3 courses only will be open):
Adult 13+: $39
Junior (7-12): $29 (ages 7-13 must be supervised or accompanied by an adult (18+)

August 11 and later for Full Park - all 5 courses:
Adult 13+: $49
Junior (7-12): $39 (ages 7-13 must be supervised or accompanied by an adult (18+)

The Aerial Forest Adventure Park is also included in the Super Adventure Pass, which is an economical way to have a full day of outdoor fun, and also includes the zipline across the Pemigewasset River, 2-hour mountain bike rental and unlimited gondola skyrides (longest scenic gondola skyride in NH), bungee trampoline and climbing wall. Adult (13+) $69; Junior (7-12) $49