Yarmouth Clam Festival

Looking for something cool to do this weekend?  Why not take a trip up to Yarmouth, Maine, and enjoy the annual Yarmouth Clam Festival.  This takes place from Friday, July 16 through Sunday, July 18.  In addition to great food, there will also be live music, arts & craft shows, horse & wagon rides, trolley tours, and much more.  See the website for details.

And of course, there is the traditional Clam Festival parade on Friday night.  This event is so popular that people are already setting up their lawn chairs to reserve the best place to sit.

Admission to the Festival is free, and proceeds from parking and your purchases at various booths will go to support local community stuff.

So don’t spend another boring weekend at the computer, researching stuff like treatment for adult acne and the like. We’re supposed to get a halfway decent weekend, so come on out and have fun!

Learn Your Beer!

I know it’s only July, and both the Maine and New Hampshire Brewers Festivals are months away.  But it’s not too soon to order your tickets to either or both of these great events.  In fact, the sooner, the better, as they always sell out.  It’s usually best to get your tickets sometime during the summer, so you won’t be disappointed.

I actually pre-ordered our tickets to thew Maine fest at last year’s Maine fest.  Haven’t gotten my tix yet, but no doubt they will mail them out in plenty of time.  I think this year we might go to the Dinner With The Brewers event the night before the actual festival.  This will be held at the Portland Clarion Hotel on Friday, November 5.  I think we were planning to come up on Friday, anyway, and stay over for two nights at the Inn at St. John.  We would be going to the afternoon session of the festival on Saturday, November 6.  This weekend usually coincides with single game tickets for the Portland Sea Dogs going on sale.  From the Inn at St. John, we have to walk right past the ticket office at Hadlock Field to get to the Portland Expo, where the beer festival takes place.

The New Hampshire festival will be held the following weekend at the Manchester Radisson Hotel.  As with the Maine festival, there will be a Dinner With The Brewers on Friday, November 12, followed by two tasting sessions on Saturday.  I don’t think we’ll be going to the dinner for this one, because I don’t think Mike can take two Fridays off in a row.  I think we will just go to the evening session of the festival on Saturday, stay overnight, and go home the next day.  But that could change, it’s still a long ways off.

Although they will be offering special package deals which include lodging at the Radisson, I don’t think we’ll be taking advantage of that this year.  Since we always stay at the Hilton Garden Inn when we’re up for Fisher Cats game weekends, I’ve accumulated a boatload of HHonors points.  I got an email from them about “Point-Stretcher” periods, where I could redeem points for 40% less than usual at certain hotels and certain times.  I checked, and the Manchester HGI is not only included, but so is the weekend of the beer festival.  So that’s where we’ll be staying…you can’t get any better than FREE!  The HGI also has a free shuttle for guests, and last year, they were more than happy to take us to the Radisson…much appreciated since it was raining that night!

This will be the second year of the NH festival.  At this one, they have various beer tasting seminars, in addition to the regular tasting booths.  They promise to have even more of these this year than they did last year…but I wouldn’t look for anything too weird, such as the best face creams to use with your favorite beer. But they did have an interesting beer & chocolate pairing seminar, which was cool. Many people would not think about pairing beer and chocolate, but it definitely can be done, with very tasty results!

November will be here before we know it, so the time to start making plans is now!

Military Appreciation Weekend at Mystic Seaport

This coming weekend, July 10-11, visit Mystic Seaport Museum and help celebrate Military Appreciation Weekend.  Visitors can tour a real Navy ship and meet real Navy men and women who work on board.  And all active duty and retired military of all branches, and their families, will receive special discounted admission!

If you will be in the Newport, RI area and like to sail, there are still some spots left for the Mystic Seaport America’s Cup Regatta.    The yachts all have nice names and a lot of history, none of them are called prototype 37-c or anything like that. I suppose if you are not sailing, you’re allowed to go down there and just watch.  The race will take place on Saturday, July 10.

Finally, back in Mystic on Sunday, wind down your weekend with one of the Seaport’s Summer Sunday Evenings by the River. These free events run from 5-8PM every Sunday during the summer.  The exhibits will be closed, but visitors are still allowed to stroll the grounds, listen to live local musicians, and enjoy outdoor dining and a cash bar at Schaefer’s Spouter Tavern ($ applies to food and drinks).  Beat the heat by enjoying the lovely evening breeze from the river!

4th of July at Old Sturbridge Village

Are you looking for an interesting way to spend Independence Day?  Don’t want to deal with the mob scenes that will no doubt be all over Boston, especially at the Esplanade?  Then why not come out to Old Sturbridge Village, where you can enjoy not one, but TWO special holiday programs?

Come for the day, and enjoy an 1830′s Independence Day.  Or come for the evening program, and enjoy entertainment, games, and to cap it all off – FIREWORKS!  Or choose to come for the day, and stay for the evening!  Please note that two separate admission fees are involved.  Daytime activities are regular Museum admission costs, a separate ticket is needed for the evening program.

Regular Museum admission prices are $20 for adults, $18 for seniors (65+), $7 for kids (3-17), free, for kids under 3.  Museum members are admitted free.  For the evening program, current prices are $10 for members and $12 for non-members.  Kids under 3 free.  As of July 1, all tickets will be $15.  This sells out every year, so get your tickets ASAP!

Beer Tastings Aboard the Mayflower II

Back in May, I blogged about summer beer tastings aboard Plimoth Plantation’s Mayflower II.  Well, now the schedule has officially been announced.  These tastings will take place aboard the ship every Wednesday evening, from 5:30 – 7PM.  The cost for the tasting is $10 in addition to admission to the ship; Plimoth Plantation Museum members get to board the ship free.  Participants must be 21 +, and the cost includes a special Mayflower Ale pint glass to take home.

The only one of Mayflower Brewing Company’s beers I have tried so far is their Pale Ale.  They have it on tap at the museum’s restaurant.  I am anxious to try their other brews, most notably their Summer Rye Ale, I’ve been hearing great things about that stuff!

Come dressed comfortable and casual, no need for protective clothing – the ship doesn’t sail, it stays docked. I haven’t had a chance to see it yet, but I hear that the exhibit is staffed with costumed role players who will talk about what it was like to be a sailor back in the 1600′s. Yes, and the exhibit will actually be open, it’s open evenings now all summer.

Looking forward to our first visit, and to the beer!