This is NHPR’s The Big Question. We ask you a question about life in New Hampshire, you submit an answer, and your voice may be featured on air or online.
Granite Staters are heading to the polls to cast their votes in local and national elections. Voting is one important way to be civically engaged, but it’s not the only way.
For October’s Big Question, we asked you: How do you stay civically engaged in New Hampshire?
Here’s what some of you said.
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Peter – Greenland, NH: I’m a board member of the Japan American Society of New Hampshire, which seeks to keep the Treaty of Portsmouth alive, which was signed in 1905. I’m also a board member of the World Affairs Council of New Hampshire, whose motto is ‘We bring the world to New Hampshire and New Hampshire to the world.’ I work with some of my fellow citizens on two Greenland committees, and I get a lot of satisfaction from that one, that I’m making a difference and not just sitting and complaining about things and the people who are similarly motivated as I am are really interesting people that I am glad to include in my circle of friends.
John – Londonderry, NH: I’ve done a number of other things. I will be a poll watcher on Tuesday. I have written letters to the editor a few times. When we moved to Londonderry, I attended the deliberative sessions just to see what the town issues were like. I guess I just find the time because it’s important… I feel it’s important for the community. I try to listen more than talk. I think I try not to get into heated discussions with anybody about politics, and I just try to do little things that I can. You don’t have to spend a lot of time writing a letter to the editor. [It] takes a little time or a little thought, and often it’s not just sitting down, but while I’m out walking or something, thinking about it so it doesn’t have to take a lot of time. It just takes some thought and willingness to do it.
Katie – Durham, NH: I started volunteering at the polls a few years ago and found that that was just a fun way to see all the people in town that you only see once every four years. But I volunteer at the polls and most of all, what I’ve really started doing lately is canvassing, because it’s one of the most effective things you can do for your candidates. Everybody thinks it’s a terrible thing to do to go up and knock on strangers’ doors, but it’s actually really fun to get to talk to people and hopefully make a difference in who you’re trying to get elected. What’s amazing to me is people actually recognize me or recognize at least my name from the town council. And some people will talk to you for 20 minutes and some people will talk to you for a minute and a half. But it’s a connection of some sort, because we’re either talking about their Halloween decorations or their dogs and then politics, too. But it is building connections in the community.
Eric Baxter – Manchester, NH: I created a small little free art gallery and it had some surprising dividends. I opened it up because I thought it was interesting and I thought people would appreciate art, but since then it’s become sort of a community fixture, and I think it’s helped build the character of the neighborhood and the fabric of the neighborhood. So it’s nothing that would be, I guess, could be characterized as like strict civic engagement where you’re going out and getting people to vote. Or at least that’s what I would think. But it is getting people to take an active interest in where they live, and improving the streets and making it seem less just like a place to exist in, more like a place to call home.
Sunflowers are my absolute FAVORITE flowers. I truly feel like they have magical uplifting abilities. Hence, why I’ve always kept fresh sunflowers in my house, brightening up my kitchen table or even my TV stand.
Obviously, it was a dream of mine to have my maternity photos taken in a sunflower field. They reflect sunshine and exude happiness.
Not to mention, one of my favorite quotes is about sunflowers! “Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow. It’s what sunflowers do.” Helen Keller
A beautiful reminder to keep an optimistic outlook on life and not dwell on the negative.
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So, you can imagine the joy I felt when I learned that New Hampshire had its very own Sunflower Festival at Coppal House Farm in Lee!
Coppal House Farm via FacebookCoppal House Farm via Facebook
About the Sunflower Festival:
During the summer, the farm transforms into a sea of golden blooms, giving visitors the chance to wander through thousands of sunflowers, snap photos, enjoy local food vendors, artisan crafts, listen to live music, and experience one of New Hampshire’s most beautiful summer traditions.
Other unique activities on the itinerary? Sip-n-snip! Guests can enjoy a cocktail or mocktail of their choice and cut their own fresh bouquet of flowers.
Coppal House Farm via FacebookCoppal House Farm via Facebook
Or maybe you’re a yoga fan? You can join a 60-minute sweat session from Lee, New Hampshire yoga instructors right in the heart of the flower field.
And because the farm grows oilseed sunflowers for culinary oil (which they harvest in the fall months), the flowers only stay at their peak for a brief window, making the festival a limited-time experience, according to the festival organizers…
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What makes this event even more special is the reason behind it. The festival started as a way to share the beauty of the sunflower fields, but it has grown into something much bigger. Organizers say the event has raised more than $90,000 for Make-A-Wish New Hampshire over the years and now shares a portion of its proceeds with several local nonprofit organizations serving the Seacoast community.
Anyone who knows me knows that paying it forward is something that’s incredibly important to me. It’s right up there with my love of sunflowers because both fill my cup in the best way. So, when I found out this festival celebrates my favorite flower and gives back to the community, I knew I had to share it.
Sunflower Festival Details:
This festival only runs from Saturday, July 25th until Sunday, August 2nd. You can get the full list of activities and more on the Coppal Farm website.
Daily Field Hours
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10:00 AM – 6:30 PM (last admission at 6PM because fields close at 6:30) Weekend Tickets (prepurchased online – day before) $12 per person ages 13 & older $10 per person ages 5-12 $10 per person Seniors (65+) & Military 4 yrs & under are always free Weekend Tickets (purchased day of – online or at farm): $16 per person ages 13 & older $14 per person ages 5-12 $14 per person Seniors (65+) & Military 4 yrs & under are always free includes: access to sunflower fields, craft fair, food vending area, tented shade area, picnic area, farm animals, & live music
Weekday Tickets (prepurchased online – day before) $8 per person ages 13 & older $6 per person ages 5-12 $6 per person Seniors (65+) & Military 4 yrs & under are always free
Weekday Tickets (purchased day of – online or at farm) $12 per person ages 13 & older $10 per person ages 5-12 $10 per person Seniors (65+) & Military 4 yrs & under are always free
What tickets include: Access to sunflower fields, food vending area, tented shade area, picnic area, and farm animals
READ MORE: A Classic Fairy Tale Comes To Life At Portsmouth’s Prescott Park This Summer
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This festival might just leave you smiling long after you leave the fields!
What Flowers Thrive in New England
See what flowers thrive in New England weather: Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.
Gallery Credit: Logan
14 of the Best New Hampshire Farms Offering Locally Grown Strawberries
14 of the Best New Hampshire Farms Offering PYO Strawberries
Ed. Note: If this was you and you are interested, please email [email protected] so I can put you in touch with OP.
“Dear PoPville,
I was biking home from a doctor appointment a little before noon on Friday, and stopped at a red light on New Hampshire & L st nw. There was a woman across the street who was looking fine in her dark blue (I think they were) scrubs. I might be crazy, but it felt like we kept checking each other out. By the third time,
if we were in a romcom, one of us would have waved. Sorry I didn’t, but if you are reading this and date men, reach out to the Prince if you are interested in that man on the bike. Have a great weekend!”
Ed. Note: If this is you, please email [email protected] so I can put you in touch with OP. PoPville is not affiliated with either party, please proceed with any potential connection at your own risk using caution as you would any online encounter. For those curious about past missed connections, many have been made and when possible I’ll try to update when/if more are made.
A New Hampshire motorcyclist who had been missing since the Fourth of July was found dead in Shelburne late Thursday night.
State police say they received a request from the Berlin Police Department just after 7:30 p.m. Thursday for help locating 41-year-old Wesley Grondin — the Berlin man was last seen riding his motorcycle on Saturday, July 4, and had been reported missing.
Troopers received a call a couple of hours later, around 10:10 p.m. Thursday, from a concerned resident who had been out looking for Grondin along Route 2 in Shelburne. The person told police they had found Grondin dead, along with his Harley Davidson.
According to state police, a preliminary investigation determined that Grondin was riding his Harley on Route 2 westbound in Shelburne when, for reasons that remain under investigation, he crossed over into the opposing lane, struck a post, and came to a final rest in the wood line.
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The crash is believed to have occurred just before midnight on July 4. At this time, police say there’s no indication that another vehicle or person was involved.
All aspects of the crash remain under investigation, however. Anyone with information that may assist investigators is asked to contact Trooper Hunter Newsham at Hunter.P.Newsham@dos.nh.gov.
