With Easter preparations in full swing, including Palm Sunday services last weekend, trips to the grocery store and cracking into filled chocolate eggs, the bases are covered for this cherished holiday: the religious, the practical and the mythical, deliciously silly.
How we progressed from messianic resurrection to pastels and posing with a chocolate-obsessed mascot at the mall, I don’t know, but I love every part of Easter.
This weekend, I’ll be at home frosting my favorite carrot cake, sharing in the Brazilian cod dish that’s traditional for my family and celebrating with the people I love.
If I mentally wind forward the spool of time, I can place myself there. Our living room vibrates with laughter, the warmth of garlic and rosemary invites us into the kitchen. Pink hydrangeas and my mom’s crocheted white tablecloth brighten the room. Wherever you find yourself this weekend, may you experience a similar sense of serenity and joy.
Several churches and towns in the capital region will host Easter egg hunts this weekend, including Allenstown, Boscawen, Penacook and Concord, where the famed bunny won’t be the only recognizable face in the crowd.
Gov. Kelly Ayotte will host the annual State House Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, starting promptly at 10 a.m. on the State House lawn. The event is strictly BYOB: Bring your own basket. Park Street and Capitol Street will be closed from North Main Street to North State Street that morning.
If collecting colored eggs isn’t your thing, consider hitting up Brookford Farm in Canterbury, which is welcoming baby animals every weekend in April. Their Baa Baa Baash runs from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, featuring opportunities to feed the animals, learn about farm life and maybe even witness a live birth.
If you aren’t a child, don’t have any children or find yourself otherwise untempted by Easter festivities, consider a scavenger hunt of a different kind: Concord’s Giant Indoor Yard Sale on Saturday, promising to fill the Everett Arena with thousands of trinkets, tchotchkes and second-hand finds. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission costs $5; children ages 12 and under enter for free.
Finally, if you’re looking for a way to spend your Friday night, before the frenzy of the weekend begins, consider driving up to the Waterhorse Irish Pub in Franklin for an evening of traditional music. Starting at 7 p.m., listen to the musical stylings of fiddles, “bodhráns, guitars, uillean pipes, whistles/flutes, mandolin, concertina and more,” according to their website.
Have a happy weekend!
