Great Bay Food Truck Festival, Free Comic Book Day, 'Sabrina': 8 things to do this weekend
It's the weekend to celebrate your Mom. Whether it's a reservation for brunch or dinner, breakfast in bed, a trip to the Great Bay Food Truck Festival or taking in a show, be sure to spend some time with her if you can. If you can't, there's Free Comic Book Day in Rochester on Saturday, and a wealth of great art to see during the monthly Art 'Round Town on Friday evening. And if you have little ones, you won't want to miss the duck visit to the new "Imagine That!" exhibit of children's book illustrations at Discover Portsmouth Center. That's the best photo op of the weekend.
Read on for all the details you need to know about each event:
Great Bay Food Truck Festival
The second annual Great Bay Food Truck Festival will be at Stratham Hill Park on Saturday, May 7 from noon to 5 p.m., featuring more than 20 food trucks, artisan vendors and music.
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Presented by the Exeter Area Chamber of Commerce and Stratham Parks and Recreation, the event's proceeds will support local programs brought forward by the chamber as well as the Stratham Parks and Recreation Department. Food trucks participating include The Big Bad Food Truck, Bird's Nest Italian Street Food, Grace's Kitchen Pizza, Butter "Ur" Biscuit, Hot Mess Poutine, Chef Rafiki, Mak'n Ends Meat, Kimberly's Gluten Free Kitchen, Chubba Wubba's, Memories Ice Cream, Clyde's Cupcakes, Red's Good Vibes, Coppa Magica, The Sandwich Monstahh, The Daily press, Seacoast Pretzel, Donali's, Seacoast Street Eats, Friends 4 OBA, and Tin Can Co., a huge variety sure to please everyone in your group.
Admission is $5 per person online in advance and $10 per person the day of the event. Limited tickets are available and children age 4 and under are free. Free onsite parking is at the end of Jack Rabbit Lane in the open field behind Stratham Hill Park. Parking will not be allowed on Jack Rabbit Lane. Satellite parking will be available at the Mill Brook Office Park located at 118 Portsmouth Ave. and shuttles will run to the festival and back on a continuous loop.
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Rochester Free Comic Book Day
The Rochester Free Comic Book Day Festival returns on Saturday, May 7 with a convention hall, costumed super-heroes and tons of free comics books, of course. From 10 a.m. on, rain or shine, families can visit participating businesses in downtown Rochester and get a free comic book at each one, meaning you could collect more than two dozen free comic books. The Comic Book Scavenger Hunt map can be downloaded at jetpackcomics.com and directs attendees to the participating downtown Rochester businesses and organizations. The convention hall will be at The Ballroom at the Governor's Inn with dozens of guests, vendors, local artists and nationally known comic book creators. The Garage at the Governor's Inn provides the stage for the yearly costume contest, starting at 4:30 p.m., with hundreds of dollars in prizes. Live music from '80s and '90s cover band The Toes starts at 7 p.m., at the Garage. For more info, email jetpackcomics@gmail.com.
15th annual PMAC Jazz Night
The faculty of the PMAC Jazz Institute are back for their 15th annual Jazz Night concert. This year’s show at The Music Hall in Portsmouth will celebrate the music of three iconic jazz composers: Horace Silver, Mary Lou Williams, and Charles Mingus. This ensemble of the region’s top jazz musicians will bring the music to life through traditional arrangements and innovative new takes on classic jazz masterpieces. The centerpiece of the evening is a celebration of Charles Mingus’s 100th birthday. Admission is $25 for the concert at 7:30 p.m., Friday, May 6. Visit themusichall.org for tickets.
New 'Imagine That!' exhibit opens
The Portsmouth Historical Society harnesses the magic of picture book art in its latest exhibit, “Imagine That! The Power of Picture Books,” which opens Friday, May 6, and will be open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Sept. 25. Featuring original artwork by over 30 illustrators, a bookmaking station, play space, toy theater and reading nook, it is the largest exhibit in the historical society’s history. This Saturday, May 7, there'll be a "Make Way for Ducklings" event featuring live ducklings and rabbits from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Featured in the exhibit is an original Robert McCloskey illustration from the beloved classic "Make Way for Ducklings." Children are invited to make their own duckling drawings. Exhibit is free to everyone under 18, over 70, military and members, and $10 for others. This Friday, May 6, the first day of the exhibit, it will be open late until 8 p.m. for Art 'Round Town.
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'The Lightning Thief' at 3S Artspace
RGC Theatre and 3S Artspace present "The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical" on Friday and Saturday, May 6 and 7. Adapted from the book, "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan and with an original rock score, the show tells the story of Percy Jackson, the half-blood son of a Greek god, who has newly-discovered powers he can't control, a destiny he doesn't want, and a mythology textbook's worth of monsters on his trail. Tickets are pay-what-you-choose starting at $25 per person (the more you pay, the more the actors are paid). Friday's show is at 7 p.m.; Saturday's is at 2 p.m.
'An Inspector Calls' opens at NHTP
New Hampshire Theatre Project presents the classic mystery drama "An Inspector Calls" by J. B Priestley beginning this Friday, May 6 and running through May 22. A young girl dies b suicide and an eminently respectable upper middle class family is subject to a routine inquiry in connection with her death. An inspector calls to interrogate the family about their possible roles in her undoing. First performed in 1945 and set in 1912, this play forces us to look at our individual and societal responsibilities to our fellow human beings. In an era of instant global communication and connection, these issues seem even more important than they were 75 years ago. Visit nhtheatreproject.org/onstagenow for showtimes and tickets.
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'Our Town' opens at the Rep
Thornton Wilder's classic "Our Town" opens Thursday, May 5 and runs through June 4 at the Seacoast Repertory Theatre. Described by Edward Albee as “the greatest American play ever written,” "Our Town" has touched the hearts of millions in countless stage revivals and adaptations, on film, television and radio. A work as eternal as its subject matter, it presents the life and death of everyday people in the small American town of Grover’s Corners at the turn of the 20th century. For showtimes and tickets, visit seacoastrep.org.
Mother's Day Matinee: 'Sabrina'
Looking for a fun Mother's Day gift idea? Sunday, May 8th at 3 p.m., The Music Hall presents "Sabrina," the legendary romantic comedy starring Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart and William Holden.
Written and directed by six-time Oscar winner Billy Wilder ("Some Like It Hot"), this special event includes pre-show slides with cool facts about the stars (set to vintage music), plus a brief intro by film historian Jeannie MacDonald featuring juicy, behind-the-scenes details about the movie.
For tickets and more information, visit themusichall.org/events/sabrina-1954/
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Great Bay Food Truck Festival, Free Comic Book Day: 7 weekend events
