New Hampshire’s Quintessential Old Home Day Celebrations

The lazy days of summer, we all enjoy them, but just as summer starts to wind down, there comes a great borage of Old Home Day celebrations throughout New Hampshire.

Every town has a different day as to when they celebrate their Old Home Day, but the philosophy around this celebration is to encourage community involvement, reconnect with friends and neighbors, share the harvest and trade from area townspeople and celebrate town spirit. Old Home Days in most towns were started well over a hundred years ago and the reason they were started was to encourage the town’s young people to stay in the town and attempt to attract back past generations that had moved away for either work or a more financially attractive lifestyle closer to the city. If you have ever worked one of these events or attended one, you will see multiple generations of families coming together for Old Home Day. So looking back, New Hampshire’s town forefather’s had a great idea because it is still being used today to attract back generations.

Most towns have multiple festivities happening during their Old Home Day celebration. Multiple functions are planned to encourage community involvement and participation including: parades, petting zoos, community dinners, ice cream socials, dances, baseball games, prize winning competitions, auctions, tractor pulls, hay rides, face painting, games for the kids… and many more! These events are usually planned over the course of a year by some pretty hard working people who plan, donate and work extremely hard to pull each function together.

If you’re thinking of buying a home in a new community, this is a great opportunity to see what town is right for you and your family. Each town has its own “flare and flavor” so each event has something special to offer. Think of it as your prime invitation to meet the people of the town, hear about its history, see the local harvest, meet local artists and craftspeople and immerse yourself in their pride. People love to share what they love most about their town, so just ask them!

Schedules for Old Home Days can be found on town websites, in local newspapers, circulars and signage placed throughout the town. By attending these events, you’ll get to meet the locals, share in their culture, history and share in some good old fashion hometown fun! But most of all, you’ll walk away with a sense of community pride and counting the days until the next Old Home Day Celebration! So with all that said, I hope to see you there!