250th Anniversary:  Latest News

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Meredith 250th Youth Ambassador Essay Competition Announced

(November 15, 2017 - Meredith, NH.)  The Meredith 250th Anniversary Committee is pleased to announce its Youth Ambassador Essay Competition sponsored by Overhead Door Options of Meredith.  Any high school senior (Inter-Lakes High School senior or homeschooled) living in Meredith is encouraged to enter an essay on any aspect of the Town of Meredith’s history by December 6th for a chance to win cash prizes.

The top three finalists will be awarded the following scholarships:  Second Place $100, First Place $250, and Youth Ambassador $500.  Thank you to Overhead Door Options of Meredith for their generous sponsorship which make these scholarships possible.

Essays must reflect some historical aspect of Meredith from 1768 forward and will be judged by a 5-member panel on content, presentation, and grammar.  Judges are Colleen Forkell, Inter-Lakes English teacher; Lynn Montana, Committee member; Jeanie Forrester, 250th Committee Co-Chair; Brad or Lynn Leighton, Scholarship Sponsor; and John Hopper, Meredith Historical Society.

The Meredith 250th Anniversary Youth Ambassador will be expected to attend the Meredith 250th Anniversary Kickoff Celebration at Hart’s Turkey Farm Restaurant on December 30, 2017, and several events throughout 2018, including the Main Street Parade in August, the opening of the 1968 Time Capsule in July, and the December 2018 Dinner Celebration.

To download the application and learn further details, visit the Greater Meredith Program website at GreaterMeredithProgram.com; choose the Projects & Programs tab and scroll down to Meredith 250th Anniversary.  Essays and applications are due by December 6th at 5pm.  For more information about the essay contest, contact Kim Durand at kjd4@metrocast.net.

The Meredith 250th Committee is a group of volunteer citizens working under the umbrella of the Greater Meredith program to plan the activities and events to celebrate the Town of Meredith’s 250th Anniversary in 2018.  Meetings are held the fourth Monday of the month at 6pm at the Meredith Community Center and are open to the public.

For more information or to volunteer for the Meredith 250th Anniversary Celebration, come to a meeting, visit the Greater Meredith Program website at GreaterMeredithProgram.com or call Committee Co-Chairs Jeanie Forrester at 380-2523 or Steve Durand at 726-6160.  Follow them on Facebook @Meredith250th

Meredith 250th Anniversary Celebration Kick Off Dinner & Dance

(December 4, 2017 – Meredith, NH.)  The Meredith 250th Anniversary Celebration Kick Off Dinner and Dance will be held on Saturday, December 30th at Hart’s Turkey Farm Restaurant beginning at 6pm.  Tickets are $25 per person.  To purchase your tickets, call Dennis or Cookie Boulanger at 279-1332 or mail a check payable to GMP/250th, c/o Wicwas Lake Grange, PO Box 1706, Meredith, NH 03253.

“The evening will be full of entertainment, dinner and dancing, raffles and door prizes,” stated Jeanie Forrester, Meredith 250th Committee Co-Chair. “It’s sure to be a fun time and a great way to kick off our year-long 250th Anniversary Celebration.”

The evening will begin with welcoming remarks and a full dinner buffet, after which a short program will capture many aspects of the year-long celebration.  Steve Durand, Meredith 250th Committee Co-Chair, will serve as Master of Ceremonies for the evening.

A reading of the original Meredith Town Charter (abbreviated form) will be read by a well-known local citizen dressed in period costume.

The recently awarded Inter-Lakes Idol winners, Alyson Lines and Gina Aquilla, will perform.  This competition was open to Inter-Lakes students grades 7-12 and held at the Inter-Lakes Auditorium on November 18th.

The Meredith 250th Youth Ambassador Essay Competition finalists will be honored, and the winner announced.  Essays on any aspect of the Town of Meredith’s history are being accepted through December 6.  For more information, email kjd4@metrocast.net or visit the Greater Meredith Program website.  The top three essayists will win scholarships, donated by Overhead Door Options, which will be presented at this event and the winning essay read.

Bring your dancing shoes!  Jimmy and the Jesters will perform some great Rock and Roll Oldies and Classic Country songs beginning at 9pm for dancing until the midnight hour.

Raffle tickets for a wheelbarrow full of gardening goodies will be sold throughout the evening.  Each guest will receive a free raffle ticket for the door prize which is a basket full of the Meredith 250th commemorative items.  These items will also be on sale at the event.

The dress for the evening is casual and you are encouraged to purchase your tickets soon as seating is limited. Thanks go to Aiden Carney, Junior, a student at Inter-Lakes High School from Sandwich, who designed the event tickets.

The Meredith 250th Committee is a group of volunteer citizens working under the umbrella of the Greater Meredith program to plan the activities and events to celebrate the Town of Meredith’s 250th Anniversary in 2018.  Meetings are held the fourth Monday of the month at 6pm at the Meredith Community Center and are open to the public.

For more information or to volunteer, come to a meeting, visit the Greater Meredith Program website at GreaterMeredithProgram.com or call Committee Co-Chairs Jeanie Forrester at 380-2523 or Steve Durand at 726-6160.  Follow them on Facebook @Meredith250th

Meredith Historical Society’s 2018 Program

GMP Annual Meeting Feb 6th:  A Look Back at 2017

(January 26, 2018 – Meredith, NH.) The Greater Meredith Program (GMP) Board of Directors will host its annual meeting on Tuesday, February 6th in the Winnipesaukee Ballroom at Church Landing in Meredith. The meeting will begin at 5:30 pm with a cash bar and hors d’ oeuvres.  Mae Williams of Unlocking History will give a presentation.  The celebration is free and all are welcome to attend, but an RSVP is requested by January 28th to gmp@greatermeredithprogram.com  or 279-9015.

Re-elected GMP President, Bob Manley, other GMP Board Members, Career Partnership Program Director, Michelle Martin, and Executive Director, Monica Philbin, will highlight the programs, projects, and accomplishments of 2017 and the volunteers and others who achieved this success.  Annual awards will recognize 2017 Business Supporter of the Year,  Volunteer of the Year,  and Board Member of the Year.  Special honors awards will also be presented. A drawing for raffle prizes will conclude the evening.  Mill Falls at the Lake has generously donated a one-night stay gift certificate with Oglethorpe’s Fine Arts and Crafts, Hermit Woods Winery, and many other local establishments contributing to the prizes.

250th Anniversary Celebration merchandise will be available for purchase in support of events, activities, and celebrations, planned throughout 2018.

The Greater Meredith Program is a non-profit community development organization seeking to enhance economic vitality, historical and cultural heritage, and town-wide beautification. The GMP Board of Directors is comprised of community leaders and town officials who volunteer their time and expertise to advance the mission of the organization.  For more information about GMP or volunteer opportunities, go to greatermeredithprogram.com or facebook, email GMP@greatermeredithprogram.com, or call 603.279.9015

Grant Award for Meredith 250th Anniversary

(January 29, 2018 – Meredith, NH.)  The Greater Meredith Program is pleased to announce it has received an anonymous $10,000 grant from the Lakes Region Community Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.  Funds will be used to support the Meredith’s 250th Anniversary celebratory events this year.

Several fun events are being organized to celebrate the town’s 250th anniversary of incorporation, including opening the 1968 time capsule on July 4th at Chase House, the Main Street Parade on August 11th, a special historical presentation in September at the Inter-Lakes High School Auditorium and more, leading up to a New Year’s Eve Ball on December 29th at Church Landing.

The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation is New Hampshire’s statewide community foundation, founded in 1962 by and for the people of New Hampshire. The Foundation manages a growing collection of more than 1,800 funds created by generous individuals, families and businesses, and awards nearly $40 million in grants and scholarships every year. The Foundation works with generous and visionary citizens to maximize the power of their giving, supports great work happening in our communities and leads and collaborates on high-impact initiatives. For more information, please visit www.nhcf.org or call 603-225-6641.

The Meredith 250th Committee is a group of volunteer citizens working under the umbrella of the Greater Meredith Program to plan the activities and events to celebrate the Town of Meredith’s 250th Anniversary in 2018.  Meetings are held the fourth Monday of the month at 6pm at the Meredith Community Center and are open to the public.

For more information or to volunteer, come to a meeting, visit the Greater Meredith Program website at GreaterMeredithProgram.com or contact Committee Co-Chairs Jeanie Forrester at 380-2523 or or Steve Durand at 726-6160 or . Follow them on Facebook @Meredith250th.

Meredith’s 250th Main Street Parade is taking applications.

(March 8, 2018 – Meredith, NH.) With the town of Meredith turning 250 years young in 2018 there are many events planned to help celebrate the history and heritage of our town.  The Meredith 250th Committee is excited to present the 250th Meredith Main Street Parade happening on August 11, 2018 starting at 10:00a.m.  Right now there is a dedicated group of Meredith citizens working hard to ensure this parade is a BIG success and a fun event for our town.  We want to know; who would like to be a part of this parade and if so, how you would like to be involved?  Does your business, your club, your organization or your family want to submit an application to have a float, a vehicle or to walk in this parade?  If so, we want to hear from you so we can ensure we save a spot for you in the parade.  Now is the time for you to be thinking and planning how you can help to make this parade a success.   We ask that you reach out to Chris Kelly at 603-279-0079, or Kathy LaPoint at 973-980-3782,  to receive our application or if you have any questions.  The committee will have all parade participants registered by March 11, 2018.  We look forward to a FUN year in Meredith.

Chris Kelly

250th Meredith Main Street Committee Member

208 D. W. Highway

Meredith, NH 03253

603-677-2182

Fifth Annual Meredith Sculpture Walk-Call for Entries

(March 8, 2018 – Meredith, NH.) The Meredith Sculpture Walk Committee of the Greater Meredith Program, is pleased to announce that they are planning the 5th annual Meredith Sculpture Walk. Their call to artists has once again been sent out to sculptors throughout the northeast, attracting new applications for this exhibit.

The Meredith Sculpture Walk Committee is anticipating a record number of applications, based on growing popularity over the past 4 years and the fact that a record number of visitors are expected during the town of Meredith’s 250th anniversary celebration in 2018.

New sculptures, together with a number of current eligible sculptures, will undergo a rigorous jury process and the winners will make up this year’s display of 32 sculptures, located throughout Meredith’s quaint Main street in its shorefront parks along lake Winnipesaukee and in the gardens of Mill Falls Marketplace.

New installations will begin June 1, 2018 and the annual “Evening with the Artists” event is planned for July 23, 2018 at Chase House.

Interested artists may apply online (https://greatermeredithprogram.com/apply-online), through March 31st.  Sculptures and artist contact information will be featured in printed brochures, posted signage, and an online walking map for self-guided tours.  Docent guides also conduct free tours for the public in summer and early fall.

The Greater Meredith Program (GMP) is a nonprofit community development organization seeking to enhance economic vitality, historical and cultural heritage, and town-wide beautification.  For more information about GMP or volunteer opportunities visit us greatermeredithprogram.com, follow us on facebook, or contact us or 603.279.9015

Meet drivers of the Latchkey Cup during fishing derby tomorrow

By THOMAS P. CALDWELL, LACONIA DAILY SUN (February 9, 2018)

MEREDITH — This weekend’s Great Meredith Rotary Ice Fishing Derby will offer more than fish, with several ice racing cars and their drivers also planning to be on hand at Derby Headquarters on Saturday.

Steve Durand, co-chairman of the Meredith 250th Committee, said members of the Lakes Region Ice Racing Club will be showing their cars and answering questions about ice racing in advance of Feb. 17’s Nostalgic Latchkey Cup Race, one of the special programs planned to help the town celebrate its 250th birthday.

The Moultonborough club sponsors the Latchkey Cup each year as a fundraiser, but the special races on Feb. 17 will be offered at no charge, and will return to the original location on Meredith Bay.

The Latchkey Cup originated in Meredith 34 years ago, but has not been held here since the early days. The Meredith Rotary Club, which sponsors the fishing derby, also donated protective curtains to provide a buffer around the perimeter of the event to make it possible to bring racing back to the bay.

Visitors will have a chance to talk to drivers on Saturday, Feb. 10, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Meredith park to feature ‘Archie’ statue in honor of comic strip creator

By THOMAS P. CALDWELL, LACONIA DAILY SUN (April 5, 2018)

MEREDITH — The community that Bob Montana called home will soon have a statue of his comic strip character, Archie, in a prominent location near the artist’s former studio.

The Greater Meredith Program has announced the successful completion of a fundraising campaign that exceeded its goal by 13 percent, allowing it to commission and install a life-sized bronze statue of Archie sitting on a park bench, to be placed in Main Street’s Community Park.

Bethlehem sculptor Valery Mahuchy will create the statue. Born in Belarus, Mahuchy graduated from the Academy of the Arts in Minsk and his works have been exhibited in museums and art shows around the world.

His statue of Archie will be unveiled at noon on Aug. 9, fitting in perfectly with Meredith’s 250th anniversary celebration.

It was architect Chris Williams who raised the idea of commissioning a statue of Archie to commemorate Montana’s connection to the Meredith, and Bill Gartner served as co-chairman of the Design Committee.

Montana drew the first comic strip featuring Archie Andrews while renting a cottage on Lake Waukewan in 1942, and the strip would go nationwide in 1946. Two years later, he bought a 60-acre farm on Meredith Neck, and the town became the basis for many of the people and locations that would appear in the comic strip, even though Archie’s high school was based on Montana’s three years as a resident of Haverhill, Massachusetts.

In 1967, he bought the former Esso station on Main Street and converted it into a studio and gallery. He thought it would provide a quiet place to work, but his fame soon made it too popular a place for visitors and he retreated to the farm to work on the comic strip.

The popularity of the character led to the renaming of the company that publishes the Archie comic books to Archie Comics, and the creation of a television series further enlarged the franchise.

In a book about Montana’s life and connection to the community, author Carol Lee Anderson noted that he placed Archie and the Gang at various New Hampshire locations, skiing at the Gunstock Recreation Area and boating on Lake Winnipesaukee. He used drawings of his characters for fundraisers, including helping to save the Belknap Mill in Laconia when it was slated for demolition.

The fundraising campaign for the Archie statue got underway with the assistance of Montana’s children, who auctioned off some of their father’s original Sunday pages.

Jim McFarlin offered to serve as chairman of the Archie Statue Subcommittee that handled the fundraising effort. The goal was to raise $50,000, but the campaign brought in $56,880 to cover not only the statue but also its installation and site improvements, as well as ongoing maintenance of the sculpture.

“I am honored to have chaired this important campaign,” McFarlin said. “It is fitting that GMP and Meredith are honoring Bob Montana as part of Meredith’s 250th anniversary celebration in 2018. Not only will the comic strip character find a permanent place in town, it will also serve as a lasting tribute to Bob Montana’s many contributions to Meredith during his 35 years in town as our friend and neighbor. Among those contributions were protecting our waterfront from commercial development (Save the Bay), establishing Meredith as an art colony, and preserving the village character of Main Street.”

Monica Philbin, executive director of the Greater Meredith Program, said, “We are humbled by the support of so many donors — individuals, businesses, and organizations in our community and beyond — who made this possible. A fundraising campaign in a town of Meredith’s size could not have concluded successfully in such a short time without generous support. We are so grateful!”

The Aug. 9 ceremony will take place at noon and, in addition to the unveiling of the statue, it will include the recognition of donors, committee members, and volunteers who made it possible.

Philbin noted that the park lies across from Montana’s former studio, allowing the statue to be both “centrally located and historically accurate.”

Bronze statue of comic strip character 'Archie' coming to Meredith

By KC Downey, WMUR (April 5, 2018)

> Video <

MEREDITH - A statue of the popular comic strip character "Archie" is coming to Meredith.

Greater Meredith Program said it raised more than $56,000 for the life-size bronze statue.

The statue will honor the late Bob Montana, a Meredith resident who began drawing the comic strip character in the 1950s.

The “Archie” statue is set to be commemorated on Aug. 9.

NH Poet Laureate to visit Inter-Lakes schools April 12 & 13

(April 6, 2018 – Meredith, NH.) New Hampshire Poet Laureate Alice B. Fogel will be visiting Inter-Lakes schools on Thursday, April 12, and Friday, April 13, to inspire students in their reading, writing, listening, and speaking of poetry. Inter-Lakes students in first through 12th grades will have opportunities to work with Fogel throughout her visit, and all four schools, Sandwich Central School, Inter-Lakes Elementary School, Inter-Lakes Middle Tier, and Inter-Lakes High School, will participate. Emphasizing a stress-free reading of poetry and the craft of writing, Fogel will help students use revision to prepare their writing for publication or sharing with larger audiences. Serving through 2019, Fogel has devoted much of her work to teaching and supporting young writers. One of her most important contributions was the creation of the New Hampshire Youth Poet Laureate, a year-long position for a high school student.

Students, their families, and the larger community are also invited to attend "An Evening with Alice" on Thursday, April 12, at the Inter-Lakes Auditorium at 7 p.m. Fogel will talk about her work as our poet laureate, poetry's transformative power, and her advice for approaching poetry. Reading from her books, Strange Terrain, A Poetry Handbook for the Reluctant Reader, and her poetry collections, Fogel hopes to demystify poetry and then "remystify" this art form for us. A book signing and light refreshments will follow.

Fogel's visit is sponsored by grants from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, the Meredith Altrusa International Club, and the Heart and Hands Thrift Shop. This community event is sponsored by the Altrusa Club of Meredith in honor of Meredith's 250th anniversary celebration.

Inter-Lakes alumni are planning parade float on Saturday, April 14

(April 10, 2018 – Meredith, NH.) To The Daily Sun,

The Inter-Lakes High School Alumni will be entering a float in Meredith’s 250th celebration parade on Aug. 11. We are looking for volunteers to help us decide on a theme, along with the many tasks of making a float. We will have an informal meeting at Meredith McDonald's on Saturday, April 14 at 9 a.m.

Our intention is to come up with an idea and get organized before the busy summer comes upon us. If you graduated from Inter-Lakes, please pass the word on to your classmates and make this a fun event!

We have no experience in this event so if there is anyone out there that’s done this before (possibly the Sandwich Fair), we sure could use your guidance. Hope to see you on Saturday.

Ann Marie (Ruel) Beauchemin

Rob Weeks

Kari (Dever) Jackman

Meredith

Meredith 250th Anniversary Summer Fun!

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