To be fair, I should mention that my sister told me about and attended this event.  I couldn't figure out why she would be interested in a giant meatball, but it turns out that someone on her daughter's cheerleading team invited them and she felt compelled to make an appearance.  I even called her during the event (oops) and she whispered into the phone, "I'm at the meatball thing!"  I almost didn't believe her, but I could hear the cheers behind her.  And now I know she wasn't kidding, because here is the video. 

Check off another New Hampshire entry into the Guinness Book of World Records! 

Thanks to lwbard for uploading this video.

Yes, it's (almost that time of year).  That is, time to get the dogs running on the trails in preparation of the long winter ahead.  Here's a nice video of some dog sledding with a gorgeous group of Siberian Huskies in southern New Hampshire.  Looking good! 

Found this nice video of North Conway Village, thanks to rsntv16.  It's a great time of year to be in this area too!  So, check it out and be sure to pay a visit to the area if you can. 

This is a great video of the motocross competition that I found from this year's Hopkinton Fair. 

Video from the popular Demolition Derby:

 If I find some additional video from the fair, I will post it here.  Happy Labor Day Weekend, everyone!

 

I have been so busy that I forgot to tell you that I recently met a local celebrity.  That's right.  I met Josh, the camel that climbed Mount Washington!  Josh received national attention in June for being the first camel to climb the 6,288 Mount Washington.  He even received his own "This Car Climbed Mount Washington" bumper sticker, modified, of course, to read, "This Camel Climbed Mount Washington." 

Josh is incredibly friendly and photogenic, seemingly posing with people as they come over to say hello.  And he draws attention wherever he goes.  In April when I was in Hampton, I ran into Josh the first time.  He was making his way down the beach, and I was walking to the jetty.  He was with a group of horses, I didn't immediately notice that Josh was a camel until I passed by (doing a double-take).  Josh and his handler, Chris Butler, have been making their way across New Hampshire meeting and greeting visitors and residents alike.  

It's quite a site to see a camel grazing in the City of Manchester -- but that's where I saw him -- on the church grounds at the Mahrajan Festival on August 15, 2009.

Follow Josh's journey: http://humpacrossamerica.com/default.aspx

Here's a great video of his trek up New Hampshire's tallest mountain:

The 10th Annual Latino Festival took place in Veteran's Park in Manchester on August 15, 2009.  There was music, dancing, food from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Colombia, and other countries.

If you missed it - especially the food, which reminded me of the food I was raised on - you'll have to wait until next year. This is a popular festival, and the food is just one of the reasons why it has become a Manchester tradition.  Next weekend (August 22), the location will be the site of the African-Caribbean Celebration, so if you like to try foods and listen to the sounds of music from other cultures, be sure to check it out!

GourmetGiftBaskets.com, a southern New Hampshire based company, made it into the Guinness Book of World Records this weekend by making the largest cupcake ever. Here is some video of from the ceremony in Detroit:

Some video of the preparation required to make this ginormous 1,224 pound frosted confection. It stood over 7' tall, measured 11' around, used 800 pounds of eggs, sugar, flour and butter.  They originally estimated it would hit the 7,000 pound mark, but after some technical issues, they had to scrap the original plan.  The record was still broken though, and this one beat the last record by more than 1,000 pounds. 

The giant cupcake was part of the "Cupcake Wars" that have been raging in the gourmet food community for the last two years. More importantly, it raised money, through cupcake sales and other donations, for the benefit of Susan G. Komen's "Passionately Pink for the Cure," a program encouraging people to wear pink, raise funds and fight breast cancer.

Congratulations to the folks at GourmetGiftBaskets.com for a fabulous feat!

This video was filmed on Friday, August 7, 2009 at the State Pier in Portsmouth, NH. The four tall ships came into town with a parade of sail in the early morning. Following the Parade of Sail, the ships docked at the pier and allowed the public to tour the vessels.  All of the ships will be in town through Sunday. Majestic, intricately designed, and a beauty to look at, the ships each have an interesting history of their own.

Portsmouth is a major part of that history, having once been a major ship building port. The ships that arrived on Friday include the Coast Guard Cutter, Eagle, which is also known as "America's Tall Ship." Delaware's Tall Ship, the Kalmar Nickel was on hand, as well as the Spirit of Massachusetts and the Spirit of South Carolina.