Curious George Enjoyed Another Visit to Waterville Valley

The Margret and H.A. Rey Center’s sixth annual Curious George Cottage Family Festival, held on August 11-12, delighted over 360 Curious George fans with a weekend of family fun. Children and their parents were treated to live music, storytelling, rocket launching, planetarium shows, nature walks, games, meals with the characters, a petting zoo and more!

Toe Jam Puppet Band recruits a few
young fans to help with this song!

This year’s headlining performers, Toe Jam Puppet Band, had all ages dancing dosie-does, doing the limbo, squealing with glee when getting sprayed with water during the Car Wash song, and generally having an all around great time. Curious George and the man with the yellow hat even found some time to dance to the original tunes of the Toe Jam Puppet Band. 

Take Two Tandem Tellers

Also performing on the Festival stage were Take Two Tandem Tellers, featuring Anne Marie Forer and Cindy Killavey. This storytelling duo presented lively and interactive programs filled with music, merriment and madness. 

Spin, Pop and Boom by Mad Science

Back once again this year was a fascinating and educational performance by Mad Science with their show Spin, Pop and Boom, which lived up to its name as this show was exploding with excitement!

Other activities over the weekend included banana pancake breakfasts at the Snowy Owl Inn; a BBQ lunch with Curious George by the WV Conference Center; a spaghetti dinner with Curious George by Klaudt Catering; Curious George themed games provided by the Waterville Valley Recreation Department; drawing of Curious Characters by local artists Birdie Britton, Maryellen Sakura, Gerri, Denise Siraco and Ken Vallery; rocket launching by Phil Chouinard; a community Eco Art project by artist Cynthia Robinson; a showing of One World, One Sky: Big Bird’s Adventure in a portable planetarium by University of NH Department of Earth, Oceans and Space; a banana eating contest; nature walks and nature discovery stations; story time and cartoon viewing; and a reading of It’s Good to Be Me by photographer and author Liz McNeil Jenkins and owner of the canine stars of the book, Margaret Turner. 

Playing games with the
Waterville Valley Recreation Department

Local artist Maryellen Sakura
draws Curious Characters

Curious George poses with a few friends!

Rocketman Phil Chouinard launching rockets for the crowd

Time! The 7-12 year olds finish their
banana eating contest.

Banana Eating Contest
6 & Under Group

Doing the limbo with Toe Jam Puppet Band
and Curious George

Toe Jam Puppet Band
and their new biggest fans!

Musician Maggie Peak poses with
Curious George and his entourage
after her performance at the
Banana Pancake Breakfast.

Curious George visits with fans
at the Rey Center

Volunteer Sophie helps kids make
newspaper boats like George does in
Curious George Rides a Bike

This fundraising event for the Margret and H.A. Rey Center would not be possible without the generosity of our sponsors and partners, and the amazing effort of all of our volunteers. Please thank the following businesses and people for helping to make possible this fun and educational family weekend celebrating Curious George and Waterville Valley.

GOLD LEVEL SPONSORS ($1,000 and up): Roper Real Estate and Waterville Valley Foundation.

SILVER LEVEL SPONSORS ($500 and up): Parenting New Hampshire Magazine, Golden Eagle Lodge, Waterville Valley Realty, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Riveredge Marina, Louis Karno and Company, ABODE Homebuilders, and Waterville Valley Ski Resort.

BRONZE LEVEL SPONSORS (Up to $499): Bierbrier Development Inc., Black Bear Lodge, Blue Moon Café, Bookmonger, Coffee Emporium, Common Man Family of Restaurants, Community Guaranty Savings Bank, Dreams and Visions, Eco Art a la Carte, FunSpot, I Dream of Beading, Legend’s 1291 Sport’s Bar, Mad River Coffee Roasters, Mad Science of N. MA & S. NH, McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, Mount Washington Observatory, Saenger Consulting, Inc., Snowy Owl Inn, Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, The Waterville Company, Toad Hall Toys, Town Square Condos, Town of Waterville Valley, The Valley Inn, University of New Hampshire Department of Earth, Oceans and Space, Wal-Mart of Plymouth, Waterville Valley Conference Center, Waterville Valley Department of Public Safety, Waterville Valley Golf Course, Waterville Valley Recreation Department, Waterville Valley Resort Association, and Willey’s Wildlife Photography.

Thank you to all who helped to make this weekend great! Mark your calendars for next year’s Curious George Cottage Family Festival on August 10-11, 2013 and until then – STAY CURIOUS!

See more photos on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/reycenter