For me, this was a tie. I loved making flower crowns with my girls. File this under “you know you’re a hippie when…” The women managing the flower crown station were pleasant to chat with, and they handled the large volume of participants with grace. That said, I am a total sucker for parades. I’m not sure there’s been a parade I attended that I wasn’t forced to fight back tears. There’s something about everyone coming together to pull it off that gets me every. single. time. My husband was very confused by this parade, but I felt like it was one of the better ones. For starters, there were a lot of schools that were involved. When talking about parades, the more the merrier. Secondly, the art on display was downright impressive. And third, there was background music from a band which helped keep things upbeat. Have you ever been to a parade where the music stops in between floats and it’s just people walking and cheering? It feels cringy and kills the entire vibe.

My husband tells me his favorite moments at the festival was watching our littlest kiddo chase after the bubbles. I can understand why – she had an absolute blast, and the vibe of the whole event was relaxed enough that we felt comfortable letting her wander a bit. I’m going to say that he was bummed not to get a chance to see Eyes on Owls. We saw them recently at a homeschool group presentation, and I caught a peek at them while in Depot Park. I will say that their festival presentation is a lot better than the original presentation I saw (not that it was bad, it just reminded me of undergrad and I felt like they lost the kids).

There is no shortage of food options in downtown Peterborough. There are plenty of adorable cafes, cozy restaurants, and there were also food trucks available for the festival. On this day, we opted for a picnic, so I cannot speak to the quality of any of the food. I will say that we’ve been to Peterborough plenty of times and we’ve never been sad when we’ve opted to eat in town.

WATER

We were well stocked with water on our travels today, so we weren’t paying attention to water bottle fillers or water fountains. That said, Peterborough is a welcoming place and when we asked for a cup of ice, the cafe gladly obliged. I imagine that if you needed to refill your water bottle from the tap, any of the restaurants would happily help you out.

Peterborough has a very relaxed vibe. There are lots of benches and outdoor seating. Nursing is a non-issue here. You’ll find plenty of comfortable places to sit and nobody will bat an eye.

BATHROOMS / CHANGING AREAS

During our time at the festival, we utilized three bathrooms. Two at the Unitarian Church, and one at the Toadstool Book Shop. Signage at the church directed us to a side door. When we entered the vestibule, there were stairs both up and down. Upstairs and directly ahead was a bathroom perfect for single individuals. If you have a kiddo that can manage on their own, this is a good spot for them. If you need something that has more room, there is a lower level “all-person” restroom that has enough room for a couple of kids, as well as a changing station. The bathrooms are dated, but were comfortable and didn’t feel gross. Obviously, I didn’t swab the floor, but I didn’t feel like I needed to burn my clothes after I left.

The Toadstool Book Shop has a bathroom for customers only. If you buy a coffee or something at the little cafe, there is a code on the bottom of the receipt. The bathroom is straight through the cafe. Much like the church, the bathrooms were simple and relaxed. There was a changing station that felt homey in the best possible way. I didn’t feel like I needed to shower immediately upon exit.

The Children and the Arts Festival is not to be missed. My oldest is already asking to go back and we could’ve easily spent the entire day there. Had our youngest not needed a nap, I imagine we would’ve stayed longer. This festival was so magical, that the rain didn’t even bother me (and I’m typically not a person who likes to hang out in the rain). I loved everything about the festival except that there wasn’t a solid festival map and some activities were laid out in a way that they could be easily missed if you didn’t know what you were looking for. For example, between Putnam Park and the Elementary School is only about a half mile. However, it is straight uphill and definitely off the beaten path. I think this location was a major disservice to Monadnock Falconry. Their presentation is awesome, and I didn’t see any signage pointing people in that direction. While I’ve been to Peterborough many times, it isn’t a town I’m intimately familiar with. I try to keep my phone usage to a minimum (minus pictures / video) when I’m out with my kids, so finding the elementary school without Google Maps presented some challenges. That said, everyone was lovely and I could’ve just asked. I’ll blame that on being scarred from living amongst a rather unfriendly vibe in a different part of the state.