14th Annual NH Monarch Festival◆ August 22, 2026◆ Belmont Village, NH◆ 10am – 5pm◆ Free for Kids in Costume!◆ Monarch Tagging · Vendors & Activities · Live Specimens◆ 14th Annual NH Monarch Festival◆ August 22, 2026◆ Belmont Village, NH◆ 10am – 5pm◆ Free for Kids in Costume!◆ Monarch Tagging · Vendors & Activities · Live Specimens◆

2026  ·  14th Annual

NH Monarch
Festival

Celebrating monarchs, milkweed, and more

Join us for a day of wonder, learning, and community! Discover the incredible world of monarchs, milkweed, and the ecosystem we share — with hands-on activities for all ages, live specimens, and the magic of a butterfly release ceremony.

Saturday, August 22, 2026

Tioga Pavilion  ·  Belmont Village, New Hampshire (location pending)

Festival open 10:00 am – 5:00 pm

Purchase Tickets See Activities
NHMF Logo
DateAug 22, 2026
LocationBelmont, NH
Hours10 am – 5 pm
Year14th Annual (2026)
AdmissionFrom $4

Admission

Festival Tickets

Grab your tickets and come celebrate with us! Admission fees help support festival costs and conservation donations so we can continue to bring this festival to the community year after year.

Costume Bonus: Any child or adult who arrives in an appropriate costume gets in FREE — so come dressed as your favorite butterfly, caterpillar, or garden creature!

Children

$4

Ages 3 – 12 years

Purchase
General

Adults

$7

Ages 13 – 64 years

Purchase

Seniors

$5

Ages 65 & older

Purchase

FREE Admission

Children 2 years and younger are always FREE. Any child or adult who arrives in costume receives complimentary admission — wings, antennae, and caterpillar suits especially encouraged.

Day of Event

Schedule & Timeline

Details to come closer to festival date

Check back as we get closer to August 22, 2026 for the full schedule of events, presentations, and activities!

10:00
🎉 Festival Opens!Gates open — activities, booths, and presentations begin
5:00
Festival ClosesFestival ends at 5:00 pm — thank you for celebrating with us!
Festival gathering

Attendees gather on the festival lawn for a presentation — one of many throughout the day

Potential Activities

List of Potential Activities

There's something magical around every corner — earn your wings, watch monarchs transform, and parade like a migrating butterfly. Here are some of the potential activities (to be determined closer to festival date):

Kid Activities

We offer lots of things for kids to enjoy at the festival. Some of this year's activities include:

Child watching monarch enclosures

A child looks up in wonder at the monarch enclosures — one of the festival's most beloved moments

🦋

Build a Flying Monarch

Craft your own paper monarch butterfly to take home.

📋

Pollinator Passport

Pick up your Passport at the entrance, collect stamps at each station, and turn it in for a special prize!

🐛

Caterpillar Crawl

Complete this activity to earn your butterfly wings for the Migration Parade!

🗺️

Migration Race

Red light, green light — race like a migrating monarch south to Mexico!

🥚

Milkweed Mayhem Egg Hunt

Search through fake milkweed for the one hidden monarch egg.

🎭

Monarch Masks

Make and decorate your own monarch butterfly mask.

🌳

Kaleidoscope Tree

Hang your origami or colored butterfly on our community butterfly tree.

🎨

Face Painting

Professional face painter on-site throughout the day.

🧘

If a Human Were a Caterpillar

Scale comparison showing how big you'd grow in just two weeks!

📸

Photo Backdrops

Wooden cutouts — caterpillar, butterfly, milkweed bugs, and more.

🔍

Scavenger Hunt Trivia

Find the monarch egg symbol and answer the science questions for a prize.

🎪

Costume Contest

Prizes for the best butterfly, caterpillar, or pollinator costume!

Adult Learning Opportunities

  • Native plant gardening mini talks from vendors
  • Nature journaling with a local guide
  • Monarch learning stations with helpful information and free seeds
  • Host plants and how to grow them
  • "Test Your Knowledge" monarch trivia quiz — turn in your form for a prize
  • Garden design consultation with expert gardeners
  • Local bee club information and demos
  • Conservation group presentations and data sharing
  • Citizen science projects and opportunities to contribute
  • Latest technology and science studies

Marketplace

Vendors & Exhibitors

Explore booths filled with native plants, local art, delicious food, conservation science, and so much more. Every table is a new discovery!

(Vendor information will be updated closer to the festival date. Please check back later for a full list.)

🌱

Native Plants

Milkweed, pollinator plants, and natives to take habitat home with you.

🔬

Science & Research

Citizen science projects, OE testing, nanotagging, and Monarch Watch data.

🎨

Native Artists

Butterfly-inspired pottery, fine art prints, fiber arts with plant dyes.

🌿

Conservation Groups

NH Audubon, Newfound Lake Region Association, Belmont Conservation Commission.

🍯

Local Food & Farm

Herbalists, tea makers, local farms, baked goods, and food trucks.

📚

Education

UNH Cooperative Extension, NH Fish & Game, nature guides, and children's books.

Apply to Vend at NHMF 2026

We welcome local artisans, native plant nurseries, environmental nonprofits, food vendors, and community science organizations. Space is limited.

Vendor Application

Natural History

About the Monarch Butterfly

The monarch undertakes one of the most extraordinary migrations on Earth. New Hampshire sits along a critical corridor of that journey every August and September.

Family Nymphalidae · Kingdom Animalia · Class Insecta Monarch butterfly on golden rod

Monarch Butterfly

Scientific name: Danaus plexippus

Genus: Danaus Order: Lepidoptera Phylum: Arthropoda
Monarch egg on milkweed leaf

Stage 1 · Egg

Laid singly on milkweed leaves. Each tiny ribbed egg hatches in 3–5 days.

Monarch caterpillar

Stage 2 · Caterpillar

The larva passes through 5 instars over 2 weeks, growing 2,700× its hatching size.

Monarch chrysalis

Stage 3 · Chrysalis

The jade-green chrysalis with a gold crown holds a complete transformation lasting 8–12 days.

Monarch butterfly open wings

Stage 4 · Butterfly

The "super generation" emerges in late summer and migrates up to 3,000 miles to Mexico.

3K

Miles Migrated

Monarchs travel up to 3,000 miles from New England to their overwintering sites in the oyamel fir forests of Michoacán, Mexico.

80%

Population Decline

Eastern monarch populations have dropped dramatically since the 1990s due to habitat loss, pesticides, and climate change. They are now IUCN-listed as endangered.

1

Host Plant: Milkweed Only

Monarch caterpillars can only eat milkweed (Asclepias spp.). Planting milkweed in your yard is one of the most direct actions you can take for monarchs.

Further Reading

Important Resources

Learn more about monarch butterflies, conservation efforts, and how you can help protect these remarkable creatures through these trusted organizations.

New Hampshire

NH Audubon

Dedicated to the conservation of wildlife and habitat throughout New Hampshire, with programs focused on birds, pollinators, and native plant gardens.

nhaudubon.org → University of New Hampshire

UNH Extension

Provides research-based education and resources on gardening, wildlife habitat, and sustainable land management for New Hampshire residents.

extension.unh.edu → National Partnership

Monarch Joint Venture

A partnership of federal and state agencies, nonprofits, and academic programs working together to protect the monarch migration across the United States.

monarchjointventure.org → Conservation & Research

Monarch Watch

A nonprofit education, research, and conservation program based at the University of Kansas, home of the famous Monarch Tagging Program.

monarchwatch.org → Citizen Science

Journey North

A citizen science program that tracks the migration of monarchs and other wildlife. Report your sightings and follow the migration in real time.

journeynorth.org →

Belmont Village, New Hampshire

We Hope to See You
August 22, 2026!

Bring your family, your curiosity, and your best butterfly costume. The monarchs are counting on us!

Purchase Tickets Become a Vendor
10amDoors Open
FreeIn Costume
5pmFestival Ends