The Parade of Lights on Chocorua Lake Sunday Sept 4th 6:00pm

Chocorua Lake Conservancy Annual Picnic & Parade of Lights

Sunday, September 4, 6PM, The Grove, Chocorua Lake, Chocorua, NH


CHOCORUA, NH—Celebrate the end of summer and the gift of community with a magical lantern parade on Chocorua Lake at dusk.

On Sunday, September 4, at 6PM, join the Chocorua Lake Conservancy for its Annual Picnic in the Grove by Chocorua Lake, followed, at dusk, by the Parade of Lights on the lake. BYO picnic, chairs, flashlights or headlamps (important!), and whatever else you might need. Then, decorate your canoe or kayak with lanterns, lights or candles to participate in the parade, or watch the beauty unfold from the shore.

The Parade of Lights was started in the 1960s by painter and landscape designer Sam’l Newsom, a longtime Chocorua resident, and his friends. Newsom, who designed landscapes as disparate as the Japanese Tea Garden at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco and the Remick Park in Tamworth, was inspired by aspects of the Japanese festival celebrations he witnessed during his time living in Japan. Come see for yourself why this tradition continues so many decades after its inception. Boats will put in from the Grove at the Route 16 end of Chocorua Lake Road. (You can also put in from the Island or elsewhere and paddle over to join the lineup.)

Chocorua Day Returns on Saturday July 30th!

We are pleased to announce that Chocorua Day returns in 2022 with events at The Chocorua Public Library and Runnels Hall from 10:00 am to 200pm.

  • Music provided by Peter Heimlich and Friends

  • There will be food available for purchase by The Farmstand, benefitting the Chocorua Community Association

  • The “Guess how Many” contest returns, items and container TBD!

  • The annual Citizen of the Year award will be presented (nominations still open as of July 5th)

  • The Library will be having a Book and Sweets Sale with ice cream from Ben and Jerrys, baked goods and more

  • Artworks will be having their annual art show and sale in Runnels, beginning with a reception on Friday evening at 600pm, and the sale will be continuing from 10:00am - 1:00pm on Saturday

  • Stay tuned for more fun to be announced soon!

Chocorua River Dam Park Update

On March 26th, after almost three years trying valiantly to either sell, or donate, the vacant Flanagan House to a non-profit, the owners made the decision to raze the house, (which had been vacant for almost 10 years), and expand the park.  The newly cleared space is now being landscaped, and will eventually include benches, a picnic table, and perhaps in the future, a picnic shelter. Many thanks to Judith Reardon and Peter Smart for their tireless efforts in making the park a jewel in the center of Chocorua Village.

Here's a time-lapse video of the razing, compressing 3 hours into 6 minutes

Welcome to our new website!

This is the website for the Chocorua Community Association. Here you'll find info on what our beautiful village has to offer, along with posts from our residents, news of upcoming events like our popular Oktoberfest and Chocorua Day, and more. If you would like to contribute to the site, or this blog page, email us on the contact page and we'll be in touch.  Thanks for stopping by.