St. Gaudens, a National Historic Site tucked away in Cornish, memorializes the life of Augustus St. Gaudens, a famous sculptor whose works are displayed in major cities around the country. The grounds of his home have fountains, gardens, and many sculptures. You can see his workshop and tour his house. If you’ve never been it’s an informative and fun trip.
I’ve been to St. Gaudens many times; I like to go on the walking trails. One day I saw a sign that said Sunday concerts. If you pay to visit it’s $7 and you can come back for free within five days. I took them up on this great offer and after walking the trails one summer day I went to the Sunday concert for free by showing my receipt.
Concerts start at 2 pm during July and August.
I got to the site at 1:30 and already there were a lot of cars parked in the field at the bottom of the propery. It’s about a five minute walk up the field to the house where a tent was set up to pay. For those that would find this a struggle, there’s a free shuttle (like a fancy golf cart) that the park service runs back and forth.
The concert is held at the studio rain or shine. A lot of people were sitting outside on the grass but it was a hot day so I wanted a nice shady spot. I sat a ways away by the road under a tree and had no problem hearing the music. Sometimes I couldn’t hear the musician explain the story behind the song though.
The music was jazz and was wonderful. I was impressed by the quality of the music for such a little town. People all around were sitting in lawn chairs or on blankets; some were picnicking while they listened. I left at 3:30 and the concert was still going on but I had a little one to get home. The field was full of cars probably over a hundred. If I had waited until the concert was done I might’ve had a long wait, but I just packed up and drove off.
I’d definitely go again.
So if you want a wonderful afternoon with the family for a low price I’d check out an afternoon concert at St. Gaudens. Maybe next year I’ll go to the family picnic day at the end of July where there’s activities and an afternoon concert.
See Upper Valley Fun on Instagram for the video.
