Businesses, attractions have sunny outlook despite the weather

LACONIA — While bad weather can dampen anyone’s summer plans, many area businesses and attractions say the rainy July has not cut down on the number of customers or visitors as much as one might think.

“I haven’t seen anything like this in a while,” said Karmen Gifford, president of the Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce, of the crowds reported by retail merchants, restaurants, theaters and other attractions.

Outdoor attractions acknowledge their numbers take a hit on days when there has been heavy rain or thunderstorms. But if the weather is just overcast or drizzly, people continue to show up.

“When it’s cloudy and cool, there is not much impact (on attendance),” said Tom Day, president and general manager of Gunstock Mountain Resort, which during the summer offers Segway, E-bike tours, and an adventure course.

But Day and others involved in outdoor attractions acknowledged that the rainy weather during both the Memorial Day and Fourth of July weekends hurt.

“If it hadn’t been for that (bad weather on holiday weekends), we’d be really up,” Day said of Gunstock’s attendance.

Rain fell on two out of the three days of the Fourth of July weekend, including July 4. And on most of the days that have followed there has either been steady rain or intermittent showers.

From July 1 through Thursday, 8.06 inches had fallen in Laconia, and 8.82 inches in Gilford, according to Brendon Hoch, a regional coordinator for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network — a non-profit, community-based network of volunteers who measure and map precipitation. Those totals are about twice as high as normal for the period.

“People are looking for things to do, and they’re ready to spend money,” Gifford said. Restaurants are “overly busy,” and retail shops are “doing phenomenal,” she added.

For Funspot in Weirs Beach, which features hundreds of video games and pinball machines, along with bowling and other indoor amusements, the rainy and so-so weather has been a bonanza.

“It’s been tremendous,” said Sandra Lawton, assistant to the general manager. She reported that at times the crowd inside the arcade has been at its 2,000-person capacity, and some patrons have had to wait 1 1/2 hours to get on a bowling lane.

The surge in numbers could not have come at a better time for Funspot, which was shut down for four months last year during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Hopefully this will help us to catch up. I think we’ll end up in pretty good shape,” she said. “I think we should be close to 2019 levels. Even when it’s not raining we have crowds of people.”

The weather has meant challenges for the Winnipesaukee Playhouse in Meredith, where this year they have been staging performances at both their indoor theater as well as an outdoor amphitheater.

Shows for the second week of the play “Betrayal,” which was performed at the outdoor venue, had to be canceled because of the rain, according to Lesley Pankhurst, patron and company services director at the playhouse. On the other hand, audience numbers have been strong for the indoor performances.

“It’s been a blessing and a curse,” she said of the weather.

For Joyce Endee, who organizes crafts fairs, it’s been mostly a blessing.

She said that even on days when there has been light or intermittent rain, the turnout has been as good or better than expected.

So far this season there has only been one day when the weather kept people away, and that happened to be on a Friday.

“I think the reason that the crowds have been good is because there are more people around this summer, and there’s not a lot to do on a rainy day.”

Endee, who runs Joyce’s Craft Shows, is putting on 13 shows this season, including one this weekend at Tanger Outlets in Tilton.

Amanda Gillen, the marketing manager at the Squam Lake Natural Science Center, said they still get a lot of visitors when the weather is less than ideal.

“Our numbers are down, but not by much,” she said.

The center is still limiting the number of people it admits out on its live animal trail at any one time. But the restriction is not as great as it was last year, Gillin noted.

But not surprisingly, the weather has really cut down on the number of beachgoers.

“Not many people want to be on the beach on a rainy day,” Laconia Parks and Facilities Director Amy Lovisek said. “We’ve seen a significant decline in beach usage.”

While the turnout at Weirs Beach on Saturday, July 3, and Sunday, July 4, was as dismal as the weather, between 1,200 and 1,500 people showed up on Monday, July 5, when the weather turned sunny.

“Those numbers were typical for a nice (non-holiday) weekend day in the summer,” she said.

The weather has had a noticeable impact on the Winnipesaukee Muskrats collegiate summer baseball team.

Ten of the team’s games had to be rescheduled, according to the Muskrats General Manager Carey Hough. In order to make up for those washouts, the team has either had to schedule doubleheaders or play make-up games on open days.

Hough said attendance is off by about 15 percent.

The weather has also posed challenges for the players, because they have not been able to spend as much time on the field working out or doing practice drills, Hough explained.

The forecast for the weekend is for a sunny day on Saturday, and more rain on Sunday.