Don’t let the huge snowbanks slow you down; it’s a weekend full of activities coming up in Hamilton and Wenham. The high school girls’ basketball team – a young squad that has notched a few solid Cape Ann League wins so far this winter – faces the Newburyport team at home at 6:30 p.m. on Friday for the varsity game. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students and senior citizens. The team always puts in a strong effort and can always use a gym full of spirited fans. Both nights at Gordon College, Pirates of Penzance takes to the stage. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. both nights in the A.J. Gordon …

It’s a relatively quiet weekend coming up in the two towns. With a chilly forecast for the weekend and a lot of snow on the ground, lots of folks may be hunkering down. But there’s still plenty of things going on. Here are five local ideas. Snow White: Yes, the landscape is snow white outside. But in this case, we’re talking about the Open Road Theater production of the classic story. A majority of the cast includes Hamilton and Wenham residents under age 18. The show runs all weekend at Salem State University main stage in Salem. Blood: Give a pint of blood at the American Red Cross blood …

This weekend’s usual “Five Things to Do” is a shortened “Three Things to Do” this week. But the list has three big things to do – all three are great local activities that can keep the whole family entertained for an affordable price. The weekend ahead in Hamilton and Wenham is headlined by the Myopia Sled Dog Races that happen both Saturday and Sunday. The start and finish line is off Waldingfield Road in Ipswich at Appleton Farms, but most of the courses wind through Hamilton, crossing Cutler Road twice and winding through the Pingree School campus and on Essex County Greenbelt Association …

After two quiet holiday weekends, things are back to the grind this weekend. Leading the list of goings on in the two towns this weekend is the huge model train show at Buker Elementary School, hosted by Wenham Museum, on Saturday. The show runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and admission also includes half price admission to the museum, just down the street. In addition to the hundreds of model railroad enthusiasts that are expected to attend, the author of a railroad-themed book “The Last Train” will be signing book and performing music at 11 a.m. Trains, books and music make the event family-…

It's the final weekend before Christmas so what else can we recommend for the weekend? Get in your final shopping. On Black Friday we gave you several tips to do your Christmas and holiday shopping locally. Well, those tips are still god today – eight days before Christmas. And, if you're done with your shopping but still want to stay in the holiday spirit then head over to the Wenham Museum. The museum has a spectacular gingerbread house village on display, with a model train winding it way between the houses. The homes are all part of a contest and museum visitors get to decide the winner…

If you don't have a Christmas tree up at your house, this weekend is a great time to go out and get it done. For starters, there's the EdFund Christmas Tree sale in the parking lot at the south end of Patton Park that wraps up this weekend. And in Wenham, if you want to cut your own, you can head behind Burnett's garage on Maple Street. In addition to our suggestion that you buy your Christmas tree this weekend if you haven't already, the rest of our weekend activity suggestions are holiday focused. On Saturday, there's a chance to meet Santa at the Community House. The event, which is by …

It's a weekend full of Christmas and holiday celebrations. Things start tonight with the first of four performances of "Snow Angel" at the Community House. The cast of "Snow Angel" includes a cast of seventeen local 13-17 years olds in the tale of fictitious town of Deerpoint, Vt. that is hit by the biggest blizzard in 107 years. That's when a mysterious girl named Eva arrives in town and asks 15 teenagers to help her on her search, even though what she is searching for and who she is remains a mystery as the cast tells their stories via journal entries and conversation. Tickets are $13 in …

For many people, the weekend starts early this week. For that reason, we've started our weekend things to do column early too. As happens once in a while, we've cut it down to just three events. But these are three very important, exciting and fun events that are all super-local. We could have sent you out of town to round out the list at five, but instead we offer a hearty thumbs up to all three of these events – one on each day. Starting on Friday it's Gabe's Run, an event that has quickly grown in three years to be a large running race that does an excellent job of carrying on the spirit …

The weekend calendar in Hamilton and Wenham is headlined by the home high school football game on Saturday at 1 p.m. It's a very important game for the Generals. If the team wins, it means a ride into the playoffs after a disappointing season last year. A loss against what is expected to be a tough Lynnfield team could mean the Generals could still make the playoffs, the there are a number of variables at work. Also in Hamilton all weekend is Pingree School's production of "Rhinoceros." The one thing that separates the production from so many other plays is that the audience and the actors …

After several action-packed weekends full of local activities, we bring you a scaled back version of the "five things" column this week - three things to do. We'll make it up to you because number three is actually three sports games rolled into one "thing to do." The past few weekends have included great community events ranging from Pumpkin Fest to, yes, Town Meeting in Hamilton. We start this week at Gordon College in Wenham with the play "Into the Woods" – the college's version of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's 1987 Broadway musical, which wraps up with one show on Friday night and…

It may not get the blood flowing for everyone, but the event of the weekend is the Hamilton Special Town Meeting on Saturday. It begins at 9 a.m. at the Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School and there are seven articles on the warrant. It is scheduled to last as long as 2 p.m. but it will only last as long as it takes the voters in attendance to discuss and vote on all the articles. If it needs to go longer, it will continue on Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. On Sunday, of course, it is Halloween. For some, it's their favorite holiday of the year. For others, it's a hassle. It's already been a few weeks …

This weekend is arguably the most action packed weekend of the fall in Hamilton and Wenham, headlined by the PumpkinFest on Saturday. Almost all of our recommendations happen in a one square mile area (or maybe smaller) in downtown Hamilton, with just one recommendations just up Route 1A at the high school. The Pumpkin Fest has a lot of fun for children but will keep all ages entertained. It kicks off at 1 p.m. at the Hamilton Public Safety Building. Activities continue through the afternoon with a chili cook-off and into the evening with a spaghetti dinner, Jack-o-Lantern glow and bon fire. …

The Five Things to Do column this week is taking  a different tact – sending you out of town for a few events and telling you why two events didn't make the list. For starters, how can we avoid the Topsfield Fair? It is the event of the fall on the North Shore. There's no good reason to miss the fair – it offers everything from seeing a chicken hatch to racing pigs and everything in between. The grandstand this weekend features Dock Dogs, the competition the pits ordinary family pets against each other in contests that involve jumping off a "dock" into water. In the arena, there's the ever …

After Friday's over-hyped storm that didn't deliver the rain or wind that was expected in Hamilton and Wenham, this weekend offers up a great fall forecast and plenty of things going on. The Wenham Museum is hosting a kitchen tour fundraiser that will take visitors to spectacular kitchens across the North Shore. Dubbed the "Heart of the Home Kitchen Tour," it's in the third year as a fundraiser for the museum's programs. The nine kitchens on the tour will range from the hearth kitchen in the museum's historic Claflin-Richards house to much more modern offerings. Tour members buy a ticket and …

Two high schools in Hamilton – one public and one private - take center stage for this weekend's recommendations for five things to do. At the Regional, the surging Generals football team takes on Pentucket in the team's third straight home football game to start off the year. Headed in to week three, the team has already equaled its win total from 2009 with two wins. Both wins featured quick starts offensively and a solid game full of great defense. Enjoy the team at home this Saturday, since it will be their last game at home until Nov. 13 while they head on the road for five straight away …

Another Saturday, another key game for the Hamilton-Wenham High School football team. The game versus Triton at 1 p.m. on Saturday is just one of the things going on in the two towns this weekend. The game is another big one for the team, which, by all accounts, had a disappointing season last fall with a 2-8 record and a Thanksgiving Day loss to Ipswich to bring its 33 game losing streak to an end. The Generals were heading into last week's matchup with Newburyport as the underdog and came out on top 14-7. They're looking for a similar result on the gridiron on Saturday. Also on Saturday in …

There's all sorts of action around both towns this weekend, headlined by the Myopia Horse Show and Boston Jumper Classic, which runs all day on Saturday and through mid-afternoon on Sunday. The Jumper Classic returns to the Myopia Hunt Club in Hamilton after a three-year hiatus. General admission tickets are $10 and available at the gate. For those who don't plan to attend, expect heavier traffic than usual along Route 1A in the area of the Schooling fields, Myopia Hunt Club and Patton Park. The downtown businesses are also expecting more visitors than usual with the jumpers and spectators in…