Goldens on the Green in Amherst, NH: How It All Began

The first grand marshal of Goldens on the Green wasn't a golden retriever. It was a goose. In 2019 a townwide vote for the job went to Crackers the Goose, who had been the unofficial "Town Goose of Amherst from 2010 to 2019." He led the parade and then, as the Union Leader put it, "flew the coop." The next year's grand marshal was a rooster called the General. He rode in a decorated garden cart wearing a plaid vest, got stage fright and never crowed once.

That was the scale of the thing in its first few years. It was a small, funny event on the Village Green, run by one resident who wanted to meet other golden owners. It isn't small anymore. On Sunday, October 25, it comes back to the Green later in the season than last year. It also lands on the same afternoon as the Amherst Police Department's Trunk or Treat, so that Sunday is the fullest day on Amherst's late-October calendar.

From a Retiree's Idea to a Regional Draw

Bill Swift started Goldens on the Green after he got his first golden, Nellie. "The way it started was I got a golden retriever after I retired, and I said, 'I need to meet some golden retriever people,'" Swift told WMUR's New Hampshire Chronicle in 2025. "I thought of this idea to bring them to the park here to have a little get-together." The Union Leader reported that he later heard news of more than 100 goldens rescued from a home in Bradford, about half of which went to the Humane Society for Greater Nashua.

Attendance has grown each time anyone counted:

• 2019, the first event: about two dozen goldens and 40 people, according to the Union Leader.
• 2020: nearly 40 golden retrievers and about 100 people, by the same account.
• 2025, the seventh event: WMUR reported dogs coming "from across New England and beyond." One attendee had taken a ferry from New York and then driven several hours, and she described the day as a chance "to be with 200 golden retrievers."

That 200 is one attendee's estimate, not an official count. Even so, it's about eight times the first year's two dozen. Today the event page run by Operation Delta Dog describes it as a gathering that brings "hundreds of Golden Retrievers and their owners together on the Amherst Village Green."

The Cause Changed Along With the Crowd

The beneficiary has changed, too. In 2019 Swift was raising money for the Humane Society for Greater Nashua. By 2021, a spokesperson for the Humane Society for Greater Manchester told the Union Leader the event "usually raises about $500 to benefit our animals awaiting adoption."

By 2025 the money was going to a charity much closer to home. WMUR reported that participants raised money for Operation Delta Dog, a Hollis nonprofit that provides support dogs to veterans. Executive director Charlotte Troddyn told the station why the gathering matters to her group:

"Delta Dog itself is 100% donation, so we charge our veterans nothing. We rely solely on the goodness of the community."

For 2026, Operation Delta Dog's event page lists the nonprofit as organizer, with its Hollis phone line and email for questions. The page doesn't say how this year's money will be split. The connection does explain why a dog meetup in Amherst now has a veterans' service-dog charity's name attached to it.

What a Golden Afternoon Has Looked Like

The program has grown along with the crowd. In 2021, the Union Leader described a kissing booth at 1 p.m. and a "pool diving championship" at 1:30, with dogs racing to grab a dock-diving baton from a kiddie pool. Awards for youngest, oldest and best service dog followed at 2:15, and the parade stepped off at 2:30 to the Baha Men's "Who Let the Dogs Out." One golden named Oliver got an honorable mention in 2020 for wading into the pool, lying down and ignoring the baton completely. The move is now known as the "Oliver Flop."

By 2025, WMUR listed a food truck serving pup cups, an agility course, a toy-fetching competition, a fashion show and the dog kissing booth. The day ended with a parade of goldens through the Green and a group photo under the "Goldens on the Green" banner. No 2026 schedule had been published as of October 12, so that list is what last year looked like, not a promise for this year. In past years you didn't need a golden to come watch.

Why October 25 Is Different This Year

Last year's event was on Sunday, October 5. This year's falls on Sunday, October 25, about three weeks later. The town's Town Common reservation shows the event running 12:30 to 3 p.m., with the Green reserved from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Operation Delta Dog lists the venue as 2 Main St.

The later date puts it on the same Sunday as the Amherst Police Department Trunk or Treat. That runs 4 to 6 p.m. at Souhegan High School, according to the Amherst Town Library calendar, and no registration is required. The library also has a tie-in. Its Crayon Coloring Contest takes entries through Monday, October 19, and selected work will be shown at the Trunk or Treat.

Put together, a family could spend the early afternoon at the Green and still reach Souhegan with time to spare. The parade has wrapped up most past editions, and the Green event is scheduled to end at 3, an hour before trunks open at 4.

The Rest of the Green's Late October

Goldens on the Green caps a stretch of three events on the Village Green over nine days. All three are on the town's Town Common reservation calendar:

The town listings for the first two events give little beyond a title and time. The AJWC pumpkin carving entry doesn't say whether pumpkins are provided or whether finished pieces stay on display. The Christ's Church listing gives no program details either. The hosts are the people to ask.

Halloween Hours Are Still Pending

Townwide trick-or-treat hours are the one piece still missing. Last year, according to a MeetingWatch summary, the Board of Selectmen set them at its August 25, 2025 meeting. As of October 12, 2026, no official announcement of this year's hours had turned up, and a trick-or-treat tracker updated October 9 still listed Amherst as "Not announced yet." The Amherst Town Library has posted its own Halloween schedule and will be open October 31 from 5 to 8:30 p.m. For the town's official hours, keep an eye on the town website and the police department.

The library's November calendar includes, on November 12, the Amherst Garden Club's "Side Shoots" program, "Holiday Magic Through Floral Arrangements and Decor," from 7 to 8 p.m.

Afternoons like October 25 are a big part of why people love living around the Amherst Village Green, and The Morgan Moves Team keeps track of them all year. If you live near the Green or anywhere in town and you're curious how today's market values your home, Request Your Free Home Valuation and we'll put together a clear, local picture for you.