Come Home to Downtown: Giving an Old New Hampshire Tradition a New Manchester Twist

If you’ve never heard of an Old Home Day, you’re not alone. When we started talking about hosting one at Diz’s, about 90% of the people we mentioned it to had no idea what it was.

Old Home Days are a longtime New Hampshire tradition, created as a way for people who had moved away to return to their hometowns, reconnect with family and friends, and celebrate the community they called home.

So this year, we’re putting a Downtown Manchester twist on the tradition.

Come Back Home.

On Thursday, August 20, 2026, Diz’s will host Old Home Day from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. But we’d like it to be more than an event at one restaurant.

We want to invite people to come back to Downtown.

Maybe you used to work Downtown. Maybe you used to meet friends here after work. Maybe you haven’t been Downtown in a while. Maybe you’ve lived in Manchester for years but haven’t explored what’s happening here lately.

Or maybe you’re one of the people who comes Downtown all the time.

Come back home. Bring a friend. Bring the kids. Bring someone who’s never been Downtown.

There’s a lot to come home to.

August 20 happens to be a particularly good night to do it.

At Diz’s, we’ll have the Old Home Day atmosphere going from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m., with nostalgic decorations, a visit from the Manchester Historic Association, a pie-eating contest and pies from Slightly Crooked Pies, the Mayor’s Old Home Day Proclamation, special menu offerings, our City Lights Thursday Night food and cocktail specials, and our prize wheel.
We’re also personally inviting some of the people who have been part of the Diz’s story over the years. Some are people we see regularly, some we haven’t seen in a while, and some who may still consider themselves a Diz’s regular even if it’s been a long time since their last visit.

We’re asking those friends to bring someone new. If a Diz’s regular brings a Diz’s Newbie, we’ll thank them with a special Diz’s gift for a future visit.

But don’t stop at Diz’s.

Make a Night of It Downtown.

That same evening, Downtown Manchester will be full of things to see and do:

• Manchester Proud’s CelebrateED will take place at Victory Park from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m., with school supplies and books, free haircuts, clothing support, school registration assistance and a community resource fair.
• The Levitt FREE Music Series takes over Veterans Park from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m., featuring Stephen Kellogg. Bring a lawn chair, a blanket and a picnic.
• The Bookery will host its Bookery-Doctors from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m., writing “prescriptions” to cure reading slumps.
• Peridot will host The Peridot Social, a sip-and-shop celebration of community, from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m.
• Campo Enoteca will offer happy hour all night and Kids Eat Free with an adult meal from 3:00 to 9:00 p.m.
• The Palace Theatre will present Disney’s The Little Mermaid Jr. from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
• The REX Theatre will host Saving Grace Dance Ensemble’s Gala Prom Night from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
• Manchester True Collaborative will host a Community Center Open House from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m.

And there will likely be more.

That’s what makes this exciting. What started as an idea at Diz’s is becoming something bigger as Downtown businesses and organizations join in.

This isn’t about getting everyone into one restaurant. It’s about getting people Downtown.

It’s about reminding Manchester residents that Downtown is an active, welcoming community where you can grab supper, hear live music, see a show, shop, meet your neighbors, support a local organization, discover a new business, or simply spend time together.

Come Home to Downtown Manchester.

Manchester is celebrating its 180th anniversary in 2026, and all of us have our own ways of celebrating that milestone. For us, this is one of them.

Old Home Days were about coming back to the place you called home.

Come back home.

More than a century later, we’re giving that idea a little twist.

Come home to Downtown Manchester.

Whether you’ve been away for a day, a year, or twenty years, or whether you’ve been here all along, we hope you’ll join us on August 20.

Come home. Reconnect. Discover something new.

We’d love to see you at Diz’s. But even more, we’d love to see you Downtown.