Month: July 2021

From their cows to your cone

Three or four days each week, a small group of family members and friends will gather at Connolly Brothers Dairy Farm in Temple to make ice cream. Each person has multiple roles, from hand-mixing ingredients to packing the ice cream in tubs — and, of course, everyone’s willing to do some taste testing. It’s proven to be a highly successful formula for the small family-run business.

“Ice cream sales never stop,” said Mike Connolly, the middle Connolly brother and the farm’s primary ice cream maker. “We keep pumping ice cream out … even right through the winter.”

Since purchasing their own equipment to make ice cream in the early 2000s, Connolly estimates the farm is now up to around 60 flavors made over the course of each year, about 15 of which are made almost every week. All of the farm’s ice cream is produced on site in small batches, from a pasteurized sweet cream base containing its own cows’ milk.

More than just a high-quality summertime treat, homemade ice cream has proven to be one of the many effective ways for local dairy farms to diversify and add value to their product in what has been an increasingly competitive and challenging market.

“The level of intelligence on any dairy farm, when it comes to business and how to survive and make a business thrive, would blow your mind,” said Amy Hall, executive director of Granite State Dairy Promotion. “I have never met a group of individuals who are so able to quickly adapt and find solutions to any problem that gets thrown their way.”

Connolly Brothers Dairy Farm sells its ice cream in pre-packaged containers in several sizes at the farm store and has plans in the works to open its own scoop shop on site. They also work with other local businesses to create specialty custom-made flavors, from maple-infused ice creams you can get at Parker’s Maple Barn in Mason, to cherry cordial, peanut brittle, peppermint candy cane or butter pecan-flavored ice creams available at Nelson’s Candy & Music in Wilton.

Contoocook Creamery, at Bohanan Farm in Contoocook, provides Granite State Candy Shoppe with an ice cream base produced from the milk of its cows. They also supply Frisky Cow Gelato in Keene with their milk and cream, and recently began selling their base to Whippoorwill Dairy Farm in Kensington for the purposes of making ice cream as well.

In Boscawen, Richardson’s Farm — not to be confused with Richardson’s Ice Cream in Middleton, Mass., which sells its ice cream wholesale to many New Hampshire ice cream shops — makes its own pasteurized base using milk and cream sourced from Hatchland Farm in North Haverhill, according to owner and ice cream maker Jim Richardson.

So how exactly does ice cream get made? We spoke with New Hampshire dairy farmers and ice cream makers to get some answers on how this sweet treat makes the voyage from cow to cone.

The scoop on ice cream-making

A batch of ice cream starts with a base made up of milk, cream, sugars and small amounts of stabilizers to maintain its consistency and prevent crystallization. Jamie Robertson, who runs Contoocook Creamery with his wife and three adult sons, said about 110 of the more than 200 cows on the farm are milked twice a day, 365 days a year.

Cows from Contoocook Creamery at Bohanan Farm. Courtesy photo.

Three days a week, the milk is pumped from the barn to the processing plant, where it’s then pasteurized and homogenized. When making the ice cream base, Robertson said, the milk is mixed with each of the other ingredients before this step takes place.

“Pasteurizing is what we do to kill all the harmful bacteria in the milk, so we bring it up to a high temperature really fast, keep it there for a little under a minute and then drop it right back down,” he said. “It goes into the pasteurizer at 38 degrees, goes up to over 170 degrees and then comes back out at 38 degrees, and that all happens in under a minute. … Then we homogenize it, which breaks up the fat molecules so that they don’t separate out.”

Kristen May’s family has owned Hatchland Farm since 1971, beginning to make and sell their own ice cream about a decade ago. The farm produces vat pasteurized milk, or milk that is pasteurized at a slightly lower temperature for a longer period of time.

“We pasteurize at 145 degrees [for] 30 minutes,” May said. “The milk and the ingredients that we put into the ice cream are in big 300-gallon vats. … It takes a bit longer to do, but it actually makes [it] a little bit more different of a product. The flavor of the milk is a little more natural.”

Depending on his supply, Richardson said he receives regular shipments of Hatchland’s Farm raw milk and cream, which he uses to make his own ice cream base with.

“Legally, ice cream has to be at a minimum of 10 percent butterfat,” he said. “So we’re blending the milk and cream to get that butterfat level, and then obviously there are sugars involved, and a non-fat milk solid to boost the protein and add body to it.”

Some local ice cream makers will start with a pre-pasteurized base obtained from the HP Hood processing plant in Concord, to which several dairy farms in New Hampshire ship their milk through a number of cooperatives, according to Hall. This is also how Connolly Brothers Dairy Farm gets its milk pasteurized for ice cream making, Connolly said.

“Basically, we ship our milk up to Hood and then we get it back,” he said.

Mike Connolly of Connolly Brothers Dairy Farm in Temple makes a batch of black raspberry ice cream. Photo by Matt Ingersoll.

The base is poured into a batch freezer, and what ice cream makers do from there depends on the flavor they are creating.

“Sometimes it’s just a pure liquid extract or what’s called a variegate that goes into the machine,” Connolly said. “We hand-mix any of the chunky stuff, so chocolates, chocolate chips, cookies, all of that gets mixed in by hand, just because the machine will pulverize everything.”

Lisa Ilsley of Ilsley’s Ice Cream in Weare, which uses the Hood base mix, said her machine will churn out a batch of roughly five gallons of ice cream in 20 minutes, depending on the flavor.

Ilsley’s Ice Cream in Weare. Courtesy photo.

“The machine whips air into it,” she said. “That’s essentially what you’re doing when you’re making ice cream, is you’re changing it from a liquid to a whipped air solid.”

She’ll also hand-stir her ingredients as the ice cream is ready to come out of the machine. Once all of the swirls, fruits, chocolates or candy pieces are mixed in, the batch of ice cream is placed into a blast freezer designed to rapidly bring the temperature below zero.

After a hardening period, typically lasting at least 24 hours, the ice cream is moved to a holding freezer to bring the temperature back up, slightly softening it and making it scoopable at roughly 6 to 8 degrees.

Milking the opportunity

Dairy was once a dominating presence in New Hampshire’s overall agricultural landscape. There were more than 800 commercial dairy farms in the state as recently as the year 1970, according to Granite State Dairy Promotion. That number has continuously dwindled over the years, to 274 in 1990, 182 in 2000 and just 95 farms in 2020.

Slim profit margins for farmers, a worldwide surplus of milk, and the competition they face at the retail level from out of state, including through the emergence of plant-based beverages onto the market, have all been contributing factors to the industry’s gradual decline.

“Once a dairy farm goes out of business, the chances of them coming back are close to none,” Hall said. “It’s a really tough industry to survive in.”

The pandemic only exacerbated the struggles last year, as the sudden shutdowns of restaurants and public schools quickly resulted in an unprecedented oversupply of milk. Cooperatives limited the amount of product they were buying from farms, forcing dairy producers to dump any milk that could not be sold. May estimates that Hatchland Farm had to dump about 11,500 gallons of its milk off and on throughout last year. In the fall, they decided to sell 35 of their cows.

“Never in my father’s life had he worked that hard to produce a product that he had to see go down the drain, basically,” she said. “We’ve had surpluses at different times but we’ve always been able to find a place to get rid of it. We’ve never had to dump milk like that.”

Jared Johnson of Sanctuary Dairy Farm, a 10th-generation farm in Sunapee dating back to the 1700s, said that while milk prices have rebounded and restaurants are back open, input and overhead costs for farms have gone through the roof.

“It was a really dry year last year, so a lot of people had to buy a lot of feed because of the drought conditions,” he said. “Grain costs have increased probably 20 to 40 percent.”

Despite all of the ongoing challenges, dairy farms pivoted and still found unique opportunities.

Ilsley said her family’s dairy farm purchased a cream separator in October and began skimming their raw milk with it. The Ilsley Farm in Weare now sells quarts of its own heavy cream.

“We literally have a new dairy product that we sell now. I don’t think we would’ve done it if it wasn’t for Covid,” she said. “We have people come to the farm all the time to buy our raw milk, so we figured we would at least take the cream off and sell that. Our customers love it.”

Contoocook Creamery, which had been using glass bottles for its milk until the spring of 2020, quickly made the switch to plastic jugs after grocery stores stopped accepting glass bottle returns. This doubled their milk sales and increased the number of local stores you can now get their milk in. One hundred percent of their milk is also now bottled on site, Robertson said.

Supporting local dairy farmers is much easier than you may think, and does not have to involve travelling to a farm directly to purchase their product. Every bottle of milk in the dairy aisle of your local grocery store will have a code on it that specifies where it was processed. The code No. 33-08, Hall said, whether it’s on a Hood brand or a grocery store’s own brand of milk, indicates that it was processed at the HP Hood plant in Concord.

“One of the largest threats to the dairy industry is … milk that comes from outside of the region, which creates direct competition for our local farms,” she said. “If you pick up a gallon of Hood milk with the Code [No.] 33, you can feel good knowing that dairy farmers right here in New Hampshire sent their milk there, and that’s what’s in that bottle that you’re picking up off the shelves. … Not all of the milk in the dairy aisle has that.”

Ice cream for normalcy

After a season like no other last year, ice cream makers in New Hampshire are turning the page.

Christy LaRocca wrote down July 1 as a “back to normal” date for Moo’s Place Ice Cream. It marked the indoor reopenings of both the Derry and Salem shops for the first time in more than a year, and nearly all the company’s staff members were fully vaccinated by that point.

“We’re on pace to have a very, very good season,” said LaRocca, who owns Moo’s Place with her husband, Steven. “We’ve been so excited to open up and welcome everybody back indoors.”

Moo’s Place makes its own ice cream five or six days a week, producing more than 40 regular flavors as well as the occasional special, like chocolate-dipped cherry or wild blueberry crisp.

Ice cream sales have been very strong so far this summer at Granite State Candy Shoppe. Owner Jeff Bart said the Concord shop usually offers ice cream from Easter through the end of October, while in Manchester they scoop it year-round.

Granite State Candy Shoppe. Courtesy photo.

“Things are as good as they were back in the summer of 2019,” he said. “We have noticed that people are definitely interested in coming back downtown and stopping by.”

Around 30 flavors of ice cream are available at each shop at any particular time, including unique offerings like Flapjacks and Bacon, a cake batter ice cream with a swirl of maple syrup and bacon chunks, as well as a Mexican chocolate ice cream with a blend of cinnamon.

New for this year, Blake’s Creamery in Manchester has opened an ice cream window with outdoor patio seating directly in front of its restaurant on South Main Street. It’s now open every Wednesday through Sunday, from 3 to 8 p.m.

“It has been very well-received, and it’s really nice to see people just sitting outside under an umbrella and enjoying ice cream,” Blake’s Creamery co-owner Ann Mirageas said. “There were takeout windows when Blake’s opened in 1963, so it’s actually a return to its roots.”

Blake’s introduces a few new ice cream flavors to its lineup every year, some of which become permanent additions. This year, newcomers include salted caramel brownie, and Mocha Joe’s Dough, a Colombian coffee and chocolate ice cream with cookie dough and chocolate dough.

In Nashua, Hayward’s Ice Cream now has a brand new commissary space downtown where their ice cream is produced, with a kitchen three times the size. Owner Chris Ordway said ice cream is made six days a week and trucked to both Hayward’s stores in Nashua and Merrimack. A whopping 10 gallons is produced every 12 minutes from their machines.

“We’re bringing in something new every two weeks, and it may be something that you had a few years ago that we’re bringing back to get some new interest,” Ordway said of the flavors.

Memories Ice Cream in Kingston is also rotating out specialty ice cream flavors. Owner Dawn Padfield said they are up to at least 50 to 60 different offerings, including not just the hard ice cream but also a selection of soft-serve, frozen yogurt and vegan options.

If you can’t find your favorite ice cream flavor on the menu, it could be because that local stand or shop simply hasn’t been able to get certain ingredients to make it, a lingering issue from the pandemic that continues to affect the industry.

“Week to week, it’s different things,” Steven LaRocca said. “Some products are in stock one week, and then they’re not in stock for the next two or three weeks. It’s a constant battle.”

The New Hampshire Ice Cream Trail

An interactive way to enjoy locally made ice cream while supporting dairy farmers, the New Hampshire Ice Cream Trail is a passport program released by Granite State Dairy Promotion every year, usually around Memorial Day weekend. Maps can be downloaded by visiting nhdairypromo.org/ice-cream-trail, or can be found at any one of the trail’s participating locations. Maps are also at the Manchester Airport and at several state highway rest areas.

There are a total of 42 “stops” on this year’s trail scattered across the state, featuring dairy farms that make their own ice cream on site or ice cream makers that use local milk. Participants can visit each stop on the map and receive a passport sticker for a chance to win prizes.

“For me, one of the most exciting parts about the Ice Cream Trail is hearing from folks who have completed it and say that not only they had a blast but they learned some things too,” said Amy Hall, executive director of Granite State Dairy Promotion. “It was developed as a way to creatively get information about the value of dairy farms into the hands of consumers.”

Completed passports will be accepted through Oct. 18 and will be entered into a grand prize drawing. The grand prize winner receives a $200 Amazon gift card and a basket of New Hampshire-made goodies, but all who complete the trail still receive a complimentary sweatshirt.

Where to get New Hampshire-made ice cream

This list includes New Hampshire restaurants, dairy farms and ice cream shops and stands that offer ice cream either made on site or, where specified, sourced locally. Some dairy farms also make proprietary flavors for New Hampshire businesses using their own products — those are included here as well. Do you know of another local business serving homemade ice cream that isn’t on this list? Let us know at food@hippopress.com.

• Arnie’s Place (164 Loudon Road, Concord, 228-3225, arniesplace.com) offers more than 25 homemade ice cream flavors, in addition to ice cream cakes, novelties and more.

• Beech Hill Farm and Ice Cream Barn (107 Beech Hill Road, Hopkinton, 223-0828, beechhillfarm.com) carries several flavors of ice cream from Blake’s Creamery.

• Blake’s Creamery (353 S. Main St., Manchester, 669-0220, blakesicecream.com) offers dozens of unique premium ice cream flavors, and, new for the 2021 season, now has an ice cream takeout window that is open Wednesday through Sunday from 3 to 8 p.m. Blake’s also has several seasonal wholesale accounts at restaurants and ice cream stands throughout New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts.

• Bruster’s Ice Cream (621 Amherst St., Nashua, 881-9595, find them on Facebook @brustersnh) has more than two dozen signature and classic flavors of homemade ice cream that are made on site.

• Charlie’s Ice Cream (150 Front St., Exeter, 772-7400, find them on Facebook @charliesicecreamnh) offers more than 50 flavors of ice cream made on site in small batches, including a selection of “21+” flavors infused with premium alcohol.

• Chuckster’s Family Fun Park (9 Bailey Road, Chichester, 798-3555; 53 Hackett Hill Road, Hooksett, 210-1415; chucksters.com) carries more than two dozen ice cream flavors from Blake’s Creamery.

• The Common Man (25 Water St., Concord, 228-3463; 304 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack, 429-3463; 88 Range Road, Windham, 898-0088; 10 Pollard Road, Lincoln, 745-3463; 21 Water St., Claremont, 542-6171; 60 Main St., Ashland, 968-7030; Town Docks Restaurant, 289 Daniel Webster Hwy., Meredith, 279-3445; Airport Diner, 2280 Brown Ave., Manchester, 623-5040; Tilt’n Diner, 61 Laconia Road, Tilton, 286-2204; 104 Diner, 752 Route 104, New Hampton, 744-0120; thecman.com) offers its own homemade ice cream across each location’s dessert menus.

• The Common Man Roadside Market & Deli (1805 S. Willow St., Manchester, 210-2801; 530 W. River Road, Hooksett; 25 Springer Road, Hooksett, 210-5305; 484 Tenney Mountain Highway, Plymouth, 210-5815; thecmanroadside.com) offers Common Man-made ice cream across each location’s dessert menus.

• Connolly Brothers Dairy Farm (140 Webster Hwy., Temple, 924-5002, find them on Facebook) offers dozens of flavors of homemade ice cream using a base that comes from the farm’s own cows’ milk. Dozens of flavors are available at the farm store in pre-packaged containers coming in several sizes. Connolly Brothers Dairy Farm also makes proprietary ice cream flavors for other New Hampshire businesses, like Nelson’s Candy & Music in Wilton and Parker’s Maple Barn in Mason.

• Countrybrook Farms (175 Lowell Road, Hudson, 886-5200, countrybrookfarms.com) has dozens of flavors of ice cream from Blake’s Creamery.

• Cremeland Drive-In (250 Valley St., Manchester, 669-4430, find them on Facebook) offers multiple flavors of homemade hard ice cream, as well as soft-serve, frozen yogurt and sherbet.

• Dancing Lion Chocolate (917 Elm St., Manchester, 625-4043, dancinglion.us) offers unique flavors of house-made small-batch ice cream during the summer, sold in cups and house-made cones as well as sundaes and frappes.

• Devriendt Farm Stand and Ice Cream Shoppe (178 S. Mast St., Goffstown, 497-2793, devriendtfarm.com) offers dozens of flavors of ice cream from Blake’s Creamery.

• Dr. Davis Ice Cream (75 Route 13, Brookline, 673-6003, drdavisicecream.com) has been in business for more than eight decades, serving up more than two dozen homemade ice cream flavors.

• Dudley’s Ice Cream (846 Route 106 N, Loudon, 783-4800, find them on Facebook) offers more than 20 flavors of homemade hard ice cream, in addition to soft-serve and ice cream cakes.

• Goldenrod Restaurant Drive-In (1681 Candia Road, Manchester, 623-9469, goldenrodrestaurant.com) has more than 30 flavors of homemade ice cream.

• Gould Hill Farm (656 Gould Hill Road, Contoocook, 746-3811, gouldhillfarm.com) serves ice cream sourced from Granite State Candy Shoppe in Concord and Manchester.

• Granite State Candy Shoppe (13 Warren St., Concord, 225-2591; 832 Elm St., Manchester, 218-3885; granitestatecandyshoppe.com) has around 30 homemade ice cream flavors available at both locations, with specialty and customizable make-your-own sundae options. All of its flavors are made from an ice cream base sourced from Contoocook Creamery, at Bohanan Farm in Hopkinton.

• Hatchland Farm’s “Wicked Good” Dairy Delites (3095 Dartmouth College Hwy., North Haverhill, 348-1884, find them on Facebook) is a family-owned and -operated dairy farm that offers its own milk and ice cream products, including dozens of flavors of hard ice cream and soft-serve. The farm also sells its milk and cream to Richardson’s Farm in Boscawen to make ice cream with.

• Hayward’s Homemade Ice Cream (7 Daniel Webster Hwy., Nashua, 888-4663; Merrimack 360 Shopping Plaza, Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack; haywardsicecream.com) has been in business for more than seven decades, featuring dozens of homemade ice cream flavors on its menu out of both locations.

• Hayward’s Ice Cream of Milford (383 Elm St., Milford, 672-8383, haywardsfamilyicecream.com) is a third-generation ice cream stand that offers more than 50 homemade ice cream flavors, in addition to frozen yogurts and sherbets.

• Ilsley’s Ice Cream (33 S. Sugar Hill Road, Weare, 529-6455, find them on Facebook) offers about 10 flavors of its homemade ice cream during its season, in addition to specialty flavors of the week that are regularly rotated out.

• Jake’s Old-Fashioned Ice Cream and Bakery (57 Palm St., Nashua, 594-2424, jakesoldfashionedicecream.com) offers homemade wholesale packaged ice cream in a variety of flavors.

• Jordan’s Ice Creamery (894 Laconia Road, Belmont, 267-1900, find them on Facebook @jordansic) has been in business for more than 25 years, serving up dozens of flavors of homemade ice cream in addition to a large selection of cakes and pies.

• Just the Wright Place for Ice Cream (95 Portsmouth Ave., Stratham, 775-0223, find them on Facebook @wrightplaceforicecream) offers a wide selection of homemade ice cream flavors, and also takes orders for ice cream cakes.

• Kellerhaus (259 Endicott St. N, Weirs Beach, 366-4466, kellerhaus.com) always has a rotating selection of more than a dozen homemade ice cream flavors.

• Memories Ice Cream (95 Exeter Road, Kingston, 642-3737, memoriesicecream.com) has been serving dozens of homemade ice cream flavors out of a converted dairy barn since 1992, also offering ice cream cakes and wholesaling to some local restaurants and country stores.

• Moo’s Place Homemade Ice Cream (27 Crystal Ave., Derry, 425-0100; 15 Ermer Road, Salem, 898-0199; moosplace.com) makes all of its own hard ice creams available in several dozen unique flavors, in addition to frozen yogurts, Italian ices and ice cream cakes.

• Nelson’s Candy & Music (65 Main St., Wilton, 654-5030, nelsonscandymusic.com) offers more than a dozen flavors of ice cream produced at Connolly Brothers Dairy Farm in Temple, using the shop’s own chocolates, candies and other ingredients.

• Parker’s Maple Barn (1349 Brookline Road, Mason, 878-2308, parkersmaplebarn.com) offers several flavors of ice cream produced at Connolly Brothers Dairy Farm in Temple.

• The Puritan Backroom Restaurant (245 Hooksett Road, Manchester, 669-6890, puritanbackroom.com) has more than two dozen traditional and unique homemade ice cream flavors.

• Richardson’s Farm (170 Water St., Boscawen, 796-2788, richardsonsfarmnh.com) has dozens of flavors of ice cream made on site, using its own pasteurized ice cream base sourced with milk and cream from Hatchland Farm in North Haverhill.

• Sanctuary Dairy Farm Ice Cream (209 Route 103 Sunapee, 863-8940, icecreamkidbeck.com) has dozens of flavors of homemade ice cream available, including many dairy-free, sugar-free, gelato and low-fat options. The farm also has wholesale accounts for businesses that carry its ice cream in quarts, including Achille Agway in Hillsborough.

• Stuart & John’s Sugarhouse (31 Route 63, Westmoreland, 399-4486, stuartandjohns.com) offers several flavors of ice cream from Blake’s Creamery.

• Sugar & Ice Creamery (146 Calef Hwy., Barrington, 888-616-8452, sugaricecreamery.com) has multiple flavors of homemade ice cream, with sundae options and freshly baked waffle cones also available.

• Trombly Gardens (150 N. River Road, Milford, 673-0647, tromblygardens.net) has more than a dozen flavors of its homemade ice cream, available for sale at the farm store in quarts.

Featured photo: Isley’s Ice Cream in Weare.

On The Job – Michael J. Chambers

Michael J. Chambers

Auctioneer

Michael J. Chambers of Chambers Auction Service in Atkinson is a professional auctioneer specializing in automobile, fundraising and contract auction services. He is currently the Runner-Up World Automobile Auctioneer Champion.

Explain your job and what it entails.

Typically, a professional auctioneer will communicate to the audience using a rhythmic chant made up of filler words and numbers to ask a series of questions and statements. For example, ‘One dollar, now two, would you give two? Do you want it at two?’… I currently call the sale at four wholesale dealer-only automobile auctions throughout New England. The fundraising and benefit auction segment continues to grow with most galas and events being held in the spring and fall.

How long have you had this job?

I’ve been a contract auctioneer since 1994.

What led you to this career field and your current job?

When I was growing up, my dad owned a car dealership, and I attended many auto auctions with him. When I was 20, my dad suggested that I attend auction school and become an automobile auctioneer. … After graduating, I worked any auction I could, performing any task available, eventually gaining the real-life experience needed to become an auctioneer.

What kind of education or training did you need?

I received the proper training by attending both the Mendenhall School of Auctioneering and the Worldwide College of Auctioneering. I furthered my education through the National Auctioneers Association and earned the Benefit Auctioneer Specialist and the Certified Auctioneers Institute designations. I currently hold licenses in the states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Florida.

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?

Dress code has changed over the last 25 years, but the rule of thumb is to match your client: tuxedos in the ballroom, business casual with the automobiles, work boots on the construction site and suits with the lawyers.

How has your job changed over the last year?

In the first months after the pandemic, automobile auctions didn’t allow dealers on property. We pivoted to a simulcast, internet-only bidding platform using a live auctioneer. After six months or so, dealers were allowed to come back to the auctions and preview the vehicles. … Benefit auctions came to a halt without the ability for in-person events, but fundraising was still imperative for nonprofit organizations, so auctioneers made the shift to virtual galas produced and broadcast online. … Things are almost back to normal now. … With restrictions easing, we’re looking forward to resuming traditional events that will include hybrid technology.

What do you wish you’d known at the beginning of your career?

Take chances. When opportunity knocks, open the door. Ask questions. It’s OK that you don’t know what you don’t know.

What do you wish other people knew about your job?

Being an auctioneer isn’t just fast talking; we’re problem solvers, consultants and marketing specialists.

What was the first job you ever had?

My first job outside of the family businesses was as a dishwasher at the Cozy Corner restaurant in Kingston, New Hampshire. I was 11.

What’s the best piece of work-related advice you’ve ever received?

Listen quietly, speak meaningfully.

Five favorites
Favorite book: Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
Favorite movie: Better Off Dead
Favorite music: I love all music. It’s incredible that today we have access to unlimited music on our devices.
Favorite food: Pizza
Favorite thing about NH: New Hampshire has it all, from the mountains to the ocean and everything in between … and I love what we stand for: ‘Live Free or Die.’

Featured photo: Michael J. Chambers

Kiddie Pool 21/07/22

Family fun for the weekend

Holey competition!

If the upcoming Olympics (opening ceremonies are this Friday, July 23) or the new season of ABC’s Holey Moley have your kids looking to try out their mini golf abilities, check out our July 8 cover about mini golf and all the places you can putt putt the day away. Find the issue on hippopress.com and flip through the e-book (past e-books are displayed at the bottom of the homepage). Or become a Hippo member to get full access to previous weeks’ stories. (Click on “Become a Member” for more information.) The mini golf story starts on page 10.

Celebrating history

The American Independence Museum (1 Governors Lane in Exeter; independencemuseum.org) wraps up its American Independence Festival this weekend. During the day on Saturday, July 24, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., you can see demonstrations from artisans (including a tinsmith, cooper and milliner) and watch reenactor groups. Tickets cost $5 for adults, $3 for children ages 4 to 18, and are free for seniors and active military and veterans. Saturday night, the museum is holding a family campout from 7 p.m. to 9 a.m. Sunday, July 25, with the reenactors the Acton Minutemen. Bring a tent and sleeping bag and take part in games, singing and a craft, according to the website. The campout includes snacks and a light breakfast. The cost is $20 per person or $75 for a group of four. The campout will be limited to 30 people; purchase tickets online.

Movie time

• Plaistow residents can get in the Olympic spirit with a screening of Cool Runnings(PG, 1993) on Friday, July 23, at 8:30 p.m. The screening will take place at the Plaistow Public Library parking lot and will be presented as a drive-in. Admission is being restricted to 50 cars; register in advance at tinyurl.com/umsrmjz7.

• Movie lovers of all ages can root for the forgetful fish Dory in Pixar’s Finding Dory (PG, 2016), which will screen Friday, July 23, in Wasserman Park (116 Naticook Road in Merrimack) as part of the town’s summer movies in the park. The screening starts at dusk and the films are free and open to residents and nonresidents, according to the town’s Parks and Recreation website.

• Introduce your retro-loving kids to 1980s nostalgia as the O’neil Cinemas at Brickyard Square in Epping (24 Calef Highway; 679-3529, oneilcinemas.com) summer kids movie series continues with The Goonies(PG, 1984) screening Monday, July 26, and Wednesday, July 28, at 10 a.m. Tickets to the screening cost $2 for kids ages 11 and under and $3 for ages 13 and up. A $5 popcorn and drink combo is also for sale.

• The Rex Theatre (23 Amherst St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org, 668-5588) will be screening some films to raise money for the Palace Youth Theatre. On Tuesday, July 27, at 7 p.m. catch Disney’s Moana(PG, 2016). On Wednesday, July 28, at 7 p.m., the theater will screen High School Musical 2 (TV-G, 2007). Tickets to either show cost $12.

See a show

• The Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org, 668-5588) continues its 2021 Bank of New Hampshire Children’s Summer Series. Finishing up this week’s run, catch Wizard of Oz on Thursday, July 22. Next week the production is The Little Mermaid, Tuesday, July 27, through Thursday, July 29. Showtimes are at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. and tickets cost $10 per person.

• Student performers from the Palace’s summer camp program will have a production of their own this weekend: Seussical Kidswill be performed Friday, July 23, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, July 24, at 11 a.m. Tickets cost $12 to $15.

• The Windham Actors Guild will present a youth production of Seussicalat Windham High School (64 London Bridge Road in Windham) on Friday, July 23, and Saturday, July 24, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, July 25, at 1 p.m. Tickets cost $16 for adults and $12 for seniors and students and are available at windhamactorsguild.com.

• Find Frozen Jr.at the Bank of NH Stage (16 S. Main St. in Concord; ccanh.com, 225-1111) on Friday, July 23, at noon and 1 p.m. Tickets to this all-ages-friendly show cost $8 for adults, $5 for seniors and students.

Over at the Capitol Center for the Arts’ Chubb Theatre (44 S. Main St. in Concord; ccanh.com, 225-1111), Godspell Jr.will be performed Friday, July 23, and Saturday, July 24, at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and students.

Both productions are from RB Productions, a nonprofit community theater organization founded to provide theater opportunities for youth and young theater professionals, according to the website.

• The Strawbery Banke Museum (14 Hancock St. in Portsmouth; 433-1100, strawberybanke.org) will host a kids night of outdoor entertainment featuring music by Mr. Aaron and a bubble magic show by Kali and Wayne of Sages Entertainment on Tuesday, July 27, at 5:30 p.m. The cost is $5 per person.

Treasure Hunt 21/07/22

Dear Donna,

I have collected these cows over the years. Please don’t ask me why! I just picked one up whenever I saw one. I am turning 70 this year and it’s time to start house cleaning.

Do you think there is a collector out there that would be interested in these plastic cows? Or do I just put them out in a yard sale?

Carol from Manchester

Dear Carol,

I’m still chuckling over your email. Thanks for sharing and for the smile.

Your cows are sweet, and I can understand how collecting one item leads to more and more and more!

Plastic cows were, and still are, mass produced, so they probably aren’t too hard to find, and each cow individually would be inexpensive to pick up. But a collection like you have should be in the $30 range. You have done all the hard work for an easy collection for someone.

I hope your collection finds a good home.

Time to grow up?

Vines offer special features

The story of Jack, of Bean Stalk fame, appealed to me as a boy, and still does. I love climbing vines and grow many, including those that are perennial or annual flowers, and some vegetables. Vines are a great way to save space and to get blossoms up and visible.

A cucumber trellis is easy to build. Courtesy photo.

In the vegetable garden I have had great luck growing cucumbers on trellises. I made a simple frame to support my cukes, and you can, too. You can use four 6-foot-long 2-by-2 pieces of lumber for the framework. Attach them in pairs with simple gate hinges from the hardware store. Then space them 5 feet apart with pieces of strapping at the top and bottom, and attach chicken wire for the vines to grab on to.

I used a cordless drill and short sheet rock screws to put it all together. I made it sturdier by cutting short pieces of strapping to go from the front legs to the back legs. To ensure it doesn’t blow over, I drove a hardwood-grade stake into the ground on each end, and screwed it to that strapping. Once the vines are long enough, lift them up onto the chicken wire, and they will quickly attach to it and grow up.

Other vines will grow up on trellises, too, including squashes and gourds of all sorts. For heavier fruits you may want to build your trellis with two-by-fours, and perhaps to use stronger wire mesh or the stuff used to reinforce concrete that comes in 4-foot by 8-foot pieces.

If you have only grown bush beans, you should also try pole beans. As the name implies, these will encircle a pole and grow up 8 feet or more. The great thing about them is that if you keep on picking them, they will produce beans all summer. Bush beans produce just one load of beans over a three-week period, and then they are done.

Beans fix nitrogen, taking it from the air and storing it in usable form in nodes in the roots, but only if the soil has a certain bacteria to work with your beans. You can buy inoculants to make sure your beans do fix nitrogen, and can add some to the soil and water it in, even now.

Climbing hydragea covers the north side of my barn and looks good all year. Courtesy photo.

Climbing hydrangea is a perennial woody vine that looks good all year. It is slow to get started, but once established (after a few years) it grows quickly. It does well on the shady north side of a building, a place often difficult for flowers. It will attach to brick or stone, but needs to be attached to a wood building, either with a trellis or with individual ties. It blooms in June, but the large white panicles look good long after, even into winter.

There are many types of clematis but all have wonderful blossoms, some 6 inches wide or more, others small but profuse. Most will grow 6 to 10 feet tall; some die back to the ground each year while others have woody vines that send out new shoots and flowers each year. The key to success is to give the vines plenty of sunshine, but to protect the roots with shade from other plants to keep them cool. There are spring, summer and fall bloomers. Some are fragrant, others not.

If you have lived in a warmer part of the country you may long for wisteria, a woody vine that blooms profusely with blue or purple flowers, and occasionally in shades of pink and white. Each blossom is actually a cluster of blossoms that hang down like a cluster of grapes. Although most wisteria varieties will survive our winters, most bloom on “old wood” and the flower buds get killed in winter.

I grow two varieties that do bloom in Zone 4 because they bloom on “new wood,” or this year’s growth. One is called Blue Moon, a hybrid developed in Minnesota. The other is Amethyst Falls, a native variety with smaller leaves and blossoms. Both bloom for me in late June or early July, and re-bloom lightly throughout the summer.

Annual vines are vigorous and delightful, too. We generally grow morning glories from seed. These come in many colors: reds, pinks, blue, purple and white. My favorite is called Grampa Ott. It is a deep purple, and can grow up to 15 feet in a season. It was one of two heritage plants that inspired the creation of the Seed Saver organization and seed company. They grow quickly so it’s not too late to plant some by seed.

Two decorative flowering beans that I like are purple hyacinth bean and scarlet runner bean. The purple hyacinth bean is a beautiful plant: The leaves are purple, along with the flowers and seed pods. It is slow to germinate and get up a pole or trellis, so it is best started in pots indoors before it can be planted outdoors. The young beans are edible raw or cooked, but the mature pods have seeds better used as dry beans.

Scarlet runner beans, like the hyacinth bean, can climb up a support and grow 10 feet in a season. They are quicker to grow than hyacinth beans, and I often start them in the soil near my hexagon cedar shade structure where I also grow wisteria. The bean has bright orange flowers and standard bean leaves. Plant four to six seeds around a pole and watch them grow — just like Jack, the bean stalk kid.

Featured photo: This fall-blooming clematis had hundreds of blossoms. Courtesy photo.

The Art Roundup 21/07/22

The latest from NH’s theater, arts and literary communities

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•​ Marriage comedy: The Majestic Theatre presents ’Til Beth Do Us Part on Friday, July 23, and Saturday, July 24, at 7 p.m., and Sunday, July 25, at 2 p.m., at the Majestic Studio Theatre (880 Page St., Manchester). Married for 27 years, Suzannah and her husband Gibby find themselves in a state of complacency as they adjust to life in their newly empty nest. Hoping to advance her career, Suzannah hires an assistant, Beth, to get her house — and her husband — back in order. When Beth begins weaseling into other aspects of the couple’s life, Gibby suspects she has ulterior motives. It becomes a battle of wits between Beth and Gibby as Beth tries to derail the marriage and Gibby becomes more determined than ever to save it. “There are a lot of surprises, a lot of twists and turns, a lot of misdirection and comedy that’s predicated on timing,” director Joe Pelonzi told the Hippo earlier this month. “It’s kind of in the same vein as a lot of the British farces, but without all the slamming doors.” Tickets cost $20 for adults and $15 for seniors age 65 and over and youth age 17 and under. Call 669-7469 or visit majestictheatre.net.

• Heathers auditions: Manchester-based Cue Zero Theatre Co. is holding in-person auditions on Tuesday, July 27, at Granite State Arts Academy Public Charter School (19 Keewaydin Drive, Salem) for its upcoming production of Heathers The Musical. Interested performers must sign up on the Cue Zero website in advance for a 60-minute time slot between 6 and 10 p.m. Callbacks will be held on Thursday, July 29. The production is scheduled to run Oct. 22 through Oct. 24 at the Derry Opera House. Visit cztheatre.com or email cztheatre@gmail.com.

“Going with the Flow” by Jane Balshaw, featured in “Tension” exhibit. Courtesy photo.

• Textile works: The Surface Design Association’s (SDA) New Hampshire Group presents an exhibit, “Tension: Process in the Making,” at Twiggs Gallery (254 King St., Boscawen) July 24 through Sept. 4. It features contemporary fiber art by 15 artists juried by textile artist Jenine Shereos. “Reflecting on the past year, there has been a collective stretching; a pulling and tightening, beyond what we ever imagined was possible,” Shereos said in a press release. “The works in this exhibition feature New Hampshire textile artists as they examine the theme of tension in both form and concept.” An artists reception and jurors talk will be held at the gallery on Saturday, July 24, from 1 to 3 p.m. Current gallery hours are Thursday and Friday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday, from noon to 4 p.m. Visit twiggsgallery.wordpress.com or call 975-0015.

• Community art for Nashua: The Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, in partnership with the City of Nashua, present “Creative Union,” a new community-centered art project conceived by Elisa H. Hamilton. A number of free, hands-on workshops for all ages are being held throughout the summer in Nashua, where participants can create festive paper sculptures and handmade decorations for a community celebration that will be held in downtown Nashua this fall. Workshop dates are Thursday, July 22, from 4:30 to 7 p.m., at the Arlington Street Community Center (36 Arlington St.); Thursday, Aug. 5, from 4 to 7 p.m., and Saturday, Aug. 7, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at YMCA of Greater Nashua (24 Stadium Drive); Sundays, Aug. 8 and Aug. 29, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Nashua Farmers Market at City Hall Plaza; and Thursday, Aug. 12, from 6 to 8 p.m., at Grow Nashua Community Garden (Spring Street). Visit currier.org

• Fashion art: The Seacoast African American Cultural Center (located inside the Portsmouth Historical Society, 10 Middle St., Portsmouth) has an exhibition, “Fashion Forward: Africana Style,” on view now through Sept. 1 that showcases Black fashion and explores connections between African American and African design aesthetics from past to present. See photos from Sapeurs: Ladies and Gentlemen of the Congo by London-based photographer Tariq Zaidi; vintage African fashion pieces from 1930s Liberia reflecting influences of Islam and African American immigration; and more than a dozen contemporary fashion and fabric art pieces created or owned by African and African American women living and working on the Seacoast and throughout the East Coast. Gallery hours are Monday through Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; visitors must reserve a 45-minute time slot in advance. Walk-in guests will be accommodated as space permits. Tickets cost $10 for the general public and $5 for Historical Society members and are available through eventbrite.com. Call 430-6027 or visit saacc-nh.org.

Art

Exhibits

• “FRESH PERSPECTIVES” Exhibit features works by New Hampshire artists Peter Milton, ​Varujan Boghosian, Robert Hughes and others. New Hampshire Antique Co-op (323 Elm St., Milford). On view in the Co-op’s Tower Gallery now through Aug. 31. Visit nhantiquecoop.com.

• “THE BODY IN ART: FROM THE SPIRITUAL TO THE SENSUAL” Exhibit provides a look at how artists through the ages have used the human body as a means of creative expression. On view now through Sept. 1. Currier Museum of Art, 150 Ash St., Manchester. Museum admission tickets cost $15, $13 for seniors age 65 and up, and must be booked online. Call 669-6144 or visit currier.org.

• “DON GORVETT: WORKING WATERFRONTS” Exhibit features more than 60 works by the contemporary Seacoast printmaker. The Portsmouth Historical Society (10 Middle St., Portsmouth). On view now through Sept. 12. Gallery hours are daily, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission costs $7.50 for adults and is free for kids under age 18, seniors age 70 and older and active and retired military. Admission is free for all on the first Friday of every month. Visit portsmouthhistory.org.

• “TWILIGHT OF AMERICAN IMPRESSIONISM” Exhibit showcases New England painters and masters of impressionism Alice Ruggles Sohier and Frederick A. Bosley. On view now through Sept. 12. Portsmouth Historical Society (10 Middle St., Portsmouth). Gallery hours are daily, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission costs $7.50 for adults and is free for kids under age 18, seniors age 70 and older and active and retired military. Admission is free for all on the first Friday of every month. Visit portsmouthhistory.org.

• “ROBERTO LUGO: TE TRAIGO MI LE LO LAI – I BRING YOU MY JOY” Philadelphia-based potter reimagines traditional forms and techniques with inspiration from urban graffiti and hip-hop culture, paying homage to his Puerto Rican heritage and exploring his cultural identity and its connection to family, place and legacy. The Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St., Manchester). On view now through Sept. 26. On view now. Currier Museum of Art, 150 Ash St., Manchester. Museum admission tickets cost $15, $13 for seniors age 65 and up, and must be booked online. Call 669-6144 or visit currier.org.

• “CRITICAL CARTOGRAPHY” Exhibit features immersive large-scale drawings by Larissa Fassler that reflect the Berlin-based artist’s observations of downtown Manchester while she was an artist-in-residence at the Currier Museum in 2019. On view now through fall. Currier Museum of Art, 150 Ash St., Manchester. Museum admission tickets cost $15, $13 for seniors age 65 and up, and must be booked online. Call 669-6144 or visit currier.org.

• GALLERY ART A new collection of art by more than 20 area artists on display now in-person and online. Creative Ventures Gallery (411 Nashua St., Milford). Call 672-2500 or visit creativeventuresfineart.com.

• “TOMIE DEPAOLA AT THE CURRIER” Exhibition celebrates the illustrator’s life and legacy through a collection of his original drawings. On view now. Currier Museum of Art, 150 Ash St., Manchester. Museum admission tickets cost $15, $13 for seniors age 65 and up, and must be booked online. Call 669-6144 or visit currier.org.

• ART ON MAIN The City of Concord and the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce present a year-round outdoor public art exhibit in Concord’s downtown featuring works by professional sculptors. All sculptures will be for sale. Visit concordnhchamber.com/creativeconcord, call 224-2508 or email tsink@concordnhchamber.com.

• “SUMMER HAZE” Concord artist and gallery owner Jess Barnet hosts her first group art exhibit. Gallery located in the Patriot Investment building, 4 Park St., Suite 216, Concord. On view Aug. 6 through Sept. 3. Visit jessbarnett.com.

Fairs and markets

• CONCORD ARTS MARKET Outdoor artisan and fine art market. Every third Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Now through October. Rollins Park (33 Bow St., Concord). Visit concordartsmarket.net.

• CRAFTSMEN’S FAIR Nine-day craft fair featuring work by hundreds of juried League of NH Craftsmen members. Sat., Aug. 7, through Sun., Aug. 15. Mount Sunapee Resort (1398 Route 103, Newbury). Visit nhcrafts.org.

Tours

• NASHUA PUBLIC ART AUDIO TOUR Self-guided audio tours of the sculptures and murals in downtown Nashua, offered via the Distrx app, which uses Bluetooth iBeacon technology to automatically display photos and text and provides audio descriptions at each stop on the tour as tourists approach the works of art. Each tour has 10 to 15 stops. Free and accessible on Android and iOS on demand. Available in English and Spanish. Visit downtownnashua.org/nashua-art-tour.

Theater

Shows

• WIZARD OF OZ The 2021 Bank of New Hampshire Children’s Summer Series presents. Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St., Manchester). Wed., July 21, and Thurs., July 22, 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Tickets cost $10. Visit palacetheatre.org.

•​ ‘TIL BETH DO US PART The Majestic Theatre presents. Virtual and in person at Majestic Studio Theatre, 880 Page St., Manchester. Now through July 25, with showtimes on Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. Visit majestictheatre.net or call 669-7469.

• DANI GIRL The Winnipesaukee Playhouse presents. 33 Footlight Circle, Meredith. Now through July 31, with showtimes Tuesday through Saturday, at 4 p.m. Tickets cost $29 to $39. Visit winnipesaukeeplayhouse.org.

• YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN Prescott Park Arts Festival (105 Marcy St., Portsmouth). Now through Aug. 15, with shows daily at 7 p.m. Visit prescottpark.org.

•​ CABARET The Seacoast Repertory Theatre presents. 125 Bow St., Portsmouth. July 22 through Sept. 5. Visit seacoastrep.org or call 433-4472.

• THE LITTLE MERMAID Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St., Manchester). Tues., July 27, through Thurs., July 29, 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Tickets $10. Visit palacetheatre.org.

• TELL ME ON A SUNDAY The Winnipesaukee Playhouse presents. 33 Footlight Circle, Meredith. July 28 through Aug. 14, with showtimes Tuesday through Saturday, at 7:30 p.m., plus matinees on Tuesday, Aug. 3, and Thursday, Aug. 5, at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $20 to $39. Visit winnipesaukeeplayhouse.org.

• BEAUTY AND THE BEAST The 2021 Bank of New Hampshire Children’s Summer Series presents. Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St., Manchester). Tues., Aug. 3, through Thurs., Aug. 5, 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Tickets $10. Visit palacetheatre.org.

Concerts

• “PURCELL TO PUCCINI — OPERATASTIC!” The Piccola Emerging Opera performs a classic opera show. Part of the Piccola Opera Summer Festival. Fri., July 23, 6 p.m., at Franklin Pierce University (40 University Drive, Rindge), and Sat., July 24, 2 p.m. at Cathedral of the Pines (10 Hale Hill Road, Rindge). Tickets cost $15. Call 781-5695 or visit piccolaopera.net.

Eclectic artistry

Henniker illustrator, photographer, author keeps on creating

It was the barn that Jerry LoFaro fell in love with when he bought his property in Henniker 25 years ago. Since then, he’s used the space as a studio for painting, digital artwork, photography, writing and live music performances, sometimes sitting alone in his well-worn office chair and sometimes surrounded by friends during the intimate concerts that he and his wife Kathleen host.

“This barn — this is why we’re here,” he said of the building, which was built in ’91 and had been used as a dance school. “It was perfect for me, really kind of idyllic.”

With a resume as eclectic as it is long, LoFaro’s recent projects include working on a follow-up to his first book of photography, Abandoned Vehicles of New Hampshire: Rust in Peace, and taking behind-the-scenes and onstage pictures of musicians as the official photographer for Tupelo Music Hall in Derry.

The latter gig started with an iPhone and front-row seats to numerous shows. The self-proclaimed “music freak” would sit in front of the stage and take pictures with his phone, without giving much thought to their artistic quality. It was a far cry from his usual approach to art — LoFaro has been a successful painter and illustrator for years, with work that has graced the covers of books and magazines, advertising and promotional items for brands like Aflac, Coca-Cola and Disney, and, his proudest achievement, boxes of Celestial Seasonings tea. For that work, he uses techniques like airbrushing and digital art, but taking pictures had never really been a thing.

“Most of my photography [at that point] had been a [starting point] for my illustrations,” he said. “It was part of a process and wasn’t really a goal in and of itself.”

But LoFaro was posting his concert shots online, and people were commenting. Knowing that he had an audience, LoFaro started bringing a better camera to the shows, discreetly taking shots from his lap.

“I had no goal other than to have fun and take better pictures,” he said.

Tupelo’s social media director noticed the photos, though, and started posting them on Tupelo’s social media sites. When the venue moved from Londonderry to Derry in 2017, LoFaro was asked to be the official photographer.

“I kind of was grandfathered in,” he said, aware that he got the job over professional photographers with years more experience. “But I’m an artist — what I lack in skill, I make up for in editing and artistry.”

Abandoned Vehicles of New Hampshire, which was published earlier this year, is a new creative venture for LoFaro, one that started when he turned his camera toward rusty old cars he found throughout the state.

“It was just something that captured my interest,” he said.

One of his four Instagram accounts is dedicated to his rusted cars photography, and one of his followers happens to work for a publisher, America Through Time.

“I knew I had a book in me,” LoFaro said.

The star of the book is a Hudson Commodore, a car he found in the middle of a field in Loudon and later bought from the owner of the salvage yard for $200. The Hudson is now a centerpiece in his front yard.

LoFaro said the response to the book has been great.

“I was inundated with people sending messages and locations [of abandoned cars] all over the state,” he said. “I have so much material [for a follow-up book].”

In the meantime, LoFaro is working on a book of photography about Henniker — something never imagined doing when he left New York City in 1995, when he was still working with his agent and big clients in New York.

His favorite client was Celestial Seasonings; he did artwork for them for close to 20 years.

“The way they feature artists on the box, it really just spoke to me,” he said.

It started with redoing the image on the box of Morning Thunder, the company’s first caffeinated tea. LoFaro also, among other things, created several variations of the Sleepytime bear — and that’s when he started transitioning from painting by hand to digital art.

“I had no interest in digital art,” LoFaro said. “I’m in love with the process of painting: mixing the paint, preparing the boards, the tactile element.”

A good friend of his, though, owned what Lafaro says was a “pioneer” computer art school in Weare. After Sept. 11, 2001, LoFaro’s lifeline to work in New York City all but vanished, and he got no jobs for several months after. With extra time on his hands, he agreed to take computer art classes.

“I was the worst student in the class because I had no computer experience,” he said. “It was excruciating.”

But after he got past the initial learning curve, LoFaro realized how much he could do with digital art — and how good it could be.

“I reinvented myself. I was still painting, but I can do this a lot better,” he said.

LoFaro maxed out his credit cards to buy a used computer system, and the day he got it, he took a job making clouds for a video game — that had to be done the next day.

“That was my trial by fire,” he said.

Lafaro said the more he learned about the intricacies of digital art, the more he could relate it to his airbrush work.

“It really was an incredible natural evolution,” he said.

And then there’s the music. A band’s photo shoot in the barn morphed into a bigger idea; in 2016, the LoFaros started hosting concerts, with the musicians playing on a small stage that LoFaro built. They were well-attended, so he built a bigger stage, and they’ve had more than 100 people in attendance for some of the shows. Those stopped during Covid, but LoFaro is hoping to get them going again by fall.

He’s back at Tupelo, too, and looking forward to shooting a few good shows this season. Right now he and owner Scott Hayward are in the process of creating posters of the 52×60-inch mural on canvas of LoFaro’s photos that hangs on the venue’s front wall. That will be sold at the venue and online later this summer.

If that seems like a lot of balls in the air, LoFaro isn’t quite ready to stop juggling.

“I’m on this journey, and I’m open for anything,” he said.

Featured photo: Jerry LoFaro poses in front of the Tupelo tapestry of his photos. Courtesy photo.

This Week 21/07/22

Big Events July 22, 2021, and beyond

Thursday, July 22

The New Hampshire Fisher Cats have home games at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium (1 Line Drive in downtown Manchester; nhfishercats.com) on the schedule through Sunday, July 25, against the Reading Fightin’ Phils. Games today through Saturday, July 24, start at 7:05 p.m.; Sunday’s game starts at 1:05 p.m. Catch fireworks from Atlas Fireworks after the games today and Saturday. Today is also NASA/Space Day and Sunday’s theme is Nickelodeon’s Blue’s Clues and You, with activities for kids. On Friday the Fisher Cats celebrate Christmas in July, with Christmas music and lights and an ornament giveaway for the first 500 fans, according to the website, where you can purchase tickets.

The Nashua Silver Knights also have a game today; they’ll play the Worcester Bravehearts at 6 p.m. See nashuasilverknights.com.

Friday, July 23

Tap dancer, choreographer, professor at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee and New Hampshire native Aaron Tolsonpresents Aaron Tolson and Friends, an evening of dance and music featuring Elan Trotman, tonight at 7:30 p.m. and tomorrow, July 24, at 2 p.m. at the Dana Center (Saint Anselm College, 100 Saint Anselm Dr. in Manchester; anselm.edu/dana-center-humanities). Tickets cost $20. Find more arts and theater events in the Arts section, which starts on page 10.

Friday, July 23

Catch some of your favorite classic songs played live. Tonight at 6 p.m., catch JT Express, a James Taylor tribute show, at the Tupelo Drive-In in Derry (tupelomusichall.com).On Saturday, July 24, Into the Mystic, the Van Morrison Experience, will perform at the Bank of NH Stage in Concord at 8 p.m. (ccanh.com). On Sunday, July 25, the Flying Monkey in Plymouth presents Pink Talking Fish (a band that pays tribute to the music of Pink Floyd, Talking Heads and Phish) at 7:30 p.m. (flyingmonkeynh.com). Find more upcoming concerts in our listings on page 42.

Saturday, July 24

Take a walking tour of Manchester’s millyard with John Clayton, executive director of the Manchester Historic Association, today from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Pre-registration is required for this event, which costs $15 per person. Tour attendees will meet outside the Millyard Museum’s Commercial Street entrance. See manchesterhistoric.org.

Wednesday, July 28

Wednesdays are good nights for catching a free live outdoor concert. Among the towns offering Wednesday concerts: Bedford at the Village Common Park Gazebo at 6 p.m. (this week it’s Knock on Wood), Candia at the Candia Pond Park at 6:30 pm. (Windham Swing Band), Merrimack at Abbie Griffin Park at 6 p.m. (Studio Two) and Plaistow at the PARC at 6 p.m. (B Street Bombers). Find more live music, including listings of area towns concert series, in the Music This Week listing on page 37. If you know of a spot with live music, let us know at music@hippopress.com.

Save the date: Saturday, Aug. 7

The Blues on the Range Festival, presented by the Granite State Blues Society, is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 7, starting at noon at The Range, 96 Old Turnpike Road in Mason. Tickets cost $25 in advance. This year’s lineup includes Veronica Lewis Band with Monster Mike Welch and more local and regional blues talent, according to granitestateblues.org, where you can purchase tickets.

Featured photo, Aaron Tolson. Courtesy photo.

Quality of Life 21/07/22

Fewer violent crimes in the Queen City

Preliminary numbers show that violent crime in Manchester is down 25 percent from April of this year to the end of June. The city usually sees about a 9-percent increase in violent crime heading into the summer months, according to a press release, and the Manchester Police Department is attributing this success in part to the CompStat360 initiative, which promotes collaboration with community members and other city stakeholders to solve community problems, as well as strong collaboration with local, county, state and federal law enforcement and prosecutors. One of the top priorities has been violent crime prevention and reduction, the release said.

Score: +1

Comment: The data also shows that gun crime in Manchester has dropped 40 percent compared to 2020 and is down 20 percent when compared to the five-year average, the release said.

Tuition freeze at community colleges

The Community College System of New Hampshire will once again freeze tuition at $215 per credit, or $6,450 per year, in tuition costs for a full-time course load. According to a press release, the rate has been the same for four years, and New Hampshire’s community colleges continue to be the most affordable college options for residents. In addition, the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and the Foundation for New Hampshire Community Colleges are offering one free, three-credit course in the fall semester to any member of a New Hampshire high school class of ’21.

Score: +1

Comment:Annual full-time tuition at New Hampshire’s seven community colleges costs only $150 more than it did a decade ago when the tuition rate was $210 per credit for the 2011 school year, according to the release.

Hiring challenges mean less amusement

Without enough employees to staff its regular hours, Canobie Lake Park in Salem will now be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays and will close early a few days a week, according to a report from WMUR. Park officials told WMUR that while about half of the staff returns each year, new applicants are down 75 percent. The new hours of the park are Wednesday through Sunday, 10:30 a.m. until 7 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays, 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Score: -1

Comment: At least you can still get nauseatingly dizzy on the Turkish Twist five days a week.

Keeping lakes clean

The Lake Host courtesy boat inspection program is celebrating its 20th anniversary as once again its hundreds of lake hosts posted at 100 of the busiest boat ramps in the state are teaching boaters how to clean their boats to prevent the spread of invasive species. According to a press release from NH LAKES, over the past 19 years the Lake Host program has slowed the rate of spread of invasive plants, including milfoil, from lake to lake. The primary way invasive species spread is on boats that have not been thoroughly cleaned, drained and dried between voyages in different bodies of water.

Score: +1

Comment: Approximately 90 of the state’s water bodies contain infestations of invasive species that can clog boat motors and propellers, according to the release, and once they are firmly established they are nearly impossible to get rid of.

QOL score: 80
Net change: +2
QOL this week: 82

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

News & Notes 21/07/22

Covid-19 updateAs of July 12As of July 19
Total cases statewide99,77099,966
Total current infections statewide197224
Total deaths statewide1,3751,382
New cases215 (July 3 to July 12)196 (July 13 to July 19)
Current infections: Hillsborough County5369
Current infections: Merrimack County1127
Current infections: Rockingham County4440
Information from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services

Rentals needed

Results of the recently released 2021 New Hampshire Residential Rental Cost Survey Report shows that it’s a tough market for renters right now, with low inventory, lower vacancy rates and higher rents. According to the report summary, owners and managers of more than 24,560 unsubsidized rental housing units in the state (15 percent of all units) took part in the survey, which shows that this year’s statewide median gross rent of $1,498 (including utilities) for two-bedroom units is up 6 percent over last year, and the 0.9 percent vacancy rate for all units is lower than last year. According to the report, a vacancy rate of 5 percent is considered a balanced market for tenants and landlords, and comparatively, both the U.S. and Northeast vacancy rates are at 6.8 percent. Meanwhile, there is also a limited supply of homes for sale, making it more difficult for renters to become homeowners, the report said. New Hampshire Housing has committed financing for more than 1,000 rental units over the past year, and those will be available in 12 to 18 months. Still, “To sustain New Hampshire’s economy, additional housing is needed to support our workforce, as well as those who cannot work because of age or disability,” the report summary said. “It is estimated that about 20,000 more housing units are needed to meet current demand and stabilize the market.”

Residential treatment

Children in need of behavioral health residential treatment will soon have more options. On July 14, the New Hampshire Executive Council and Gov. Chris Sununu approved contracts with nine organizations that will provide behavioral health services in residential treatment settings to children and young adults “whose behavioral health needs cannot be met safely in the community without intensive supports,” according to a press release. The contracts will expand clinical services by ensuring that each provider delivers services through a trauma model and developing programming that targets special treatment needs. They will also establish relationships with community providers to determine when residential treatment is appropriate. More contracts with remaining residential treatment providers are expected to be submitted for consideration in the coming weeks. “Residential treatment services vitally help children and young adults with severe emotional disturbances,” Erica Ungarelli, director of the Department of Health and Human Services Bureau for Children’s Behavioral Health, said in the release. “Children and youth have unique mental and behavioral health needs, and a comprehensive system of care is being established to ensure these needs are met. The expansion of residential treatment for children and youth is a critical step in the establishment of the system of care.” Joe Ribsam, director of the Division for Children, Youth and Families, said in the release that children too often end up involved with DCYF if their severe mental health needs aren’t being addressed, and that making residential treatment services more widely available and accessible, along with the recently expanded mobile crisis and wraparound support for families, will keep more kids out of the state’s child protection and juvenile justice systems.

Summer stipend

The New Hampshire Department of Employment Security opened applications for the Summer Stipend Program on Monday, July 19, according to a press release from the Governor’s Office. The program was announced in May following the state’s decision to end federal pandemic unemployment benefits. Individuals who were receiving unemployment benefits the week of May 15 and found and maintained employment on or after May 18 at 20 or more hours a week for at least eight weeks, earning less than $25 an hour, are eligible for a stipend. The stipend amounts are $500 for individuals who worked under 37.5 hours per week for eight weeks and $1,000 for individuals who worked 37.5 hours or more per week for eight weeks. The stipends are first come first served until the $10 million fund runs out. The first wave of potentially eligible people is calculated to be more than 1,700, according to the release.

Filing for mayor

Manchester City Mayor Joyce Craig officially filed for re-election for a third term on Monday, July 19, according to a press release. “I’m running for Mayor in 2021 to ensure our city fully recovers from this pandemic, builds upon our progress and comes out of this stronger than before,” Craig said in the release. “We have a tremendous opportunity in the next two years to continue to tackle issues facing our community,” Craig added. “I’ll continue working to help residents lead better lives with stronger schools, safer neighborhoods, good jobs and a growing economy.”

Victoria Sullivan, former New Hampshire State Representative and Assistant Majority Leader who served two terms on the House Education Committee, has also filed paperwork to officially become a candidate for Mayor of Manchester. “I am running to ‘Make Manchester Shine Again’ — to drastically improve the quality of life and livability of our city now and for future generations,” Sullivan said in a statement. The Manchester mayoral election will take place in November.

And Republican Richard Girard planned to officially file his candidacy for Manchester mayor on Wednesday, July 21, according to a press release.

Homelessness bill

New Hampshire U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen joined two California senators to introduce a bill that would increase federal resources to battle homelessness, authorizing $1 billion in grants to local governments each year for the next five years. According to a press release, the Fighting Homelessness Through Services and Housing Act would condition federal funds on a grant recipient’s ability to provide not only housing, but also comprehensive supportive services like mental health care, substance abuse treatment and job training. It also requires a 25 percent match for services and housing from non-federal funds, and it requires grantees to report on measures of success, including whether individuals remain housed. “To stem the homelessness crisis that worsened during the pandemic, we need a comprehensive approach that makes families whole again. We must take into account how poverty, mental illness and substance misuse exacerbate cycles of housing insecurity,” Shaheen said in the release.

After spending more than two weeks assisting at the site of the Surfside condominium complex collapse in Florida, Concord Fire Chief Sean Brown has returned home and will be spending some time with his family before returning to work, according to a July 17 report from WMUR. Brown worked in the wreckage of the Champlain Towers South building, which collapsed on June 24 and killed at least 97 people, the report said.

After the recent announcement of a charter school expansion grant from the state, Founders Academy in Manchester has decided to amend its charter to include fifth grade. According to a press release, the school opened in 2014 serving 100 students in grades 6 through 8; for the 2020-2021 school year, 350 students were enrolled in grades 6 through 12.

Last week, the Nashua Board of Aldermen unanimously approved a request to equip police officers with body cameras. According to a report from WMUR, the $1.8 million, six-year contract will provide all 179 officers and 31 patrol cars with cameras with features that include activation with holster draws, opening cruiser doors and turning on lights and sirens.

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