Author: Angie Sykeny

Angie Sykeny is a Hippo staff writer covering local arts, theater, music and pop culture. She can be reached at [email protected].

A sense of belongings

Artists reflect on their possessions in new exhibit

The newest exhibit at Twiggs Gallery in Boscawen, “Possessed,” explores just that: the things we possess, and the things that possess us.

Six artists tell stories of their own relationships with possessions — both physical and conceptual — through calligraphy, painting, photography, fiber art and mixed media.

“We all have possessions, and it’s interesting to look around and think about what’s important to us and what isn’t,” said gallery owner Adele Sanborn, who is also one of the featured artists. “It turned out to be a fun idea for a show.”

As a calligrapher, Sanborn said she is “possessed by words” and decided to make words the focus of her work in the exhibit. The calligraphy pieces feature single words, like “persistence” and “tomorrow,” that are meant to provoke a unique response from each viewer.

“The words I chose can be positive or negative, depending on who you are and how you’re looking at it,” she said. “I love that whole idea of ambiguity, of yin and yang.”

Graphic designer Donna Catanzaro of South Sutton gives meaning to her “collections of useless, dusty objects” through digital art and collage.

“Penguins, the Virgin Mary and religious statues, the lighthouses and other various knickknacks … provided a bit of joy at one point, but now they just remind me of how cluttered my life is,” Catanzaro said in her artist statement. “I decided to give them a purpose, a place, a landscape they can live in, shrines to pray to.”

Using stencils and acrylic spray paint, Elaine Caikauskas of Manchester made images representing sentimental items from her past, like one of her favorite childhood books, her niece’s bathtub toys and a cat toy that has been enjoyed by nine of her cats over the course of 30 years.

“I focused on discovering the connections between my past and present, revealed, sometimes unexpectedly, by the creative process,” Caikauskas said in her artist statement. “I wanted to blur the physical qualities of the objects to explore a deeper psychological truth.”

“That connection between past and present seems to be a thread that runs through many of the artists’ work for this exhibit,” Sanborn added.

Fiber artist Suzanne Pretty of Farmington created works inspired by possessions passed down to her by her grandmother, such as china, linens, tools, furniture, postcards and more, which furnished her first apartment and now fill her house.

“The more I looked at the items I found, I realized how attached I was to them.” Pretty said. “Some items are very special and hold special meanings, reminding us of the people who owned them.”

Artist Susan Huppi of Penacook said her work looks at items she owns that “tell stories of different time periods and personalities,” particularly of painting with her father when she was a child. One painting depicts a copper urn that holds her father’s paint brushes and a childhood bureau mirror that reflects one of his paintings.

“Objects can be a memory prompt to get us to recall family stories and hopefully pass some form of these stories on to the next generation,” Huppi said, adding that she is a third-generation artist in her family and “the legacy continues” as her niece is also an artist.

Gail Smuda of Concord, who does fiber art and sculptural art books, also focused on items with connections to the people and pets in her life: a sled that belonged to her mother, a dish from a children’s dish set that belonged to her great aunt, and her cat Abbey, whom she said “is a reminder of all the cats we have owned over many decades.”

“For me, objects always translate to people,” she said. “The stories behind the objects, whether it be the memory of an elderly relative or who I was with when the object was obtained, is very important to me.”

Sanborn said the exhibit is deeply personal for the artists and can be personal for the viewer too.

“I think when people wonder why the artists chose [the possessions] that they did for their art, they start to become curious about their own selves,” she said. “What does the word ‘possessed’ mean for them?”

“Possessed”
Where: Twiggs Gallery, 254 King St., Boscawen
When: Now through Nov. 1. Gallery hours are Thursday and Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, noon to 4 p.m.
More info: 975-0015, twiggsgallery.wordpress.com
Visitors are asked to wear masks.

Featured photo: “Persistance” by Adele Sanborn. Courtesy photo.

Be aware

How to help in the fight against domestic violence

How to help in the fight against domestic violence

Bruce Miner is a volunteer for Bridges, a Nashua-based chapter of the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. With October being National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Miner talked about why raising awareness is so important and how people can join the fight against domestic violence in New Hampshire.

What does domestic violence look like?
[The abuser] is usually an intimate partner — a lover, a dating partner or an ex — who wants to have power and control over the victim. The forms of domestic violence are many. Obviously, there’s physical and sexual abuse, but there’s also economic control, stalking, intimidation and threats, the use of isolation, psychological pressure, possessiveness, the abuse of pets and even the destruction of household items.

How prevalent is domestic violence in New Hampshire?
It’s definitely a problem. Just to give you an idea, in New Hampshire, there are 13 [domestic violence centers], and they handle about 15,000 calls a year, and 9,000 of those calls are directly related to a domestic violence situation.

What is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month about?
It’s … [about] trying to open people’s eyes and bring awareness and attention to the pervasiveness and severity of domestic violence, and then have action taken as a result of the awareness. … It’s also about getting the message out there [to victims]. States do fatality review studies and have found that, in both New Hampshire and across the country, of the women killed [by their abusers], only four percent had availed services provided by domestic violence centers. That’s why it’s so huge that we make sure they know that these centers and services exist, and that they’re totally free and confidential.

What happens when someone calls the Helpline?
First, we ascertain that the person is safe and can talk safely. Then, we ask if there are any injuries, if they need to go to the hospital or if they need emergency services. If they’re in a safe spot and there are no injuries, we’ll have a conversation about what’s going on and discuss and explore what they would like to do.

Has the pandemic made it more difficult for crisis centers to help victims, or for victims to seek help?
It’s been a huge issue. Police departments have had significant increases in domestic violence calls. Women have been more reluctant to leave the house or go to the hospital for fear of catching the virus or bringing it back home to their kids. … We’ve had to cancel fundraisers. We’ve had to postpone training for new advocates. Support groups have had to be done remotely. The impact has been horrible.

What are the effects of domestic violence on the victim?
There are traumatic effects. They have a sense of helplessness, fear, lack of control and despair. Depression is a big issue. It also tends to bring on physical ailments. If a victim has children, the ability to parent becomes significantly compromised as well.

What are the effects of domestic violence on a community at large?
Money is a big one. … I’m talking about medical costs; hospitalization costs; lost wages from time out of work, since it’s difficult for a person being abused to concentrate on work, and they may not show up to work at all; and the cost of the legal system and prosecution. Homelessness is another one. Studies indicate 67 percent of women who are homeless have been victims of domestic violence.

Does domestic violence affect men?
There are situations where the woman is the abuser and the man is the victim, or there’s a man abusing a man or a woman abusing a woman, but it’s a small fraction. Nationally, in 85 percent of domestic violence situations, a woman is the victim and a man is the abuser. In New Hampshire, it’s closer to 95 percent. But we [crisis centers] treat everyone the same and provide services to anyone in a domestic violence situation.

How can [people] help?
New Hampshire chapters can always use additional volunteers to work the support lines. They’ll have to go through very intensive and comprehensive training that allows them to handle those calls, but I can say that, from my own experience, it’s tough to put into words the gratification you get when you can take someone’s tears and despair and turn them into hope and a plan going forward. … Additionally, we have shelters in all 13 chapters, and those shelters can always use household items. They could also use people to work in the shelters.

New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence
Crisis centers are located in Concord, Manchester, Nashua, Durham, Portsmouth, Laconia, Berlin, Littleton, Conway, Plymouth, Lebanon, Claremont and Keene.
24-hour Domestic Violence Helpline: 1-866-644-3574; 24-hour Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-277-5570. Visit nhcadsv.org.

Featured photo: Bruce Miner. Courtesy photo.

The Art Roundup 20/10/01

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

• Shop art: The weekly Concord Arts Market is done for the season, but you can still do some art shopping in Concord at the Capital City Art Bazaar, a special event hosted byConcord Arts Market and Concord Handmade. It takes place on Saturday, Oct. 3, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Rollins Park. Visit concordartsmarket.net.

• Pop-up ceramics: Manchester art gallery Kelley Stelling Contemporary presents its first outdoor pop-up exhibit on Saturday, Oct. 3, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (rain date Sunday, Oct. 4) at the Hayfield (198 South Road, Deerfield). The exhibit will feature six New England ceramic artists, all Deerfield residents, from the New Hampshire Potters Guild. Masks will be required during the event. There is a suggested $20 donation to attend, and all pieces will be available for purchase. Get tickets in advance. Visit kelleystellingcontemporary.com.

Kelley Stelling Contemporary and the NH Potters Guild present a pop-up ceramics exhibit. Courtesy photo.

• Political satire: You can still catch a livestreamed performance of Manchester Community Theatre Players’ production of Blood on His Hands?, on Friday, Oct. 2, or Saturday, Oct. 3, at 7:30 p.m. The original play by local playwrights Alan D. Kaplan and Tom Anastasi is about a fictional president, President Stump, who is on trial for how he’s handled the Covid-19 pandemic, leaving the audience to decide whether he is guilty of negligence. The play is free to watch. Visit manchestercommunitytheatre.com.

• Funny nuns: The Palace Theatre’s (80 Hanover St., Manchester) production of the musical comedy Nunsense continues through Oct. 4, with showtimes on Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays at 2 and 7:30 p.m.; and Sundays at noon and 5 p.m. Tickets are $39 to $46 for adults and $25 for children. Visit palacetheatre.org.

• Patriotic classical: Symphony New Hampshire presents “America the Beautiful,” a free outdoor concert, on Friday, Oct. 2, at 6:30 p.m., outside in the Bandshell at Greeley Park (Concord Street, Nashua). The symphony’s brass and percussion players will perform the patriotic and popular music of Grieg, Copland, Gershwin and Joan Tower. Nashua Mayor Jim Donchess will narrate Copland’s Lincoln Portrait. Visit symphonynh.org or call 595-9156.

Passing through

New photo book shows day-to-day life in Manchester

A young photographer is using a street photography project to tell visual stories of the people of Manchester.

Tenacious: People of Manchester, a new photo book by 20-year-old lifelong Manchester resident Niko Noel, features about 100 images of day-to-day life in Manchester.

The book started as a class assignment that Noel had while studying photography at the New Hampshire Institute of Art (now the Institute of Art and Design at New England College) in Manchester.

“We had to come up with a project with a focus,” he said. “I’ve always taken a lot of pictures of Manchester, since I live here, so I thought Manchester would be a good focus.”

Noel said he didn’t consider developing the project further until he was inspired by one particular photograph he had taken.

“It was a picture of a man in a suit through a storefront window, with the reflection of the city in the window, kind of showing this contrast between different classes of life and disparity in economics,” he said. “That really clicked with me, and that’s when I thought, this feels like something that could be more important than just a collection of photographs for a class project.”

Noel started working on the book in October 2018, going out almost every day to different parts of Manchester and capturing candid photographs of people going about their day. He ended up with thousands of photographs, he said. He pared them down to a couple hundred and got them printed.

“I had them all taped up all over my wall so I could go through and cut the ones that didn’t work and start grouping together the ones that I liked and planning the layout,” he said.

Most of the shots are candid, with the subjects unaware that their photo was being taken. Noel said he tried to capture “interesting people,” “things that stand out” and “special moments.”

“The people who spend a lot of time downtown I find especially interesting, like this one guy who was doing calisthenics in Veterans Park,” Noel said.

Many of the photographs capture construction workers building, parking enforcement officers checking meters, police officers making their rounds and other workers. Other photos capture people who are “down on their luck,” Noel said, affected by homelessness and opioid addiction.

“So often, I hear people saying terribly dehumanizing things about some of the people who live here who are having a hard time,” Noel said. “I think that taking pictures of what’s going on is a good way to show the humanity in the situation, and that’s the first step toward change.”

Noel said he thought deeply about “the ethics of using imagery like that,” particularly in a book that he would be selling, which led him to the decision to donate 20 percent of the book sales to Families in Transition, a nonprofit that works to alleviate homelessness.

“I don’t think I’m going to fix the problem — that’s unrealistic — but I hope that it helps push the needle in the right direction,” he said.

Visit amazon.com to buy the book, or takenol.com/shop/tenacious to learn more or buy the book.

Art
Exhibits
• “MANCHESTER’S URBAN PONDS: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE: A CELEBRATION OF THE MANCHESTER URBAN PONDS RESTORATION PROGRAM’S 20TH ANNIVERSARY Through its cleanup efforts, the Manchester Urban Ponds Restoration Program has helped restore the city’s ponds to their historic uses. The exhibit provides a look at the history of some of those ponds, including Crystal Lake, Dorrs Pond, Maxwell Pond, Nutts Pond, Pine Island Pond and Stevens Pond. State Theater Gallery at Millyard Museum, 200 Bedford St., Manchester. On view now through Nov. 28. Museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission costs $8 for adults, $6 for seniors age 62 and up and college students, $4 for youth ages 12 through 18 and is free for kids under age 12. Call 622-7531 or visit manchesterhistoric.org/millyard-museum.
• “RICHARD HAYNES: WHISPERING QUILTS” Exhibit features a series of drawings inspired by traditional quilting patterns that tells the story of an enslaved family’s dangerous journey along the Underground Railroad, from a southern plantation to freedom in Canada. Currier Museum of Art, 150 Ash St., Manchester. On view now through Nov. 29. Museum hours are Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and closed Monday through Wednesday. Museum admission costs $15 for adults, $13 for seniors age 65 and up, $10 for students, $5 for youth ages 13 through 17 and free for children under age 13. Reserve in advance online. Call 669-6144 or visit currier.org.
• “PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT” Exhibit features photography from the Civil Rights protests in the 1950s and 1960s. Currier Museum of Art, 150 Ash St., Manchester. On view now. Museum hours are Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and closed Monday through Wednesday. Museum admission costs $15 for adults, $13 for seniors age 65 and up, $10 for students, $5 for youth ages 13 through 17 and free for children under age 13. Reserve in advance online. Call 669-6144 or visit currier.org.
• “OPEN WORLD: VIDEO GAMES & CONTEMPORARY ART” Exhibit explores how contemporary artists have been influenced by the culture of video games, through paintings, sculpture, textiles, prints, drawings, animation, video games, video game modifications and game-based performances and interventions. Currier Museum of Art, 150 Ash St., Manchester. On view now. Reserve in advance online. Call 669-6144 or visit currier.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
• NO WAKE The Winnipesaukee Playhouse presents. 33 Footlight Circle, Meredith. Now through Oct. 11. Tickets cost $29 to $39. Visit winnipesaukeeplayhouse.org or call 279-0333.
• MARY AND ME The Players’ Ring Theatre presents. 105 Marcy St., Portsmouth. Oct. 2 through Oct. 11, with showtimes on Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Tickets cost $18 to $24. Visit playersring.org.
• NUNSENSE The Seacoast Repertory Theatre presents. 125 Bow St., Portsmouth. Oct. 15 through Oct. 17, and Oct. 25 through Nov. 8, with showtimes on Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $30 to $48. Visit seacoastrep.org.
• THE SAVANNAH SIPPING SOCIETY The Players’ Ring Theatre presents. 105 Marcy St., Portsmouth. Oct. 23 through Nov. 1, with showtimes on Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Tickets cost $18 to $24. Visit playersring.org.

Books
Writing
• 603 WRITERS’ CONFERENCE Annual event presented by New Hampshire Writers’ Project features classes, panels, book signings and networking opportunities for writers. Virtual, via Zoom. Sat., Oct. 17. The cost is $125 for NHWP members, $145 for non-members, $100 for teachers and $50 for students. Visit nhwritersproject.org.
• CALL FOR BLACK WRITERS New Hampshire-based theater company and playwright collective New World Theatre announces an open call to Black writers to submit monologues that reflect their personal experience of living while black, to be published in an anthology titled “08:46.” The deadline for submissions is Jan. 1, 2021. Visit newworldtheatre.org/08m46s.

Featured Photo: The cover and an inside look at Tenacious: People of Manchester. Courtesy images.

Lose yourself in fall fun

Corn mazes are a quintessential autumn activity

Whatever you want your corn maze experience to be — easy or complex, during the day or under the cover of darkness — local farms have plenty of options to choose from.

Beech Hill Farm in Hopkinton has two corn mazes within an eight-acre corn field, each with themed activities to do along the way.

“That’s what sets our mazes apart,” said Holly Kimball, one of the family owners of the farm. “Having an objective other than just ‘Can I find my out?’ makes the maze-navigating process more meaningful, and most people really enjoy having an activity to do inside the maze.”

“Animal Olympics,” which is shaped like Olympic rings, comes with an animal crossword puzzle activity sheet, and “Ocean Action,” which is shaped like a sea turtle, comes with a game board filled with trivia questions about the ocean and marine life. The answers are revealed on signs hidden throughout the mazes.

“They’re fun, and they have educational merit,” said Kimball, who uses her 20 years of experience as an educator to design the maze themes and activities. “Children can come to the farm, go through the maze and learn something.”

Each maze takes around 45 minutes to complete, and most participants go through both during their visit, Kimball said.

The corn maze at Elwood Orchards in Londonderry, which spans 15 acres, is more traditional, with the only objective being to find your way out.

“We design it ourselves — it changes every year — and we try to make it as difficult as possible,” farm owner Wayne Elwood said, adding that the farm has gotten a lot of positive feedback from corn maze enthusiasts who are seeking a challenge. “It’s not about just going in and following the path. You have to choose all the right paths and really figure it out.”

The time it takes to get through the maze, if you can get through it at all, is unpredictable and completely up to chance based on the choices you make. Elwood said if you make all the right turns, it could take as little as half an hour, but he has seen people spend up to three hours in the maze before reaching the end.

“There are people who go in and come right out, and there are people who never find the end and give up,” he said. “We’ve even had people who wear [pedometers or smart watches] that keep track of how many miles they walk tell us that they walked two or three miles trying to find their way out of the maze.”

There are six emergency/cheat exits in the maze for participants who want to call it a day or need to leave the maze for any reason.

On weekends in October, Elwood Orchards keeps the maze open after dark for bring-your-own-flashlight nights.

“Those have been a big attraction every year since we started doing them 10 years ago,” Elwood said. “It’s more of a challenge to do it in the dark, and I think people just like to go out at night and do something under the stars.”

Some of the farms with the busier or smaller mazes are requiring participants to wear masks while others, including Beech Hill and Elwood Orchards, are not, reasoning that it’s an outdoor activity with plenty of room to practice social distancing, and the number of participants inside the maze at one time is monitored.

“We haven’t really had any issues [with safety],” Kimball said. “Since we’re open all day, people arrive at all different times, and things are just kind of staggered naturally.”

Corn mazes at Beech Hill Farm. Courtesy photo.

Find a corn maze

* Beans & Greens Farm
Where: 245 Intervale Road, Gilford
When: Now through Nov. 1; Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; additional haunted nighttime maze every Friday in October (times TBD)
Cost: $12 per person, $8 for kids age 9 and under, free for kids age 2 and under; tickets must be purchased online in advance.
More info: 293-2853, beansandgreensfarm.com

Beech Hill Farm
Where: 107 Beech Hill Road, Hopkinton
When: Now through October; weekdays, 2 p.m. to dusk, and weekends, noon to dusk
Cost: $6 per person, free for children under age 3
More info: 223-0828, beechhillfarm.com

* Coppal House Farm
Where: 118 N. River Road, Lee
When: Now through Nov. 1, Monday, Thursday and Friday, noon to 5 p.m. (Columbus Day, Monday, Oct. 12, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.), Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; additional nighttime flashlight mazes on Saturdays, Oct. 10 and Oct. 24, 7 to 9 p.m.
Cost: $9 per person; $7 for kids ages 5 through 12, seniors age 65 and up, and military; and free for kids age 4 and under; flashlight mazes, $12 per person, for ages 5 and up
More info: 659-3572, nhcornmaze.com

Elwood Orchards
Where: 54 Elwood Road, Londonderry
When: Now through Nov. 7; daily, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with nighttime mazes on Fridays and Saturdays starting Oct. 2, until 9 p.m.
Cost: $10 per person, free for kids age 5 and under
More info: 434-6017, elwoodorchards.com

* Riverview Farm
Where: 141 River Road, Plainfield
When: Now through October; Tuesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Cost: $5 per person, free for kids age 4 and under.
More info: Call 298-8519 or visit riverviewnh.com

Scamman Farm
Where: 69 Portsmouth Ave., Stratham
When: Now through October; September hours are Tuesday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; October hours are Monday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m. (10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Columbus Day, Monday, Oct. 12), and Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., plus nighttime flashlight mazes on Fridays, Oct. 9, Oct. 16, Oct. 23 and Oct. 30, from 6 to 9 p.m.
Cost: $9 per person, $7 for kids ages 5 through 12, and free for kids age 4 and under.
More info: Call 686-1258 or visit scammanfarm.com

* Sherman Farm
Where: 2679 E. Conway Road, Center Conway
When: Now through Oct. 25; Saturdays and Sundays, plus Columbus Day, Monday, Oct. 12, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Cost: $10 to $13 per person, depending on the date, and free for kids age 2 and under; purchases tickets online in advance.
More info: 939-2412, shermanfarmnh.com

Trombly Gardens
Where: 150 N. River Road, Milford
When: Now through October; daily, 9 a.m. to dusk, plus nighttime flashlight mazes on Saturdays in October, until 10 p.m.
Cost: $5 per person, free for kids age 3 and under
More info: 673-0647, tromblygardens.net

Washburn’s Windy Hill Orchard
Where: 66 Mason Road, Greenville
When: Now through October; Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Cost: $5 per person, free for kids age 3 and under
More info: 878-2101, facebook.com/washburnswindyhill

* Masks required

The Art Roundup 20/09/24

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

• Closing exhibits: A number of local art exhibits are closing this week. Catch “Searching for Solace: Sacred Spaces/Sacred Places,” on view now through Sept. 27 at Twiggs Gallery (254 King St., Boscawen; 975-0015, twiggsgallery.wordpress.com). It features paintings, sculpture, textiles and ceramics by 13 artists exploring the concept of personal sanctuary, with a focus on nature. Hours are Thursday and Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, noon to 4 p.m.

Stop by the Kimball Jenkins Estate (266 N. Main St., Concord; 225-3932, kimballjenkins.com) to see “Life’s Work: Occupations & Identity,” up now through Sept. 28 in the Carriage House Gallery. It features portrait photography by Maundy Mitchell that explores the evolution of trades and societal views on identity and jobs. Gallery hours are Monday through Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The New Hampshire Antique Co-op (323 Elm St., Milford; 673-8499, nhantiquecoop.com) has an exhibit and sale, “Abstract Paintings & Tribal Masks,” on display in the Tower Gallery now through Sept. 30. It features modernist 20th- and 21st-century paintings juxtaposed alongside a collection of Oceanic and African hand-carved masks and figural carvings. Co-op hours are Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Tuesday by appointment. The co-op also has a virtual art exhibit and sale, “Summer Palettes: Impressionist & Modernist Works from the 19th century to Present,” viewable online now through Sept. 30.

• Theater in person…: The Hatbox Theatre’s (270 Loudon Road, Concord) mainstage production of A.R. Gurney’s Love Letters continues through Sept. 27, with showtimes on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. The play centers on two childhood friends, Melissa and Andrew, who write letters to each other for their entire lives and develop a deep bond. Tickets cost $22 for adults and $19 for students and seniors. Visit hatboxnh.com or call 715-2315.

• … or theater from home: The Manchester Community Theatre Players present Blood on His Hands?, an original play by local playwrights Alan D. Kaplan and Tom Anastasi, with livestreamed performances on Fridays, Sept. 25 and Oct. 2, and Saturdays, Sept. 26 and Oct. 3, at 7:30 p.m. In the play, a fictional president, President Stump, is on trial for how he has handled the Covid-19 pandemic, leaving the audience to decide whether or not he is guilty of negligence. “We fully appreciate that politics can be divisory and people have strong opinions both for and against the way the coronavirus was handled, but we wanted this to be a conversation starter and chance for people to see both sides of the issue,” company manager Steve Short said in a press release. The play is free to watch. Visit manchestercommunitytheatre.com.

• Art at The Fells: The John Hay Estate at The Fells (456 Route 103, Newbury) hosts an Afternoon of Dance, Sculpture and Art on Saturday, Sept. 26, from 1 to 3 p.m. Visitors can follow a self-guided tour through the galleries, outdoor exhibit and around the estate grounds, where there will be dancers, sculptures, artwork and artists reflecting the theme “Stillness and Motion.” The cost of admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and students, $4 for kids ages 6 through 17, and free for kids age 5 and under. Visit thefells.org.

• Shaker Village weekend: Canterbury Shaker Village (288 Shaker Road, Canterbury), in partnership with Red River Theatres, presents a free outdoor movie night featuring Casablanca (1942) on Friday, Sept. 25, at 7 p.m. The film will be shown on the lawn by the Meeting House. The following day, Saturday, Sept. 26, the Village is having a garage, tag and yard sale from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The sale will feature a wide variety of items, including books, decorations, furniture, household goods, DVDs, toys, games and more. Additionally, there will be a 50-percent-off sale on select items in the Village Store. Masks are required. Visit shakers.org.

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