The Hippo Press

Smoke Show — 06/04/2026

on the cover

Barbecue isn’t the only food (or drink!) that can be smoky and delicious. John Fladd takes a look at what happens when smoke is introduced to meat but also cheese, beer, cocktails and even crackers. Above is a smoked cocktail from CodeX in Nashua. Photo by John Fladd.

Also on the cover, Michael Witthaus looks at the NH Maker Fest on Saturday, June 6, in Dover (page 12). John stays on the smoky theme with a look at the NH Bacon & Beer Festival slated for Manchester on Saturday (page 16). And celebrate bees, butterflies and the other creatures that keep the ecosystem going at the Pollinator Fest and Native Plant Sale at the NH Audubon’s McLane Center in Concord (page 15).

Read the e-edition

News & Notes 26/06/04

260604 Featured Content News

Tick reminder The most common tick bite-spread infections in New Hampshire are “Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, Powassan virus, and hard-tick ...

Quality of Life 26/06/04

260604 News Quality Of Life

It only seems soggy As reported by WMUR in a May 21 online article, “The latest update from the U.S ...

The week that was

260604 News Sports

The Big Story – Wait Until Next Week: With the Red Sox scuffling along 10+ games out of first in ...

This Week 26/06/04

260604 News This Week

Friday, June 5 Theatre Kapow will present Morning Sun, a play by Simon Stephens, at the BNH Stage in Concord ...

Smoke Show

cocktail in short glass sitting on bar counter, smoke at top of glass

260604 Cover Stories Featured Content

How adding smoke can transform your favorite flavors When most people think of smoky food, their minds go immediately to ...

Hands on

kids and their parents standing around an outdoor craft table on a sunny day during an event

260604 Art & Theater Featured Content

NH Maker Fest celebrates creativity A 3D printer hums a colorful plate into existence; handmade hula hoops and a DJ ...

Kiddie Pool 26/06/04

260604 Family Fun Outdoors

Family fun for whenever Music and learning The “Be Like Blippi” Tour comes to the Capitol Center for the Arts ...

Pride Month

260604 Outdoors

Find Pride celebrations in several area towns and cities in June. Here are a few of the events on the ...

The bees’ needs

close up of pot of colorful variety of flowers with label describing pollinators and names of flowers

260604 Featured Content Outdoors

NH Audubon expands plant sale with Pollinator Festival For most non-specialists, knowledge of pollinators begins and ends with honeybees. Honeybees ...

Treasure Hunt 26/06/04

260604 Family Fun Treasure Hunt

Dear Donna, We have a partial set of encyclopedias, with just one missing. Is there any interest in these? Would ...

The Weekly Dish 26/06/04

260604 Food

• Manchester farmers market opens for the season: Manchester Farmers’ and Makers’ Market has opened for the season. Wednesdays, 4 ...

Local bacon, beer and help

260604 Featured Content Food

High Hopes Foundation makes NH its focus at Bacon & Beer Festival The High Hopes Foundation is a nonprofit organization ...

Herbs for food and health

260604 Food

Greenery is on the menu for the 17th annual Herb and Garden Day As you might suspect, the New Hampshire ...

Steamed pudding with rhubarb sauce

plate with hunk of bread pudding, covered by sauce with chopped rhubarb, and scoop of vanilla ice cream

260604 Food

This isn’t the type of pudding you’re thinking of. It’s an old-fashioned, British-style steamed pudding adapted from a 1930 recipe ...

Album Reviews 26/06/04

Aaron Bilodeau, Lid Licker and Midge Ure, A Man Of Two Worlds

260604 Albums Pop

Aaron Bilodeau, Lid Licker (self-released/Bandcamp) So here is a fellow from Milford, N.H., whose trip is experimental art-rock, unless he’s ...

Yesteryear, by Caro Claire Burke

260604 Books Pop

(Alfred A. Knopf, 391 pages) One of the stranger things to emerge from the internet is the tradwife influencer, a ...

Like an 8-hour movie

screenshot from The Other Bennet Sister showing scene with two actors sitting on logs in the woods

260604 Film Reviews Pop

A look at some TV with movie ties With The Mandalorian and Grogu putting TV in movie theaters, let’s look ...

The Music Roundup 26/06/04

260604 Music This Week

• Summer songs: A season of weekend music kicks off with Katie Dobbins, an inspirational singer-songwriter who also organizes the ...

Stripped down

gray haired man playing guitar and singing into microphone

260604 Featured Content Nightlife

Jon Pousette-Dart plays intimate Rex show As he walked into Quadrafonic Sound Studio to begin his band’s first album in ...

Kiddie Pool 26/06/04

Family fun for whenever

Music and learning

The “Be Like Blippi” Tour comes to the Capitol Center for the Arts Chubb Theatre, 44 S. Main St. in Concord, on Friday, June 5, at 6 p.m., according to ccanh.com, where you can purchase tickets. “Join Blippi and Meekah live on stage for a one-of-a-kind interactive adventure that inspires kids to move like, play like, and explore just like Blippi! the website said. See Blippi’s videos on YouTube.

Book fun

• Bookery, 844 Elm St. in Manchester, will celebrate the book launch for the children’s book The Ostrich Needs a Lift, by local author Celia Botto, on Friday, June 5, from 6:15 to 7:15 p.m., according to bookerymht.com.

• The Griffin Free Public Library, 22 Hooksett Road in Auburn, will hold a Happy 100th Birthday to Pooh celebration of Winnie the Pooh on Saturday, June 6, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., according to griffinfree.org.

• Get some new-to-you books for everyone in the family at the Friends of the Goffstown Public Library Book Sale on Saturday, June 6, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the lawn of the Goffstown Public Library, 2 High St. in Goffstown, according to goffstownlibrary.com. A $10-per-bag sale (bring your own reusable shopping bag) will take place from 1 to 2 p.m., according to the Friends’ Facebook page.

Old Home Day

• Goffstown’s Old Home Day will take place Saturday, June 6, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with local vendors, food, live music and entertainment and kids’ activities and games, according to goffstownmainstreet.org/old-home-day. The festivities also include an outdoor movie at 7 p.m. and LED fireworks in the Town Common on Friday, June 5, the website said.

This Week 26/06/04

Friday, June 5

Theatre Kapow will present Morning Sun, a play by Simon Stephens, at the BNH Stage in Concord today through Sunday, June 7, and at the NH Theatre Project in Portsmouth the next weekend, according to a press release. “In Greenwich Village a generation or so ago, the city is alive. Joni Mitchell sings, friends and lovers come and go, and the regulars change at the neighborhood tavern. As 50 years pass, one woman’s life is revealed in all its complexity, mystery and possibility in this play about mothers and daughters, beginnings and endings. As it picks apart evolving ideas of identity, family, memory, and more, Morning Sun reminds us that the interruptions in our lives are the ghosts we carry with us,” the release said. ASL Interpretation will be available at the Sunday, June 7, 2 p.m. performance, the release said. Shows take place at 7:30 p.m. on June 5, June 6 and June 12; at 2 p.m. on June 7 and June 14, and at 4 p.m. on June 13, the release said. See tkapow.com for tickets. (Courtesy photo.)

Saturday, June 6

The Rotary Club of Goffstown will hold its 13th Annual Car Show today from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Parsons Drive in Goffstown, according to an email from the club. “Entering a show car costs $20, spectators enter for free. Proceeds from the event are given as grants to area charities,” the email said. See goffstownrotary.org.

Saturday, June 6

The Concord Arts Market will return to Rollins Park in Concord for another season of Arts in the Park dates starting today from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., according to concordartsmarket.org.

Saturday, June 6

The closing ceremony for the 2026 Nashua International Sculpture Symposium will take place today at 1 p.m. starting at the Picker Artists building, 3 Pine St. in Nashua, with visits to the sculptures’ installation sites. See NashuaSculptureSymposium.org.

Sunday, June 7

The Northern New England Book Fair will take place today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Everett Arena in Concord along with a show from New Hampshire Antiques Dealers Association in the same location, according to apassion4books.com. Admission costs $5 and the event will feature more than 90 dealers, the website said.

Sunday, June 7

The Dover Community Trail Advisory Committee will hold its second annual ChalkFest today from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. when “[p]articipants of all ages can create chalk art along the trail between the Fisher Street Trailhead and Central Avenue. Each artist gets a five-foot-by-five-foot square, with chalk provided or feel free to bring your favorite colors,” according to a post on the trail Facebook page, which also includes a link to register and a note that a $5 donation is suggested.

Sunday, June 7

“US@250: Brewing Conflicts” with Historic Pursuits a living history group from New York, will present a “dramatic performance in a ‘colonial coffeehouse,’ with music, costume, trivia and refreshments” about the American Revolution today at 2 p.m. at the Slusser Center next door to the Hopkinton Town Library, 61 Houston Drive in Contoocook, according to hopkintontownlibrary.org, where you can RSVP to the event (space is limited). Intended for adults and kids 12+, the website said.

Save the Date! Thursday, July 23
Tickets are on sale now for the annual Shakespeare on the Green presentation at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, according to a press release. This year’s show, presented by Theatre Kapow, will be William Shakespeare’s As You Like It. The show will run Thursday, July 23, through Saturday, July 25, and Thursday, July 30, through Saturday, Aug. 1, with performances at 7:30 p.m. See tickets.anselm.edu. (Photo is from a previous year’s production.)

Quality of Life 26/06/04

It only seems soggy

As reported by WMUR in a May 21 online article, “The latest update from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows a sharply divided water situation across New Hampshire,” the story read. Despite a very green spring, “about 75% of New Hampshire remains in drought conditions, largely due to dry weather that began last summer and a prolonged lack of groundwater recharge.” Water from this spring’s rain has been absorbed by growing vegetation, so, although there is a lot of healthy vegetation, very little water has seeped deep into the groundwater.

QOL score: -1

Comment: Many residents are not well positioned to deal with droughts that may occur later this year, WMUR reported. “54% of the wells in the state’s groundwater monitoring network remain below normal levels for this time of year, according to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.”

Ice cream-cation

In a May 21 press release the State Division of Travel and Tourism announced that it “expects visitation and spending for New Hampshire’s 2026 summer travel season to remain consistent with last summer’s, with an estimated 4.8 million visitors generating approximately $2.6 billion in visitor spending statewide.” The press release said that a key part of the State’s tourism strategy this year will be the New Hampshire Ice Cream Trail, a list of 69 ice cream stands across the state. “New Hampshire farms are known not only for producing healthy, delicious food but also for turning agriculture into memorable experiences through agritourism activities like the Ice Cream Trail,” said Josh Marshall, Assistant Commissioner, New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food. There is an interactive website that lets you look at the stops on this year’s Ice Cream Trail and filter the results alphabetically, by region, by town, and by amenities available. Visit visitnh.gov/things-to-do/food-drink/ice-cream-trail.

QOL score: +1

Comment: Enthusiasts who fill out an Ice Cream Passport with visits to at least two official stops in each region of the state and 55 stops in total can mail their passports in to the Department of Tourism at the end of the season for bragging rights and a commemorative T-shirt.

Potty drama

In a May 28 online article Nashua InkLink reported a new development in Nashua’s City Hall Plaza ongoing portable toilet predicament. “Clean Restroom Rentals — the company contracted to maintain the porta-potty on City Hall Plaza — notified the city last week that they are no longer able to maintain it due to its current state and ‘constant abuse,’ according to Administrative Service Director Tim Cummings,” the article read. “Cummings told the Committee on Infrastructure Wednesday night that some ‘behaviors and activities’ are making it problematic for them to keep up with the management of it, which includes the pumping and disposal of waste.” The story said that according to Nashua Police, issues around the porta-potty over the past two months have included “people congregating in the area of the porta-potty, alleged drug use, and people sleeping in the unit at night.” There have also been issues of trash and needle caps being disposed of in the unit, the article said.

QOL score: -1

Comment: Nashua InkLink quoted Alderman Patricia Klee, who has looked into how other cities deal with this sort of issue. “San Francisco has porta-potties throughout their entire city that self-wash and so on. Nobody will stay in them for any length of time because they will be locked in there and ‘chemicaled’, Klee said.”

QOL score last week: 48

Net change: -1

QOL this week: 47

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

News & Notes 26/06/04

Tick reminder

The most common tick bite-spread infections in New Hampshire are “Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, Powassan virus, and hard-tick relapsing fever (Borrelia miyamotoi),” according to a May 27 press release from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.

The release also reminds residents that mosquitoes in New Hampshire “can spread illnesses such as Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), West Nile Virus, and Jamestown Canyon Virus.”

“Ticks are typically most active from April to November, with tick encounters peaking in May and June. … Warmer weather also brings mosquitoes, and the risk of diseases spread by mosquitoes begins in the spring and continues throughout the summer and into the fall. DHHS partners with municipalities across the state to trap and test mosquitoes from June through October, using test results to inform communities of local risk for diseases carried by mosquitoes,” the release said. At dhhs.nh.gov, you can see the press release and find a link to the Department’s tickborne diseases page, which offers tips on protecting yourself and an explanation on the blacklegged tick (deer tick) life cycle.

According to a May 29 press release from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, while at a press conference in New Hampshire, Department Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “announced a series of major initiatives to strengthen the nation’s response to Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses.” See hhs.gov/press-room.

NH’s own Seth Meyers

Comedian and host of NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers, Manchester High School West alum Seth Meyers will perform at the SNHU Arena in Manchester on Friday, Aug. 7, at 8 p.m. The performance will benefit CASA of New Hampshire and the Granite State Children’s Alliance, according to a SNHU Arena press release. See snhuarena.com for tickets.

Conference update

The New Hampshire Writers’ Project has changed the date and venue for its upcoming 603 Writers’ Conference, according to a press release. The conference will take place Saturday, Nov. 14, at Grappone Conference Center, 70 Constitution Ave. in Concord, the release said. The event will still feature keynote speaker author Chris Bohjalian and “expert-led workshops, a moderated AI panel discussion, the signature Pitch Party & Social, catered meals, and networking opportunities,” according to a press release. See nhwritersproject.org to register.

NH’s outdoors

The Granite Outdoor Alliance will hold its “Outdoor Industry Day 2026: The Barn Raiser” on Wednesday, June 10, from 5 to 8:30 p.m. at the Barn on the Pemi in Plymouth, according to a press release. “Outdoor Industry Day is GOA’s annual gathering celebrating New Hampshire’s outdoor economy and the businesses, nonprofits, public partners, and leaders helping shape the sector statewide,” the release said. See graniteoutdooralliance.org/nh-outdoor-industry-day for tickets.

Concord Parks & Rec and Merrimack River Watershed Council will hold a Park Clean Up Day on Saturday, June 6, from 9 to 11 a.m. at Healy Park and Exit 13, on Basin Street, according to the City Manager’s May 29 newsletter. Volunteers must be 18+ and sign a waiver; wear long pants and boats and bring work gloves and bug spray, the newsletter said.

Allenstown will hold a townwide yard sale on Saturday, June 6, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., according to allenstownnh.gov, where you can check for a listing of addresses holding a sale.

The summer Free Fishing Day in New Hampshire is Saturday, June 6, when residents and nonresidents can “fish any inland water — or saltwater — in New Hampshire” without a fishing license, according to wildlife.nh.gov, which noted that season dates and other fishing regulations still apply.

The Nashua ER, a free-standing emergency room that is a campus of Catholic Medical Center at 338 Amherst St. in Nashua, will hold a community event and open house on Saturday, June 6, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. featuring a touch-a-truck, free hot dogs and snow cones, kids’ games and free stuffed monkeys (while supplies last) and live entertainment, according to a press release.

Day in the Garden — 05/28/2026

on the cover

Spend a lovely day in the garden — made all the lovelier by being a garden you don’t have to water or weed. This week, John Fladd takes a look at some of the garden tours and public gardens that allow you to enjoy the flora of the season without having to put on any gardening gloves. Above and on the cover, a view of the gardens at Petals in the Pines. Courtesy photo.

Also on the cover John also gets the details on the Friends of the Library of Windham’s annual Strawberry Festival & Book Fair, slated for Saturday, May 30 (see page 16). Enjoy the big trucks and friendly competition of the Fire Truck Pull & Festival (page 14). Michael Witthaus talks to singer songerwriter Amanda McCarthy about her return to New England and her slate of upcoming shows.

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News & Notes 26/05/28

260528 Featured Content News

Teacher award The New Hampshire Department of Education announced the three finalists for 2027 Teacher of the Year: Rebecca Fortgang, ...

Summer begins

260528 News Sports

The Big Story – Memorial Day weekend It’s not officially summer, but it makes it feel like summer has arrived ...

Quality of Life 26/05/28

260528 News Quality Of Life

Hey! Their feelings are tender, too! The New Hampshire Fisher Cats occasionally play under two other names during home games: ...

This Week 26/05/28

260528 News This Week

Thursday, May 28 Manchester’s Taco Tour takes place today from 4 to 8 p.m. in downtown Manchester. See tacotourmanchester.com and ...

Day in the Garden

stone sculpture of garden fairy sitting on rock while reading book, sculpture in grassy area of garden

260528 Cover Stories Featured Content

Get inspired at public gardens and garden tours For gardening nerds and the occasional gardener alike, a trip to a ...

World tour

orchestra on dark stage, during performance

260528 Art & Theater Featured Content

The Phil presents wide-ranging music Folk Voices and Fantasies, an upcoming afternoon of classical music from the New Hampshire Philharmonic ...

Late May in the garden

group of small magenta flowers in shady spot, sunlight coming through

260528 Outdoors The Gardening Guy

Test your soil, make it better Asking me to name my favorite flower is, perhaps, like asking you to name ...

The power pull

woman with one prosthetic leg, pulling on rope, on sidewalk while people gather

260528 Featured Content Outdoors The Gardening Guy

Less Leg More Heart raises funds with Fire Truck Pull Christina Hurley has given the question of what kind of ...

Kiddie Pool 26/05/28

260528 Family Fun Outdoors

Family fun for whenever Fest fun • Truckfest, an event featuring big vehicles that kids can explore, will take place ...

Treasure Hunt 26/05/28

ornate crystal chandelier, lights turned on, hanging from ceiling

260528 Family Fun Treasure Hunt

Dear Donna, Looking to find a value for our hanging ceiling lamp. Not sure of the age. I believe it’s ...

The Weekly Dish 26/5/28

260528 Food

• Looking for a purr-fect name: There are plans for a new cat cafe in downtown Concord. Entrepreneurs Star Chagnon ...

Books and strawberries

woman wearing red apron, standing in large gym space, holding dish with strawberry shortcake topped with whipped cream

260528 Featured Content Food

Time for the annual Strawberry Festival FLOW, the Friends of the Library Of Windham, who support the Nesmith Library, is ...

Adventures in baking

260528 Featured Content Food

Sourdough has a life of its own April Repoza and her daughter Bailey own and operate Bigfoot Sourdough in Milford, ...

Purple Fruit Bat

260528 Drink Food

I recently needed to develop a recipe for a cocktail based on the theme of a magical fruit bat, as ...

Album Reviews 26/05/28

album covers for Satoko Fujii and Myra Melford, Katarahi and Confess, Metalmorphosis

260528 Albums Pop

Satoko Fujii and Myra Melford, Katarahi (Rogueart Records) Recorded live in September 2024 at Jazz festival Leibnitz in Austria, this ...

I Am Not a Robot, by Joanna Stern

260528 Books Pop

(Harper, 282 pages) In 1965 an assistant professor of mathematics at Dartmouth University proposed to spend two summer months exploring ...

Is God Is (R)

scene from Is God Is showing one black woman hugging another black woman from behind as they sit on outdoor cement steps

260528 Film Reviews Pop

Twin sisters set off on a mission of vengeance in Is God Is, a film written and directed by first-time ...

The Music Roundup 26/05/28

260528 Music This Week

• Hard rockers: Multiple subgenres of heavy music converge at the Backwoods Metal Fest, with more than two dozen area ...

Coming home

260528 Featured Content Nightlife

Nashville story has a New Hampshire ending Amanda McCarthy is back in New Hampshire, after living and working in Nashville ...

Author: The Hippo Press

Smoke Show — 06/04/2026

Kiddie Pool 26/06/04

This Week 26/06/04

Quality of Life 26/06/04

News & Notes 26/06/04

Day in the Garden — 05/28/2026

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