Author: The Hippo Press

This Week 24/11/21

Thursday, Nov. 21

Jazz and R&B fusion artist RaJon Marshal of Black Pumas will take the stage at the Capitol Center for the Arts (44 S. Main St., Concord, 225-1111, ccanh.com) tonight at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $30.75.

Friday, Nov. 22

The Artimus Pyle Band honors the music of Ronnie Van Zant Lynyrd Skynyrd at Tupelo Music Hall, 10 A St. in Derry, tupelomusichall.com, tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $25.

Friday, Nov. 22

Keys Piano Bar & Grill (1087 Elm St., Manchester, 836-7796, keysmanch.com) will present its Dueling Piano Show tonight and tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 23, from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Talented pianists will go head-to-head, taking your song requests and turning them into an epic musical showdown. From classic hits to modern favorites, they’ll keep the tunes rolling and the crowd singing along all night long. Tickets are $10 through the Keys website.

Saturday, Nov. 23

There will be a Very Merry Gift Festival today from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and tomorrow, Sunday, Nov. 24, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Doubletree Expo Center (700 Elm St., Manchester, 625-1000). Browse a variety of vendor booths and support local small businesses while doing all your holiday shopping. Enjoy vendor demonstrations, kids’ activities, a visit from Santa, a special kid-only shopping area, festive sounds of the season live from the expo stage, a 21+ holiday spirits aisle and more. Adult tickets are $6, tickets for seniors are $5, and children under 14 attend free. Visit simpletix.com for tickets.

Saturday, Nov. 23

Find produce, baked goods, cheese and more eats for your Thanksgiving week meals at the Downtown Concord Winter Farmers Market, 9 Eagle Square in Concord, from 9 a.m. to noon. Doug Farrell is slated to perform. See dcwfm.squarespace.com.

Saturday, Nov. 23

We’re in the thick of craft fair season. Today, check out the Craft Fair at White Rock Senior Living (6 Bow Center Road in Bow) from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., according to bownh.gov. Find more craft fairs listed in the Arts section on page 18. Know of an upcoming fair? Let us know at [email protected].

Tuesday, Nov. 26

Celebrate Taco Tuesday tonight at the Flying Monkey in Plymouth were admission is free, first come first served, to a screening of Guardians of the Galaxy (PG-13, 2014) at 7 p.m. and a menu of taco specials. See flyingmonkeynh.com.

Save the Date! March 6

Tickets are on sale for the Granite State Game Summit at Doubletree by Hilton Nashua (2 Somerset Pkwy., Nashua, 886-1200, hilton.com/en/hotels/ashssdt-doubletree-nashua) Thursday, March 6, through Sunday, March 9. Granite Game Summit focuses on social, open board gaming, with the goal of bringing people new and old to the hobby. More than 800 tabletop games will be available, and attendees are encouraged to bring games from their own collections. Tickets cost $80 (plus fees) for four-day general admission, $35 (plus fees) for four-day youth badges.

Save the Date! March 6
Tickets are on sale for the Granite State Game Summit at Doubletree by Hilton Nashua (2 Somerset Pkwy., Nashua, 886-1200, hilton.com/en/hotels/ashssdt-doubletree-nashua) Thursday, March 6, through Sunday, March 9. Granite Game Summit focuses on social, open board gaming, with the goal of bringing people new and old to the hobby. More than 800 tabletop games will be available, and attendees are encouraged to bring games from their own collections. Tickets cost $80 (plus fees) for four-day general admission, $35 (plus fees) for four-day youth badges.

Featured photo: Very Merry Gift Festival.

Quality of Life 24/11/21

Sad news for local music fans

The sudden passing of Brooks Young on Nov. 8 shocked the local music-loving community. The level of commitment he brought to his music was inspirational, and his success was a combination of talent and tenacity. The guitar-slinging bandleader wasn’t content to simply meet his heroes, playing with icons like B.B. King, Robert Cray and Jimmie Vaughan, and touring with George Thorogood & the Destroyers multiple times. Once he performed in front of 20,000 fans with Sammy Hagar, Jason Bonham and Van Halen’s Michael Anthony. Young, however, brought the same intensity when he played for a handful of fans at Concord Craft Brewery. He’ll be missed.

QOL score: -5, but really incalculable

Comment: Young leaves two daughters and a son, and a GoFundMe (gofund.me/b05711e5) has been established for them. A memorial concert organized by Young’s family and his musician friends is in the planning stages, as is an annual blues festival that will happen on the anniversary of his death.

Manchester gets a puppy

As reported in a Nov.14 article by Manchester Ink Link (manchester.inklink.news), the Manchester Fire Department has brought a new member of its support team back from hurricane rescue work in North Carolina. “The firefighters also brought home a dog named Bo,” the story read, “a shortened new name from its original moniker of Boone, one of the cities in North Carolina where Manchester’s firefighters operated.” Members of the Manchester Fire Department were deployed to western North Carolina as part of an Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) response to damage from Hurricane Helene earlier this fall. As reported in a Nov.14 online story by WMUR, “Months-old puppy Boone was adopted from the Meat Camp Fire Department, where they lived with local families during the second half of their time in North Carolina.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: On its Facebook page, the Meat Camp, N.C., Fire Department posted, “We’ve been happy to provide a place for our friends from City of Manchester, NH Fire Department to clean up and lay their heads at night after working tirelessly serving the hurting folks of our county and surrounding counties. We’re glad to have them and thankful for their efforts to help us in this recovery. They’re a great team and bring valuable knowledge and assets to our efforts.”

Hannaford Supermarket is back online

In a Nov. 17 online story, WMUR reported that the Hannaford Supermarket chain is back online, following complications relating to cybersecurity issues. “It had been down since earlier this month and customers could not access online order services or the app,” the story read. According to a Nov. 12 article in the Boston Globe, the same issue “reportedly affected the ability of some stores to accept payments via gift cards or debit cards.”

QOL score: -1 for the missed coupon opportunities

Comment: According to a message on hannaford.com: “Hannaford.com and our app are online! Hannaford To Go pickup and delivery orders may be placed as slots become available. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your continued understanding.”

QOL score last week: 79

Net change: -5

QOL this week: 74

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

Let us know at [email protected].

NH on skis

A look at the history of ski season in the Granite State

Professor Emeritus of History at Plymouth State University John Allen was awarded the International Skiing History Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009. He serves as historian for the New England Ski Museum in Franconia and is the author of several books on the topic, including From Skisport to Skiing: One Hundred Years of an American Sport and The Culture and Sport of Skiing from Antiquity to World War II. He has been a consultant for films on skiing, and will be giving his presentation New Hampshire on Skis on Thursday, Nov. 21, at 6 p.m. at the Lane Memorial Library (2 Academy Avenue, Hampton). Visit newenglandskimuseum.org.

How did skiing start, and how did skiing start in New Hampshire?

Always very difficult to pin down because usually you find that when you find somebody who’s done something first, a year or so later you discover that they weren’t the first. But generally speaking, in the late 19th century there were odd people on skis in various places in New Hampshire. For example, in the New Hampshire Historical Society, there are some papers from a fellow who was a boy at school who made skis. I can’t remember the date exactly, but let’s say it’s in the 1870s, something like that. He went to the dentist on skis and he went to school on skis, and so on and so forth. And there were sort of odd people like that around, but there was nothing organized at all.

The skis themselves, like the equipment, have they evolved or changed much?

Oh, terrifically. For thousands of years wood was the ski of choice, was the [material] of choice. Then there were a variety of woods that were used. Ash was one of the only ones. Pine was another one. It certainly depends on what woods were around. And hickory only came into use … really late in the 19th century. That lasted pretty much as the wood of choice up through until the invention of metal skis. And metal skis have a long history too. You always think of Howard Head in the 1950s and ’60s experimenting with his cheetah skis, or what were called cheetah skis because they were easy to ski on, metal skis, and then it’s gone on to various other modes of using metal and so on, largely because they don’t break, whereas the others always do.

When did skiing become more of a sport?

Right, the great change between skiing for, as it were, some sort of utilitarian use … came when a student at Dartmouth by the name of Fred Harris started basically the Dartmouth Outing Club, [and] other colleges became involved. This was started in 1910, 1911, and then almost immediately, as I say, other colleges became involved. Middlebury, for example, UNH, UVM, Harvard, Yale, and then … up at McGill, who also were early skiers, and the Harvard and the McGill people used to come down to Hanover every once in a while for sporting skiing. Fred Harris was interested in getting the Dartmouth students, he graduated in 1911, but he was interested in skiing as a kind of, what shall we say, a healthy antidote to industrialization, urbanization, students sitting on their behinds on radiators and so on. …

Is there any interesting skiing history tidbit or facts you’d like to mention, something I haven’t asked you about?

These days when you go onto a ski slope, you will always see people who are skiing with two poles. … That was not normal a hundred years ago … a Dartmouth student was actually given two poles as a present, he tried them out at nighttime so that he wouldn’t be laughed at. One pole was the way to ski, that was the way Norwegians skied, and what Norwegians did and said and wrote about skiing was the sort of the word. … from about 1910, certainly from 1920 on, you get two poles being in use. Although I have seen pictures of people using one pole as late as 1931, but they were in Maine, they weren’t in action.

—Zachary Lewis

New Hampshire on Skis
Thursday, Nov. 21, 6 p.m.
Lane Memorial Library, 2 Academy Avenue, Hampton
nhhumanities.org

Featured image: John Allen. Courtesy photo.

News & Notes 24/11/21

Carrot concerns

Grimmway Farms issued a recall of select organic whole carrots and baby carrots that may have been contaminated with E. coli, according to a notice on its website, grimmway.com. The recall, initiated Nov. 16, includes carrots that are no longer on store shelves but may be in consumers’ refrigerators or freezers, the website said. The items from the Bakersfield, California, based company were sold nationwide; whole carrots were for sale Aug. 14 through Oct. 23 and the baby carrots had best-if-used-by dates ranging from Sept. 11 through Nov. 12. Photos of the packaging of the affected items are on the Grimmway website and include Bunny-Luv, 365 Organic, Good & Gather, Nature’s Promise and Trader Joe’s, among others. See the website for product specifics, such as package sizes.

Snow rider

According to a press release, free in-person snowmobile safety education classes are now being scheduled in the Granite State. To operate a snowmobile or off-highway recreational vehicle (OHRV) in New Hampshire any person age 12 or older must either have a valid motor vehicle driver’s license or have successfully completed an approved OHRV/Snowmobile Safety Education class.

Classes are taught by instructors and staff trained by the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department and those interested in attending should register by visiting wildlife.nh.gov/highway-recreational-vehicles-ohrv-and-snowmobiles/ohrv-and-snowmobile-safety-education, according to the press release. OHRV/Snowmobile Safety Education classes can also be taken online, and with recent changes to the state laws all online classes will include a combination of practical OHRV and snowmobile safety and the rules that apply to all trail riders. The cost for the virtual class is $34.95, according to the same release. To register for an online safety class, visit offroad-ed.com/newhampshire.

Even after course completion, all riders under age 14 must be accompanied by a licensed adult over the age of 18 when operating a snowmobile or OHRV, including on property belonging to their parents, grandparents or guardians, according to the release. Operators of all ages are invited to join one of the more than 100 snowmobile and 26 OHRV clubs in New Hampshire, according to the release. For more information visit nhsa.com and for OHRV club information visit nhohva.org. Almost 37,000 wheeled vehicles and snowmobiles have been registered for the 2024-2025 season, according to the release. For information on registering a snowmobile, visit wildlife.nh.gov/highway-recreational-vehicles-ohrv-and-snowmobiles/registering-your-ohrv-or-snowmobile.

Education Freedom Accounts

According to a press release, more than 5,300 students throughout New Hampshire are now enrolled in Education Freedom Accounts during its fourth year of implementation,

The number of Education Freedom Accounts increased from 4,663 during the 2023-2024 academic year to 5,321 at the start of the 2024-2025 academic year, which represents an increase of about 14 percent, or 658 students, according to the same release.

In a statement, Frank Edelblut, education commissioner, said “it is clear that there is a growing demand for more schooling options in the Granite State. The Education Freedom Account program is offering lower-income families assistance to choose whichever school or learning environment best meets the needs of their child. New Hampshire continues to deliver high quality educational pathways to families and the Education Freedom Account program for a fraction of the cost to taxpayers of a traditional education.”

Education Freedom Accounts allow eligible New Hampshire students to direct state-funded per-pupil education grants toward select educational programming of their choice for a variety of learning experiences, and there are currently 5,321 children enrolled in the EFA program that is offering grants totaling nearly $27.7 million this school year, or an average of $5,204 per student, according to the release. Families earning up to 350 percent of the federal poverty level are eligible to participate in the program, and a family of four with an annual income limit of $109,200 may participate, according to the release.

More details are highlighted in the New Hampshire Department of Education’s 2024-2025 EFA Financial and Demographic Fact Sheets and more info can be found on education.nh.gov

Bank drive

According to a press release, the Merrimack County Savings Bank will be holding its annual Mitten Tree Drive until the end of December, collecting cold-weather essentials. New items of clothing, handmade or store-bought, such as mittens, gloves, hats and scarves, can be dropped off at any of the Merrimack’s nine locations, according to the press release.

In a statement, Linda Lorden, President of the Merrimack, said “The Mitten Tree is all about giving back to our neighbors in need. Every donation helps provide warmth and supports local food pantries.” The Merrimack will donate $2 for every item collected and will send donations to the following organizations: Friendly Kitchen (Concord), Twin Rivers Food Pantry (Franklin), Bow Food Pantry, Hopkinton Food Pantry, Hooksett Food Pantry, Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter, The Upper Room Food Pantry (Derry), White Birch Center (Henniker). Visit themerrimack.com/locations.

The Loon Center (Lee’s Mills Road, Moultonborough) on Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. will host a presentation by Dana and Bob Fox, “Hornbills — A Unique Old-World Family of Birds.” Hornbills first evolved in Africa over 60 million years ago. The presentation will include photos by Tim Layman.

Henniker Handmade & Homegrown will celebrate Small Business Saturday, Nov. 30, with a pop-up event at the Henniker Community Center, 57 Main St., from 2 to 5 p.m. In addition to locally crafted items, the event will feature live music from Beechwood and the food truck Taco Beyondo.

The Grace Food Pantry Yuletide Treasures Fair takes place Saturday, Nov. 23, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Mercy Hill Church (750 Pine St., Manchester). Admission is free. There will be live music, crafters, a bake sale, a 50/50 cash raffle and a Fleamarket Bazaar section. Free coffee, hot cocoa or hot cider will be available. Shoppers are asked to please bring a canned or boxed item for the pantry.

Kiddie Pool 24/11/14

Family fun for whenever

Bubbles!

• The Stockbridge Theatre (44 N. Main St. in Derry; stockbridgetheatre.showare.com, 358-5210) will present BubbleMania on Saturday, Nov. 16, at 2 p.m. This is a live experience where Casey Carle “will transform the theater into a whimsical wonderland, blending high-energy bubble performances with hands-on fun” in an immersive journey that’s perfect for kids and adults alike, according to the press release. “Featuring world-class bubble artists, BubbleMania is designed to mesmerize with tricks like giant bubbles you can stand inside, bubbles stacked like towers, and more unexpected twists that allegedly defy the laws of physics,” the release said. Tickets cost $20.

See a show

• The Bedford High School Theatre Company will present Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella at Bedford High School (47 Nashua Road in Bedford) this weekend on Friday, Nov. 15, and Saturday Nov. 16, at 7 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 17, at 2 p.m. and next weekend on Thursday, Nov. 21, and Saturday, Nov. 23, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 24, at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $5 for students, $10 for seniors and $15 for adults. See seatyourself.biz//bedfordhigh for tickets and find the Bedford Theatre Co. on Facebook for more about the show.

• The Peacock Players will present their fall teen mainstage production of Mean Girls: High School Version, at Janice B. Streeter Theatre (14 Court St., Nashua) Friday, Nov. 15, through Sunday, Nov. 24. Shows are 7 p.m. on Fridays, 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets cost $15 and $18 for adults; $12 and $15 for students and seniors. See peacockplayers.org.

• Save the date for an early Nutcracker — The Nutcrackerwill be presented by Southern New Hampshire Dance Theater at Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org) Thursday, Nov. 21, through Sunday, Nov. 24. Zackery Betty-Neagle will reprise his role as the Nutcracker Prince and is currently the Artistic Director of NSquared Dance. Lori Mello, a regular guest artist with SNHDT and former Radio City Music Hall Rockette and Theater Artist, will join the cast as Mother Ginger, according to the press release. See snhdt.org for more about the dancers.

Be in a show

• Palace Youth Theatre will hold auditions for performers in grades 2 through 12 for its January production of Grease: School Version at Forever Emma Studios (516 Pine St., Manchester) on Thursday, Nov. 21, at 4, 5, 6 and 7 p.m., according to a press release. Audition participants will learn a dance and be asked to sing (a short section of a musical theater or Disney song), the release said. Rehearsals are typically on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays with some Monday rehearsals that will occur early in the rehearsal process, according to the press release. Performances at the Palace Theatre occur on Wednesday, Jan. 22, through Thursday, Jan. 23, and Wednesday, Jan. 29, through Thursdays, Jan. 30. To schedule an audition time, email [email protected] with performer’s name, age and preferred audition time.

Candy & games

• Chunky’s Cinemas (707 Huse Road in Manchester; chunkys.com) will host Movie Theater Candy Bingo on Friday, Nov. 15, at 6:30 p.m. Billed as family-friendly, the game will feature prizes for each round (boxes of movie theater candy) of at least eight rounds of bingo, according to the website. Doors open one hour before the start time. Bingo lasts about 90 minutes. Reserve a space for $10 and receive a $5 off virtual food voucher good for this event as Chunky’s food and drink menu will be available, according to the same release. One bingo card per customer.

Fundraising for the rest of us

The Junior Service League of Concord celebrates Festivus early

By Zachary Lewis
[email protected]

The 7th Annual Junior Service League of Concord Festivus: Backwoods Black Tie Edition takes place on Thursday, Nov. 14, at 6 p.m. at the Barn at Bull Meadow in Concord.

Ashley Miller is the President of the Junior Service League of Concord.

“We are a group of all-volunteer women. Most of us work full-time. Most of us are moms with careers. So we are a group of all-volunteer women who do this in our free time. We operate out of our homes, and we support women and children in crisis throughout the greater Concord area, and we do that via volunteer projects and fundraising,” Miller said.

One of those fundraising events is their Festivus event. “That’s one of our biggest fundraisers of the year. It’s held at the Barn at Bull Meadow…. It’s a huge silent auction. We’re sitting at, right now, over 80 silent auction items,“ she said.

Attendees will have a chance to win some enchanting items. “We’ve got a pair of Celtics tickets. We have plumbing services. We have tree removal services. We have a weekend away at an Airbnb up in Lincoln. We have our famous Junior Service League bucket of booze, which is exactly what it sounds like. We’ve got gift cards to local businesses. We’ve got gym memberships. Anything you can think of, we’ve got it,” Miller said.

Each Festivus is unique. “And this one is Backwoods Black Tie Edition. We always have a theme. So it’s denim on denim theme,” Miller said. Any type of denim combo or ensemble is welcomed. “We do have a prize for the most creative denim on denim outfit, so I don’t want to limit anyone.”

“I’ll give a speech about what we’re about, some of the things we fundraise for. You’ll hear from some of our grantees that we’ve granted to in the past about the work we’ve done with them. So it’s a really good time. But yes, there’s music, there’s dancing, there’s food, there’s drinks. We sell rum cakes,” she said.

These are no ordinary rum cakes. “We do make them. … They’re our famous JSL rum cake recipe, which has been around for a while,” Miller said. Those interested in the rum cakes must attend to receive them. “They’re great, and they’re great for the holidays. You can freeze them. Or if you’re like me, you can eat them over the weekend, because they’re that good.”

The music is a draw as well.

“We have live music. We have two performers. One is Ryan Williamson music and the other is the Eric Reingold Has Friends band and they both performed last year and were phenomenal.”

Even if all the rum cakes are gone, other options to eat exist.

“We have all of our food donated by local businesses and then there are beer, wine, and alcohol pours, again, all donated by our community partners.”

If you can make it, bring a buddy. “$30 for one ticket or two for $55. So grab a friend and save five bucks,” she said.

Those who can’t attend can still support the JSL and what they do.

“If you can’t make it to the event but you’re interested in supporting us, you can donate. We are on Venmo. We can take a card via our website. We have a donate button. If you’d like to join us out in the community, we do regular service projects, so feel free to reach out. We are happy to be involved and to get to know people and serve our community,” Miller said.

7th Annual Junior Service League of Concord Festivus: Backwoods Black Tie Edition
When: Thursday, Nov. 14, at 6 to 9 p.m.
Where: Barn at Bull Meadow, 63 Bog Road, Concord
Tickets: $30 or two for $55
jslconcord.org

Featured image: Courtesy photo.

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