Author: The Hippo Press

On The Job – Cathy Garland

Owner of Granite State Stomp

Cathy Garland runs Granite State Stomp (granitestatestomp.com), where she teaches line dancing and works private events and corporate events, and even choreographs line dances for other instructors to use. One of her dances, titled Texas Hold Em’ EZ, has been nominated for the Best Beginner Dance of 2024 by the International Line Dance Association.

Explain your job and what it entails.

I teach line dancing for a living, full-time. I’m either teaching or entertaining at different clubs. I also have a lot of private events … and then I’m also doing tutorials and choreography online as well.

How long have you had this job?

Like most people because of Covid I completely pivoted from what I was doing for over 40 years. I’ve been in the fitness industry my whole life and was at the Bond Wellness Center in Peterborough and when that closed permanently I kind of looked at my husband and said, ‘I need to reinvent myself now.’ So I took a chance on this line dancing thing and went all out…. That happened in May of 2023 because the Center didn’t officially close until then.

What kind of education or training did you need?

For me, believe it or not, I went to college for computer science… When you’re in the fitness industry and you’re dealing with wellness coaching or personal training or especially when you’re dealing with a high-risk population, you really do have to have a ton of training, a ton of exercise science training and background and most of them [certifications] come through nationally recognized organizations. For line dancing … you don’t need to be certified in anything, which probably made it easier for me because I have that fitness background … I do have certifications and all that training.

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?

My typical attire is country. I’m usually in boots. I’m usually in some kind of Western hat and I’d say most of the time like denim shorts and a T-shirt, tank top…. Always kind of making it fun for everybody.

What is the most challenging thing about your work, and how do you deal with it?

New to me is the world of social media. … if one of my videos gets outside of the group of line dancing, I think the most difficult thing is how negative people can be on social media.

What do you wish other people knew about your job?

I don’t think people realize what goes on behind the scenes and how much you really have to practice and work to be able to go out there and queue a group for two hours … I think people just think we can just show up and put the music on and go.

What was your first job?

I was a fitness instructor at a place called — I don’t even know if they called us fitness instructors back then — but it was called Gloria Stevens…. We’ve come a long way from that but I did enjoy working with those women ….

—Zachary Lewis

Five favorites
Favorite book: This is weird but my favorite book is The Long Walk by Stephen King.
Favorite movie: Dirty Dancing. I could watch it over and over again.
Favorite music: Country. I would say mostly modern country.
Favorite food: Pizza.
Favorite thing about NH: The peacefulness.

Featured photo: Cathy Garland. Courtesy photo.

125 years of town festivities

Londonderry celebrates Old Home Day with four days of events

By Zachary Lewis
[email protected]

The 125th Annual Town of Londonderry Old Home Day starts on Wednesday, Aug. 14, and goes until Saturday, Aug. 17.

“Old Home Day started in New Hampshire in 1899 by Gov. Frank Rollins. It was designed to bring New Hampshire’s, as he puts it, ‘sons and daughters back to the state,’ who had moved elsewhere. It was an effort to revitalize tourism and celebrate the smaller communities in New Hampshire amidst what was a population decline,” said Kirsten Hildonen, Administrative Support Coordinator for Londonderry, who is leading the event along with colleague Doug Cole.

“Forty-four different towns celebrated Old Home Day that first year in 1899 and Londonderry was one of them and we’ve been doing it every year,” Hildonen said.

‘Days’ may be more accurate, but the spirit of the event is the same.

“It’s gone back and forth, historically, between Old Home Day and Old Home Week. What we’ve really landed on is a four-day celebration in Londonderry.”

After 125 years, what’s new?

“One of the unique things about our Old Home Day celebration is that it’s not the same every day. Each day is a different event, different celebration. So it’s not four days of the same thing, it’s four very different days with very different activities,” Hildonen said. Each day is an experience.

“One of the big events on Wednesday that’s always a big hit is our Senior Bingo and BBQ … the seniors are served by the police officers, our town leaders call bingo and it’s free. We usually give out 220 tickets,” she said.

Music is always a great time in Londonderry.

“That evening on Wednesday is one of our most popular Concerts on the Common. It’s the Studio Two Beatles tribute band. It starts at 7 p.m. and last year we had almost 1,000 people attend, ” she said. More music occurs on Thursday. That concert “is run by our Londonderry School District Music Director … and that starts at 7. [It’s a ] bunch of different local bands competing to see who comes out on top.”

Slightly before the Beatles tribute is a very colorful race.

“We started a color run for families, kids, people of all ages. That’s going to be held at 5:30 p.m., at the LAFA Field. There is pre-registration up on our rec program website for that event,” she said. The cost is $15 per person but caps at $45 per family. “Everybody throws color at everybody. Everybody is encouraged to wear a white T-shirt.”

“The biggest event, Friday — this is the one I think people outside of Londonderry will have a ton of interest in — is our food truck festival and fireworks on Friday night. We get about 25 food trucks together. We open it up at 6 p.m. and people can stake out their place for fireworks that night. We have such an awesome variety this year, really excited about the different trucks we have…. There’s something for literally every taste,” Hildonen said. The food trucks close down at 9 p.m. Around 15 minutes later, or when it gets dark, is a long bout of fireworks.

“About a 25-minute firework celebration so it’s pretty big and pretty huge,” she said.

“The big kickoff to the day [Saturday] is our Old Home Day Parade down Mammoth Road, which starts at 10:15 and runs from Central Fire Station down to Mack’s Apples,” Hildonen said.

The day is filled with more activities than the age of the event.
“We have a bunch of different local businesses, local organizations, churches, town committees, everybody, so many different people, they rent booths on the Common and they have games and activities … something interactive for families and kids to do. There’ll be all kinds of raffles, both free and paid, all kinds of people selling food.”

On top of a Touch-a-Truck there are even more fun activities for kids.

“We have a Kids Zone in our town forest with carnival games and prizes and that’s a fundraiser for the Londonderry Athletic and Field Association, LAFA is going to be running that this year,”she said.

125th annual Old Home Day in Londonderry
Wednesday, Aug. 14, to Saturday, Aug. 17
Free admission
londonderrynh.gov/oldhomeday
The Color Run: Thursday, Aug. 15, 5:30-6:30 p.m. at LAFA Fields, registration at LondonderryNH.MyRec.com

Featured image: Courtesy photo.

Kiddie Pool 24/08/08

Family fun for whenever

Screen time

• O’neil Cinemas Brickyard Square (24 Calef Highway, Epping, oneilcinemas.com) runs a summer kids series that started on Monday, June 24, with shows on Mondays and Wednesdays at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. The screening for their last week is Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (PG, 2018) on Monday, Aug. 12, and Wednesday, Aug. 14.

• On Monday, Aug. 12, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982) will be screened as part of the Prescott Park Arts Festival Movie Nights in Prescott Park in Portsmouth. Suggested donation is $5 per person and there’s an 8:30 p.m. start time. Concessions will be available for sale.

• Cinemark Rockingham Park (15 Mall Road, Salem, cinemark.com) is screening kid-friendly films on Wednesdays at 10 a.m and will be screening the last installment of the series with Paddington 2 (PG, 2017) on Wednesday, Aug. 14.

Fests and fairs

• The Town of Windham Recreation Department will host a Food Truck Festival and Car Show on the grounds of Windham High School (64 London Bridge Road, Windham) on Sunday, Aug. 11. In addition to yummy eats from local food trucks, there will be music and games of cornhole. For details contact the Windham Recreation office at 965-1208 or [email protected].

• Don’t miss the 16th annual Hampton Beach Children’s Festival, Monday, Aug. 12, through Friday, Aug. 16. The event includes ice cream, dancing, balloons, storytelling, a magic show and a costume parade. All activities are free and open to the public. Visit hamptonbeach.org/events/ childrens-events for details as they become available.

• Hudson’s Old Home Days return Thursday, Aug. 8, to Sunday, Aug. 11, on the grounds of the Hill House (211 Derry Road, Hudson). There will be carnival games, live music, cow pie bingo, fireworks, food and more. Event times are Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m., Friday from 5 to 11 p.m., Saturday from noon to 11 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. See hudsonoldhomedays.com.

Sports

• The New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the Double-A minor-league affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball, are in the middle of a home series with the Erie SeaWolves, a Detroit Tigers affiliate, that runs until Sunday, Aug. 12. Highlights of the series include a Sitcom Night on Thursday, Aug. 8, and a celebration of the ’90s on Saturday, Aug. 10, where attendees who bring in Beanie Babies get in free and the first 1,000 fans through the gates will receive a clear fanny pack. Fireworks are scheduled for after the game on Saturday. Games Thursday through Saturday are at 6:35 p.m. and Sunday’s game is at 1:35 p.m. See milb.com/new-hampshire.

Puppets and costumes

• Mariposa Museum & World Culture Center (26 Main St., Peterborough, 924-4555, mariposamuseum.org) is a museum of art and artifacts from around the world that includes hands-on exhibits with costumes, puppets, instruments and more for children to explore. One of their current exhibitions is “Tradition and Revolution in Indian Shadow Puppetry,” put on in collaboration with the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut and curated by Rahul Koonathara, celebrating the spectacular South Indian shadow puppet traditions of Tolu, Bommalatta and Tholpavakoothu, according to their website. It’s open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission costs $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $6 for kids ages 3 through 16 but is free for members.

A blooming festival

Sunflower Bloom Festival offers fields of gold

By Zachary Lewis
[email protected]

The Sunflower Bloom Festival runs from Saturday, Aug. 10, to Sunday, Aug. 18, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends and to 7 p.m. on weekdays at Sunfox Farm in Concord.

“This is our second year in Concord but our sixth time doing the festival,” said Amber Pollock, owner of Sunfox Farm, who runs the farm with CEO and manager Greg Pollock. “It’s a whole-day outdoor visit-the-farm kind of experience.”

How does one get there? “We have free parking at NHTI and we have a free shuttle bus to the field. For handicap parking, it would be at 6 Loudon Road,” Pollock said.

Everyone is invited.

“It’s a family fun atmosphere. Everybody gets to come out. We have live music every day, food trucks, an artisan craft fair, 20 acres of sunflowers and plenty of opportunities to take all your pictures.”

There are ample prime photo and selfie spots. “We got an old truck to sit on, we’ve got an old tractor, there are paths through the field with some viewing decks.”

Time is of the essence.

“The flowers bloom for about 10 days so we got that short window. We try to make the most of it.”

How can participants make the most of the festival?

“Each weekend we have probably about 20 different craft vendors or artisan vendors. We’ve got music all day on the weekends. Food trucks all day.”

For a more low-key experience, some time during the week is best.

“It’s smaller-scale during the week and definitely more active on the weekends.”

Any day is a good day to walk amongst the sunflowers.

“One new thing that we have this year is this elevated bridge along the path in the flowers, so that’s something new that we’re excited for people to be able to experience and kind of gets them up over the flowers, which is pretty cool.”

This is a field of sunflowers, not a library, so there will be music.

“We have a really full music lineup this year. We work with the New Hampshire Music Collective and they’ve been amazing making sure that there’s live music all day, which is exciting.”

Amber’s most treasured experience at the festival are the flowers themselves.

“The flowers blooming every year is probably our favorite thing to see.”

So how does the seed turn into the sunflower?

“From the time that we put it in the ground it takes somewhere between 60 and 70 days until it flowers.Then, mid-October, another 30 to 40 days after that is when we would harvest them so that’s when they’re ready to take the seeds out of.”

Sunfox farm produces sunflower seed oil.

“We grow one type. We grow a black-seed high-oleic sunflower and we grow it to produce sunflower oil. We go through the whole process ourselves. We do all the growing, the harvesting, the processing and the bottling.”

These types of seeds contain properties that make them healthier for consumption.

“That’s kind of the point of the farm is to create food, and we have this cool byproduct where we can have people in the community come out and see it.”

“We press all of the seeds for oil. The seeds that we grow aren’t what you would eat or what you would see at a baseball game. Those are a different type of seed. The ones that we grow are specific for oil.” But the flowers look the same.

What drew Amber to sunflowers?

“Yellow is my favorite color, so there’s that, but also it’s just a really resilient crop and it makes a really delicious product if it’s local and unrefined. It’s a cool thing that we get to grow that creates something beautiful but also creates this healthy, local food option for people.”

These beautiful plants get quite tall.

“Once they’re blooming they’ll be somewhere between 6 and 8 feet tall. So they’re not like the mammoth, giant sunflowers that get to be 14 feet or anything like that, but they do tower over you. You can kind of get lost in them.”

Make it a day or even a week at the Sunflower Festival at Sunfox Farm.

“During the summer we think it’s really great to be able to find things outside. Our prices are pretty low so it’s a good activity for the entire family. There’s stuff you can do all day here and it’s 20 acres of flowers, so it’s something that a lot of people in New Hampshire haven’t seen before.”

Sunflower Bloom Festival 2024
Fields adjacent to 6 Loudon Road in Concord
Saturday, Aug. 10, to Sunday, Aug. 18
Weekends 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., weekdays 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Tickets $12, free for children 10 and younger
sunfoxfarm.org

Featured image: Courtesy photo.

The Art Roundup 24/08/08

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

• Return of the nuns: Nunsense Jamboreepresented by The Majestic Studio Theatre will run on Friday, Aug. 9, at 7 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 10, at 2 and 7 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 11, at 2 p.m. at the Majestic Theatre (880 Page St., Manchester, majestictheatre.net, 669-7469). In the first Nunsense, a wacky nun known as Sister Mary Amnesia regained her memory and recalled that she always wanted to be a country singer, and in Nunsense II her dream became one step closer to reality. In Nunsense Jamboree, Sister Amnesia’s dream is realized as she headlines a brand-new show promoting her debut album, according to their website. Tickets are $15 and $20.

• Fair finale: The 91st Annual Craftsmen’s Fair. hosted by the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, runs daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and wraps up at Mount Sunapee Resort (1398 Route 103, Newbury) on Sunday, Aug. 11. Tickets are $18 online, $20 at the gate. See a Q&A with League of New Hampshire Craftsmen Executive Director Miriam Carter in our Aug. 1 issue. Call 224-3375 or visit nhcrafts.org.

CRUEL SUMMER
Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical is presented by Hatbox Theatre (715-2315, hatboxnh.com) and Manchester Community Theatre Players through Aug. 11 with shows Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. at the North End Montessori School’s MCTP Theatre (698 Beech St., Manchester). The musical places audiences into the world of Manhattan’s elite and follows the story of two wealthy stepsiblings who conspire in a game of seduction and betrayal against the backdrop of high society, fueled by the music that defined a generation, blending nostalgia and drama in a musical journey through love, lust and power, according to the website. Tickets are $28 for adults, $25 for students/seniors/members, $22 for senior members. See hatboxnh.com for content details.

• New exhibit: Concord artists and close friends Laura Morrison and Gail Smuda have worked together for more than 16 years, creating mixed media works with a feminist perspective and a focus on artist-made books and fiber works. Their body of work will be showcased in the upcoming exhibit “The Loosely Knit Alliance: The Collaborative Works of Laura Morrison and Gail Smuda,” which opens at the Library Arts Center (58 N. Main St., Newport) on Friday, Aug. 9, with an artists’ reception from 5 to7 p.m. and will run through Oct. 4, according to the release. Visit lauramorrisonart.com and gailsmuda.com. The Library Arts Center hours are Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m to 2 p.m. It is closed Sundays and Mondays. Visit libraryartscenter.org.

• Sneak peek: On Thursday, Aug. 15 at 5 p.m., New Hampshire Dance Collaborative (NHDC) will host Excerpts and Investigations: Milonga!at Kimball Jenkins School of Art in Concord, an event that is free to the public and will preview excerpts from Lila Productions’ upcoming show, Milonga!, at The Music Hall Lounge in Portsmouth on Sunday, Aug. 18. Milonga! will feature Alejandro Figliolo, a renowned tango dancer, teacher and choreographer from Buenos Aires, according to the press release. The event will feature wine and a short moderated discussion followed by a brief performance by Figliolo and Nathan and Elyssa Moyer, co-founders of Lila Productions, according to the release. To register, visit nhdancecollaborative.org.

DANCE DANCE DANCE
The Live Free and Dance Festival is hosted by Aaron Tolson Institute of Dance at Saint Anselm in the Dana Center (100 St. Anselm Drive, Manchester) on Saturday, Aug. 10, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Participants can take intermediate or advanced classes in many dance styles including contemporary, ballet, hip-hop and tap, according to their website. The Institute is excited to have Impavido, Whitney Wilson, Danielle Gautier, Lauren Lassila and Aaron Tolson on faculty this year. Check the website for class schedules and multi-class discounts. Single classes are $35 each, with various ticket packages available, according to the website. Visit tickets.anselm.edu/eventperformances.asp?evt=192.

—Zachary Lewis

Films from near and far

The Manchester International Film Festival celebrates local filmmakers and the wider world

By Zachary Lewis
[email protected]

The 2024 Manchester International Film Festival takes place on Friday, Aug. 9, and Saturday, Aug. 10, at the Rex Theatre. Warren O’Reilly, the Festival Director since the beginning in 2022, is pumped for the third year of the event.

“We’re very excited to bring it back to continue a legacy of film in Manchester,” O’Reilly said.

“We started three years ago with a goal of paying homage to the Rex Theatre’s roots as a movie theater. Back in 1949 it opened as a movie theater, and the lobby of the Rex has classic movie posters from the time period.”

The festival will bring films from near and far.

“What we wanted to do was be a small, independent film festival that allowed people that live in downtown Manchester the ability to see independent film from New Hampshire, emerging New Hampshire filmmakers, actors and artists, and a sampling of the international films that are happening throughout the rest of the festival circuit every year,” he said.

“There’ll be a red carpet and a step and repeat so people can take photos in front of our marquee. Everyone walks the red carpet to get in.” An afterparty at City Hall Pub will be held each night as well.

Friday, Aug. 9, festivalgoers will be treated to three different blocks of film. The first block is Animation, the next is New England Short Film, and the third block is the premiere of That Alien, Sound, from director, writer and producer Brando Topp. The doors open at 6:30 p.m. with a program start time at 7 p.m.

“Our main goal is to amplify local talent. Amplify local filmmakers and give everybody [the opportunity to] watch the stuff they’re working on displayed in a professional theater with 4K video, great sound, and be able to sit in a movie theater and watch their film on a big screen, eat popcorn and meet fellow filmmakers,” O’Reilly said.

In a statement about the film, Topp said, “Mia Danelle and I produced this from the jump. Her acting inspired the character, and our mutual commitment empowered us to step into roles we’ve both dreamt about for some time. Our family of friends and creatives who joined us made this movie shine.”

There will be a Q&A when the lights turn up at the end of the feature presentation with Topp, who is originally from New Hampshire, and Mia Danelle, who stars in the film and is a producer as well. Danelle had a recurring role as Cielo in the FX series Mayans.

Before the feature, the first block of the night is for Animation and will show Nemesis Battlefield Volume 16, Within the Crystal Hills, Bad Dog, A Dog’s Purpose, The Sweet Order and Ovo.

Griffin Hansen, the director of Within the Crystal Hills, spoke to the Hippo a couple months ago about his craft (find that story in our June 13 issue online).

The next block centers on New England Short Film and will be screening The Sins of Salem, Odessa, Kill That Man and Mars Hill Bait and Ammo.

“You’ll be able to see a bunch of short film and a feature film, a lot of them with New Hampshire roots.”

Saturday, Aug. 10, follows a similar structure with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. with the films starting at 7 p.m. The night’s focus is on LGBTQ+ film, International Short Films, and Ireland Film Focus with selections presented by the Irish Film Board.

The LGBTQ+ films include The Paradise Road, A La Carte, and The Space Between. Next up are the International Short Films, which are Segreto di Natale from Italy, ! (Exclamation Mark) from Ukraine, In Absentia from the United Kingdom, and Archipelago from Australia.

“It’ll be a great opportunity to see some short films from all those countries,” O’Reilly said.

Last but not least are the Irish Film Board selections, which include the films Movers and Shapers and Two For The Road, which is shot on Kodak Film.

“Two nights of film is a really good thing in the middle of summer. I think the city of Manchester deserves a great film festival. There’s a great film community, there’s a great community of people who really love film, there’s an unbelievable amount of talent in New Hampshire,” O’Reilly said.

Film is art for everyone.

“No, you don’t have to be a film buff,” O’Reilly said. “A lot of these pieces could later be sold to streaming services. Some of them are already available on various platforms, so it will be a really great opportunity for people to see a whole bunch of different things in one night…. We have a group of volunteers and judges that help us whittle down so that we find something that will appeal to everybody.”

Manchester International Film Festival
Friday, Aug. 9, and Saturday, Aug. 10
The Rex Theatre, 23 Amherst St., Manchester
$20 each night
Doors at 6:30 p.m., showtime at 7 p.m.
palacetheatre.org/film

Featured image: Courtesy photo.

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