The Hippo Press – Page 30

The Art Roundup 24/07/25

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

• Classical piano: On Thursday, July 25, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. pianist Paul Bisaccia will be performing Beethoven’s “Waldstein” Sonata as well as selections from Haydn, Czerny and Liszt for the Summer Music Associates concert at First Baptist Church (461 Main St., New London). Tickets are $25 for adults and $5 for students. Visit summermusicassociates.org.

• Peruse the crafts: Gallery in the Garden (148 Sandogardy Pond Road, Northfield) will be held on Saturday, July 27, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, July 28, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., according to their website. It is the place to purchase a perfect piece from an array of fine handcraft, meet talented artists and walk around the pondside gardens of annuals and perennials at your leisure. Visit their Facebook page for more information.

• Bagpipes and adventure: The Oscar Foss Memorial Library will host Shirefest on Saturday, July 27, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at T.L. Storer Reservation (1513 Province Road, Barnstead) to wrap up their summer reading program with food and drinks, creative activities, and adventures for fellow hobbits, wizards and elves, according to their website. Local vendors will be there with unique goods, and special musical guest Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki will perform. Visit oscarfoss.org for tickets.

WINDHAM BANDS
The Windham Community Bands will perform at Crows’ Feat Farm (178 Drinkwater Road, Kensington, 498-6262, crowsfeatfarm.org) on Sunday, July 28, at 3 p.m. The Windham Community Bands (WCB) were established in May 1997; membership quickly increased from the original eight musicians and now consists of about 80 members comprising three performing groups: the Windham Concert Band, the Windham Swing Band, and the Windham Flute Ensemble, according to their website. Tickets start at $10.

• One screening only: The Park Theatre in Jaffrey will show Seven Samurai, the Akira Kurosawa classic, in 4K on their giant screen on Friday, July 26, at 6:30 p.m. in Japanese with English subtitles, according to their website. Part I lasts 1 hour and 52 minutes; then there will be a brief intermission before Part II, which lasts 1 hour and 35 minutes, according to their website. Visit theparktheatre.org.

• Interesting instruments: The Strawbery Banke Museum (14 Hancock St., Portsmouth) will host the lecture “Tuneful Treasures — Discovering Musical Instruments in American Collections” with Darcy Kuronen on Thursday, July 25, from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Lawrence J. Yerdon Visitors Center. Kuronen, the former Curator of Musical Instruments at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, will share anecdotes from his career of working with historical instruments in collections throughout the United States, according to the website. Tickets cost $20. Visit strawberybanke.org.

CELTIC BAND
Celtic band The High Kings will perform at The Flying Monkey (39 Main St., Plymouth, 536-2551, flyingmonkeynh.com) Sunday, July 28, at 7:30 p.m. The High Kings continue to set the bar high for Irish folk bands across the world and are widely regarded to be at the forefront of the genre, according to a press release. Tickets start at $39 through the Flying Monkey website.

—Zachary Lewis

This Week 24/07/25

Friday, July 26

Manchester City Library (405 Pine St, Manchester, 624-6550, manchester.lib.nh.us) invites you to join in a walking tour, “Walking Through Manchester’s Black History,” presented by local historian Stan Garrity this morning at 10 a.m. The walk will begin in the Main Library’s rotunda and will follow Stan’s guided tour before returning to the Library. Register on the library’s website, under “Upcoming Events.”

Saturday, July 27

Join NH Audubon (McLane Center, 84 Silk Farm Road, Concord, 224-9909, nhaudubon.org) for the second annual Capital Area NH Butterfly Survey from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. No matter what your skill level, you are welcome to join in this survey. Help track New Hampshire’s butterflies and make a difference in their conservation. Email Diane De Luca ([email protected]) to RSVP.

Saturday, July 27

The Third Annual Friends-a-Palooza will take place in Keach Park (2 Newton Ave., Concord) from 1 to 4 p.m. today, to celebrate the Friends Program, International Friendship Day and families in the greater Concord area. Friends-a-Palooza is a family-friendly party in the park with games, music, crafts, snacks, trucks, stories and dance. This event is free; donations will be accepted to benefit the Friends Program (friendsprogram.org) services for at-risk youth and families.

Saturday, July 27

Lift heavy weights at Grand Smashing party to celebrate the opening of the new physical location of Pawsitive Barbell Club (3 Robinson Road, Bow, 856-5422, intuitivewellnesscenterllc.com/pawsitive-barbell-club) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tickets cost $20.

Saturday, July 27

The Capital City Pride picnic will be in Eagle Square in Concord today from noon to 4 p.m. There will be vendors, refreshments, performance art, games, live music and more. Attendees are encouraged to bring everything they would need for a picnic, such as folding chairs, a picnic blanket, snacks, water, sun protection, bags for garbage collection, and rain gear (just in case).

Saturday, July 27

Head to The Knights Hall (55 Lake St., Suite 4, Nashua, 484-1036, theknightshall.com) for Fire of Battle: Summer Melees. This in-person event will bring together warriors from far and wide to showcase their skills in medieval combat. Tickets are $20 and available through the Knights Hall website.

Sunday, July 28

The Alex Minasian Jazz Trio will perform at the Andres Institute of Art (106 Route 13, Brookline, 673-7441, andresinstitute.org) tonight from 6 to 8 p.m. Tickets cost $25.

Sunday, July 28

Wilton Town Hall Theatre (40 Main St., Wilton, 654-3456, facebook.com/wiltontownhalltheatre) presents 1926 Harry Langdon comedy Tramp, Tramp, Tramp today at 2 p.m. Admission to this silent film with musical accompaniment is free; donations of $10 per person are encouraged.

Save the Date! Thursday, Aug. 8
Cirque du Soleil is returning to Manchester with its high-energy and high-acrobatic production Ovo, at the SNHU Arena (555 Elm St., Manchester, 644-5000, snhuarena.com). An exciting Cirque du Soleil experience, Ovo is a colorful look at the daily life of insects. Performances will be Thursday, Aug. 8, at 7 p.m.; Friday, Aug. 9, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Aug. 10, at 3 and 7 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 11, at 1 and 5 p.m. Tickets start at $45.

Featured photo: Monarch butterfly.

Quality of Life 24/07/25

More measles

State officials added to the list of places people might have been exposed to the measles. The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services announced in a July 18 press release that “an out-of-state resident visited New Hampshire while they were infectious with measles. The out-of-state resident was exposed to an international traveler with measles who was previously identified in late June.” The press release went on to say that measles might have been transmitted to any unvaccinated people or people not previously infected. The exposed individual visited restaurants in Alton and Concord on July 5, and Merrimack on July 6. “

QOL score: -2

Comment: “Please visit the DHHS website for updated infection counts and New Hampshire exposure locations associated with this outbreak,” the release said.

Lottery repeat

The same set of numbers came up twice in the State Lottery’s Pick 3 and Pick 4 games Saturday evening, July 20. As reported in a July 20 online article by WMUR, there was a mistake in the numbers entered into the Lottery’s system. “According to the lottery,” the story reported, “a vendor entered the winning numbers for Saturday’s midday Pick 3 and Pick 4 drawings as the winning numbers for the evening drawings as well.” The Lottery stated that “it noticed the mistake right away and alerted its vendor to make a correction.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: On its website, the Lottery commission announced that it would honor both sets of numbers for the Saturday evening drawing, but: “This is ONLY for the evening draw on Saturday, 7/20/2024.”

Derry PD is getting a puppy!

The Derry Police Department announced on its Facebook page last Thursday, July 18, that it is in the final stages of choosing a comfort dog to join the department. “Comfort dogs can be used for calm and comfort in all sorts of different situations,” the Department posted, “like mental illness circumstances, domestic violence cases, victim/witness support, courtroom testimony, officer wellness, and helping out in our numerous schools in town.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: The Department has been working with an organization called Hero Pups to select a puppy with the right temperament to grow into the job.

Mosquitoes in Manchester

The Manchester Health Department announced Wednesday, July 17, that one batch of mosquitoes collected in Manchester on July 10 had tested positive for West Nile Virus (WNV). West Nile Virus is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito, the Health Department said. “Symptoms usually appear within a week after being bitten. Symptoms can include flu-like illness including fever, muscle aches, headaches, and fatigue. … A very small percentage of individuals infected with WNV can go on to develop more serious central nervous system disease, including meningitis or encephalitis.”

QOL score: -1

Comment: The Manchester Health Department recommends eliminating pools of standing water, where mosquitoes lay their eggs, and wearing mosquito repellant with at least 30 percent DEET.

Last week’s QOL score: 74

Net change: -1

QOL this week: 73

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

Let us know at [email protected].

Stroll in the summer

Nashua presents a new downtown event

Kathleen Palmer, Communications & Events Specialist for the Office of the Mayor in Nashua, spoke about the Summer Stroll in Nashua scheduled for Saturday, July 27, from 3 to 8 p.m. The event is presented in partnership with Positive Street Art and funded by local sponsors. A two-block section of Main Street will be closed off from 2 to 9 p.m. Check out Nashua Summer Stroll on Facebook.

How did the Summer Stroll get started?

Great American Downtown has manned, if you will, a winter holiday stroll for over 20 years now. One of the kind of half-jokes that people make after the event is ‘boy, I wish we had a summer one,’ because it would be, you know, better weather. The City of Nashua has a new director of economic development. Her name is Liz Hannum and she proposed last summer, ‘Well, why don’t we look into creating a city-run summer stroll component?’ A similar but different event. That’s what we are doing … to see if people are interested in coming down and walking around and checking out the offerings that we have this first year… This is a brand new event and we could not do it without the sponsorship money we received, because people do worry if this is going to be taxpayer money and it’s important for everybody to know we sought out sponsors.

How has the partnership with Positive Street Art affected the event?

The city partnered with Positive Street Art, which is a decade-long nonprofit here based in Nashua who does public art as well as classes and all sorts of art-related programming. About more than a decade ago they used to have an art festival on Water Street at Renaissance Park. However, this summer Renaissance Park is getting a beautiful and exciting overhaul in the riverfront project that Mayor Donchess has initiated, so the park is unavailable to lots of programming that used to happen there. So Positive Street Art asked if they could partner with us and make the Nashua Summer Stroll an event that’s focused on artists and local creators of different kinds.

What kinds of vendors will be at the Summer Stroll?

The majority of the vendors that will be having tents on Main Street will be artists, photographers, jewelry makers, crafters as well as home decor. I believe there’s a home baker that will be there.

What types of activities can participants expect to find?

Positive Street Art will have a lot of things going on. They will have live art battles where they have artists set up easels and they give them 90 minutes to create something and it’s really, actually very exciting to watch. They have a car that was donated by Best Ford of Nashua and painted for free by Precision Collision with this chalk paint so kids can draw on the car and kind of make it into a little standing art exhibit if you will. Positive Street Art is also doing a mural project that everyone can participate in. I believe it’s going to be cut-outs of hands and you can decorate them and then PSA will assemble them…. They’re going to have a paint splatter tent, which, I’m not exactly sure what that is but it’s a self-enclosed paint fun event for kids to do. There’s a whole bunch of art stuff…. We’re going to have a whole kids zone, which we’re spelling ‘kidzone’ all shoved together. We’re going to have a mobile gaming van. … It’s basically a giant van that has TV screens in it and kids can go in and play 20 minutes a game if they want to get out of the sun. There’s going to be other games, basketball, games of skill where they can get little prizes. There’s going to be several food trucks.

What type of live entertainment?

For entertainment, the City Main Stage is getting dropped right in the street at the intersection of the Pearls … and that’s going to have three live bands throughout the day. The first one is Latin Logic Salsa Band. Before and during their performance we have hired Theo Martinez from HTM Dance to teach people free little dance moves so they can have fun watching the band and they can do a little dancing in the street. The other two bands are classic rock bands with huge local followings…. Aces and Eights is the name of the band and they’ve been around for decades. The other band is called 4 R Souls. After the live music is done at 8, PSA has rented out the upstairs and the downstairs of Martha’s to have a DJ dance party, so the music is going to go on inside after that. So there’s stuff for pretty much every age group at the event and we’re hoping people will at least stop by and check everything out.

Where is the Nashua Summer Stroll?

The footprint of the event is from East and West Pearl to the intersection of Factory and Temple, so two blocks of Main Street and the two blocks of Main Street includes High Street, which is the street that Scontsas Jewelry is on, the corner of on Main Street, and that piece of High Street is going to be the kidzone.

—Zachary Lewis

Nashua Summer Stroll
When: Saturday, July 27, from 3 to 8 p.m.
Where: Nashua’s Main Street between East and West Pearl and Factory and Temple. Road will be closed from 2 to 9 p.m.
Admission: free
What About Your Friends – Throwback Party
Presented by Positive Street Art and One 603 Entertainment on Saturday, July 27, 8:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. at 185 Main St., Nashua; $25 with other ticket packages available; shorturl.at/R66gV.

Featured image: Nashua Summer Stroll.

News & Notes 24/07/25

Tuition freeze

The Community College System of New Hampshire is keeping tuition at the same $215 per credit rate for the 2024-2025 school year, according to a July 18 press release from the organization. The Board of Trustees approved a budget that included the tuition rate, which has stayed the same for in-state tuition since 2018, the release said. The tuition freeze applies to 200 certificate and degree programs at all seven community colleges and affiliated academic centers (including campus, online and hybrid offerings), the release said.

“We want to ensure that high-quality postsecondary education is within reach for all New Hampshire families, whether they are looking for technical training for the trades, preparing for careers in healthcare, or building a strong foundation for pursuing a college degree in virtually any field,” said Mark Rubinstein, Chancellor of the Community College System of New Hampshire, in the release.

NH community colleges serve 24,000 students annually in degree and certificate programs, dual-credit courses for NH high school students, non-credit offerings, and customized training with businesses, and through CCSNH’s workforce program, ApprenticeshipNH, according to the release. In-state tuition is set at $215 per credit for New Hampshire residents, a full-time courseload of 30 credits per year costs $6,450 plus fees, the release said.

See ccsnh.edu for more on the individual colleges and for information for Pell grant eligible students.

Old news

According to a press release, the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources has announced that the United States Secretary of the Interior has listed the Kensington Town Center Historic District in the National Register of Historic Places for its long history serving as a town center as well as for the architectural significance of its properties.

The Town of Kensington was incorporated in 1761 and was originally part of Hampton. The half-mile-long Kensington Town Center Historic District remains an active town center and includes 27 well-preserved public and private properties that reflect the development of a rural southern New Hampshire town center over the course of nearly 250 years, according to the press release.

Most buildings in the district are wood-framed and were built in the late 18th through late 19th centuries. Their styles reflect the function and tastes of the time and include Georgian, Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne, Classical Revival and Colonial Revival details, according to the release.

The north end of the district, which has historically been referred to as the Upper Village, has provided civic and religious functions from the time the town was incorporated and features three buildings that are architecturally typical of a New Hampshire village. These are the Union Meetinghouse/Universalist Church (1839-1840), Kensington Town House (1846) and First Congregational Church (1865-66). The Lower Village has a greater mix of historically significant properties that range from residential to religious and commercial to cultural, according to the release.

Almost two dozen Revolutionary War veterans are buried in the public cemeteries, along with veterans of the War of 1812, the Mexican War and the Civil War, according to the release.

Three buildings within the district were previously listed in the National Register of Historic Places: the Union Meeting House/Universalist Church (listed in 2013), Kensington Town House (2013) and Kensington Social Library (2020). A fourth, the First Congregational Church, was listed to the State Register of Historic Places in 2019, according to the release. Visit nhdhr.dncr.nh.gov.

Learn to hunt

According to a press release, New Hampshire residents can sign up now to take Hunter Education classes to be ready for all of the coming fall’s seasons online. There are in-person courses and online offerings. To complete a class, participants will be required to attend a field day, a schedule of which will be provided upon completion of either type of course, according to the release.

Walk-ins are accepted at in-person trainings on a space-available basis, but seats are never guaranteed, so pre-registration is highly recommended, according to the release.

Hunter Education is required in New Hampshire before a new hunter age 16 or older can purchase their first hunting license. Children under 16 are permitted to hunt with a properly licensed adult hunter who is at least 18, according to the release. Participants must be at least 12 years old by the last day of the course to achieve certification in basic Hunter Education and students must be at least 12 years old to take the online course with a field day. New Hampshire’s Hunter Education course provides firearms and archery certification, according to the release.

Hunters who purchased an Apprentice Hunting License last year must take Hunter Education before they can purchase a hunting license, according to the release.

Hunter Education in New Hampshire is funded with Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration by an excise tax on firearms, ammunition and archery equipment, according to the release.

Visit wildlife.nh.gov/hunting-nh/hunter-education or call 271-3214.

Organized by the Merrimack Valley Military Vehicle Collectors Club, this year’s Weare Rally will go from Friday, July 25, to Sunday, July 27, at Center Woods School (14 Center Road). The rally features military vehicle displays, scenic rides, demonstrations, food and more. The cost is $5 per family. See mvmvc.org.

The annual Summer Psychic & Craft Fair returns for a 13th year to Weirs Beach Community Center (25 Lucerne Ave., Laconia) on Saturday, July 27, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Hosted by CAYA Reiki and Healing, the event will include psychic readings, vendors and door prizes. Admission is free. See eventbrite.com for ticket information.

Tickets are on sale for the 2024 Annual Celebration of the Humanities from New Hampshire Humanities on Wednesday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m. at the Tupelo Music Hall in Derry. The event will feature as keynote speaker Gregory Maguire, author of the novel Wicked. Tickets start at $35; see nhhumanities.org/celebrate.

Registration is open for the Friends of Aine’s annual Kids Try-athlon, which will be held Sunday, Aug. 11, starting at 8 a.m. in Bedford. Kids ages 4 to 15 will participate in three events — swimming, running and biking — in age-based groups. The event features a post-race family festival and registration costs $40. The event is a fundraiser for Friends of Aine Center for Grieving Children & Families, which offers bereavement services for children. See friendsofaine.com.

Pedals + power — 7/18/2024

If you like the idea of taking a bicycle for exercise, transportation or just a different way to see the world but don’t like the thought of difficult-to-pedal hills, maybe an e-bike is for you. Just as it sounds, these electric-motor-powered bikes can give you a little extra oomph when you need it and help all bikers keep up with the pack. Image above and on the cover is of a Rail 8 from Trek Bicycle Hooksett (photo by John Fladd).

Also on the cover Shakespeare on the Green returns to Saint Anselm College for the next two weekends (page 14). Food Truck Fridays try to make the last lunch of the work week a little something special (page 24). Brian Glowacki and Friends head to Beans & Greens in Gilford for a night of laughs on Friday, July 19 (page 32).

Read the e-edition

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