The Hippo Press – Page 325

Thinking and drinking

Bars across New Hampshire offer trivia fun

By Sadie Burgess
listings@hippopress.com

If you’re full of seemingly useless information, you can put it to good use at one of several weekly trivia nights hosted by local bars.

Area 23 in Concord has been hosting trivia nights every Tuesday for more than five years.

“We get people who are very intense on trivia,” bar owner and trivia writer Kirk McNeil said.

Five different categories are offered each week, rather than one overarching theme. These can range from Broadway musicals to UFOs to European food to classic movies, and they’re often suggested by the bar’s patrons.

Area 23 doesn’t take trivia lightly. The bar was awarded toughest trivia in New Hampshire in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

“I don’t know if they gave it out after that,” McNeil said with a laugh.

Part of this honor is because of die-hard fans, like the six-person team that’s attended the events every week since it started.

But, McNeil said, “This doesn’t mean you can’t do well as a newbie.”

Area 23 sometimes awards prizes, which range from free appetizers to T-shirts or koozys from local breweries.

Liquid Therapy in Nashua is a bit newer to the trivia scene, devoting Thursday nights to trivia for just under two years. Attendees typically sign up a week ahead of time, sometimes two, to secure a seat.

“People even sit outside right now, when it’s cold,” the bar’s owner, Stanley Tremblay, said.

Tremblay feels that the open, airy space that Liquid Therapy offers makes patrons feel more at ease amid stressful times.

“I think there’s a lot of comradery, even between teams,” said Tremblay. “And it adds some normalcy to what’s going on in the world right now.”

For each trivia night, there’s a three-question themed round, with the theme chosen by the team that came in second the week before (first place gets a $25 gift card). The themes tend to be very specific and have ranged from fantasy novels like The Wheel of Time to Fleetwood Mac to Philadelphia sports teams.

Smuttynose Brewery offers trivia on Tuesday nights at its Hampton location, as well as Thursday night trivia at Smuttlabs in downtown Dover. DJ Koko-P hosts the events throughout the year at both locations.

This brewery is new on the trivia scene; it introduced trivia this past summer at the Hampton location, and only about a month ago in Dover. Their trivia is completely contactless and played through each participants’ cell phone. DJ Koko gives you a URL to go to, according to Colleen Lynch, the marketing manager at Smuttynose, and all questions are answered through the URL.

The night is divided into three rounds. The first is a warm-up round, where the winner receives a free appetizer. During the second and third rounds, gift cards and larger, specialty prizes can be won. In the event’s short past, prizes have ranged from lawn chairs to T-shirts to grills. Themed trivia nights are offered once a month. On Feb. 28, Star Wars themed trivia will take place at Smuttynose in Hampton.

Trivia nights bring more than just an assortment of fun facts to the bar experience.

“It gives people the option to come by in a comfortable setting, and do something other than just sitting around and talking,” Lynch said. “It really gets people engaged. And it’s nice to give everyone a little bit of a sense of normalcy back.”

Weekly trivia

Here are some local places with regular trivia nights. Find more every week in the Music This Week listing. Know of a trivia night not mentioned here? Let us know at music@hippopress.com.

Area 23 Trivia
When: Tuesdays, 7 p.m.
Where: Area 23, 254 N. State St., Unit H, Concord
Visit: thearea23.com

Cheers Trivia
When: Fridays, 9 p.m.
Where: Cheers Grill, 17 Depot St., No. 1, Concord
Visit: cheersnh.com

Chunky’s Cinema Pub Trivia
When: Thursdays, 8 p.m.
Where: Chunky’s Cinema Pub, 707 Huse Road, Manchester
Visit: chunkys.com

Community Oven Trivia
When: Wednesdays, 7 p.m.
Where: The Community Oven, 24 Brickyard Sq., Epping
Visit: thecommunityoven.com

Liquid Therapy Trivia
When: Thursdays, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Liquid Therapy, 14 Court St., Nashua
Visit: Find them on Facebook

Smuttynose Trivia
When: Tuesdays, 6 p.m.
Where: Smuttynose Brewing, 105 Towle Farm Road, Hampton
Visit: smuttynose.com

Smuttlabs Trivia
When: Thursdays, 6 p.m.
Where: Smuttlabs, 47 Washington St., Dover
Visit: smuttynose.com

Quality of Life 21/02/25

Bedford boy appears on Ellen

“This is awesome! I never thought I would hear my voice and now it’s on this show!” That was 9-year-old Elliot Perry’s response to Ellen DeGeneres when she asked how he was doing during his appearance on her show on Feb. 18. The Bedford resident appeared as a CHaD ambassador; after he was born several months premature, doctors said he would never walk or talk. He spent 121 days at the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s intensive care nursery, and now he’s on a mission to raise $121,000 to build two playgrounds for CHaD in 2021, one at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon and one at Dartmouth-Hitchcock in Manchester, according to a press release. During the segment, Ellen presented Elliot and his parents, BJ and Carrie Perry, with a $20,000 contribution from Shutterfly.

Score: +1

Comment: This is one cute kid doing a whole lot of good. The Perrys have also joined forces with Team Police forward Kyle Daly of the Manchester Police Department to raise more than $100,000 in five years through CHaD’s Battle of the Badges Hockey Championship, according to the press release. You can see Elliot on The Ellen DeGeneres Show at ellentube.com.

Fisher Cats plan their comeback

After missing the entire season last year, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats have announced a 120-game season that kicks off May 4. According to a press release, the Toronto Blue Jays Double-A affiliate will play its first home game at Delta Dental Stadium on May 11 against a new division team, the Somerset Patriots (the New York Yankees Double-A affiliate). Other highlights of the season include 18 home games against the Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox) and 17 post-game fireworks shows throughout the season.

Score: +1

Comment: Single-game tickets for the month of May will go on sale March 15, according to the release, and single-game tickets for the rest of the season will be available in the coming months “as stadium capacity regulations continue to evolve.”

The final reel?

New Hampshire movie lovers will have fewer places to go for buttery popcorn and cinematic goodness (or cinematic badness, which can be just as fun). According to reports this week in multiple media outlets, Zyacorp Entertainment, parent company of Cinemagic theaters, announced on Feb. 22 that it is closing all eight of its New England theaters (including the three New Hampshire locations in Merrimack, Hooksett and Portsmouth). “After 20 years’ operating movie theaters … and with a heavy heart, Zyacorp Entertainment has closed its Cinemagic Movie Theaters with no plans to reopen,” according to a statement from the company as reported by the Worcester Telegram & Gazette in a post on Feb. 23. (QOL attempted to contact Zyacorp by phone and email Tuesday morning but couldn’t reach anyone.) The theaters had been on “intermission till spring” since early February, which is what the website still said as of Tuesday. QOL has seen more movies at the Merrimack and Hooksett theaters than QOL can count. Returning to those theaters, loading up on snacks and watching a summer tent pole or a late-year Oscar hopeful was definitely near the top of QOL’s “things to do when This is over” list. Though southern New Hampshire is lucky to have other movie theaters in operation (and more that are still planning to return to operation), this loss of so many screens is a real blow.

QOL score: -3 (one for each of those theaters)

Comments: Sure, QOL enjoys the convenience of having the big movies hit home screens roughly the same time they’re hitting theaters but nothing quite captures the escapism of seeing a story play out on a giant screen or the joy of cheering for an action movie climax with a crowd.

QOL score: 57

Net change: -1

QOL this week: 56

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

News & Notes 21/02/25

Covid-19 update	As of February 15	As of February 22
Total cases statewide	71,017	73,665
Total current infections statewide	2,953	2,883
Total deaths statewide	1,135	1,154
New cases	2,518 (Feb. 9 to Feb. 15)	2,648 (Feb. 16 – 22)
Current infections: Hillsborough County	922	807
Current infections: Merrimack County	217	232
Current infections: Rockingham County	678	650

Information from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services

Covid-19 news

On Feb. 16, Gov. Chris Sununu announced that the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services received nearly $20 million from the federal government to support child care programs in the state, as part of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act. The funds, according to a press release, will be distributed to family child care providers, child care centers and licensed-exempt providers.

During a Feb. 18 press conference, state epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan said the daily number of new infections of Covid-19 in New Hampshire has been on a slight increase, due in part to those at colleges and universities in the state. Hospitalization rates, he said, have continued to be stable over the last several weeks.

Dr. Beth Daly, Chief of the Bureau of Infectious Disease Control of the New Hampshire Department of Health & Human Services, also said during the press conference that the state is expected to receive about 27,740 first doses of Covid-19 vaccine this week, an increase of more than 5,000 doses from the week prior. “In addition to state allocation, additional vaccines are coming into the state through the federal retail pharmacy partnership with Walgreens,” she said. First-dose appointments for people in Phase 1B of the state’s vaccine distribution plan are still available.

A recent change in federal unemployment policy, according to a Feb. 18 report from WMUR, has rendered hundreds of Granite Staters ineligible to receive their weekly benefits. Those who are temporarily laid off or whose hours are reduced but who have employers that remain open are no longer eligible. According to the report, U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan said they are working to get the policy reversed.

On Feb. 19, Sununu issued Emergency Order No. 85, an order mandating that Granite State schools offer in-person instruction to all students for at least two days a week starting March 8. “It isn’t just so the kids come back and have a more full, robust learning model,” Sununu said during the Feb. 18 press conference. “It really is for the behavioral and mental health, the isolation issues that so many of our students have been bearing with.” Under the order, a K through 12 school may transition to required full-time distance learning for students for up to 48 hours without state approval if officials deem it necessary to address Covid-19 concerns related to infections or staffing shortages. But if a school wishes to transition to fully remote learning for more than 48 hours, it must receive approval from the Commissioner of Education. Virtual Learning Academy Charter Schools are not impacted by the order. All K through 12 staff will be able to receive their first vaccine dose in Phase 2A of the state’s vaccination plan, which is expected to be between March and May.

Details of Sununu’s emergency orders, executive orders and other announcements can be found at governor.nh.gov.

House lawsuit

On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Landya McCafferty ruled that Republican House Speaker Sherman Packard does not have to use remote technology for the two House sessions scheduled for this week, according to a report from WMUR. On Feb. 16, Packard released a statement following a lawsuit filed by Democrat state representatives against him, which argued that Packard was refusing to provide remote accommodations for House members with disabilities. “We are reviewing the complaint and working with counsel on our response,” Packard said. He pointed to the House sessions that have been held at the Whittemore Center, “where we had high attendance levels by legislators, numerous legislative and UNH employees, police, paramedics, contract employees, firefighters and others. No one contracted Covid-19 at the Whittemore Center indoor events in 2020.” He said the new venue for this week’s meetings, NH Sportsplex in Bedford, has more than double the usable area of the Whittemore Center and assured “an accessible, risk-mitigated and secure environment for all members and staff in attendance.” McCafferty wrote in her ruling that Packard is “immune” from the Democratic lawmakers’ suit “challenging his enforcement of a House rule that is closely related to core legislative functions,” according to WMUR’s report, and she based her ruling on the argument on legislative immunity. After the ruling, Packard issued a statement thanking the court and saying, “We were confident in our position that remote participation could not be reasonably accommodated at this time.” Democratic Leader Representative Renny Cushingreleased a statement saying, “Unfortunately, this case has exposed the callous indifference of House Republican leadership toward our most vulnerable members during the Covid-19 crisis that has taken the lives of a half a million Americans.”

There is now a bobblehead of the nation’s 14th president, Franklin Pierce, who was born in Hillsborough. The bobblehead is part of the “Neglected Presidents” collection, according to a press release, produced by the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum and available for purchase at store.bobbleheadhall.com.

On Feb. 18, U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan visited small businesses in downtown Laconia, speaking to owners about the pandemic-related challenges they are facing, according to a press release. Hassan helped get the Employer Assistance Coordination Act included in the end-of-year funding bill that was passed in December, so now small businesses can participate in the Paycheck Protection Program and also claim the Employee Retention Tax Credit, the release said.

The Granite State Leathers Superfund Site in Nashua, also known as Mohawk Tannery, will be cleaned up and eventually redeveloped to include mixed-use commercial space and residential housing, according to a press release from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which will share remediation costs with local developer Blaylock Holdings and the City of Nashua. The cleanup will address hazardous substances in soils, sludges and contaminated waste originating from the site.

The Palace Theatre in Manchester has a new performing arts series sponsor. According to a press release, St. Mary’s Bank has made a three-year, $180,000 commitment, having given an initial gift of $30,000 at the end of 2020 to support the Palace’s virtual shows, which are streaming during the theater’s intermission.

The year of pets

The year of pets

With more time at home in the past year, many people took the opportunity to welcome new pets — and it wasn’t just cats and dogs (though there were plenty of those too). Check out stories of owners who brought home canines and felines, sugar gliders, a bearded dragon, a parakeet and even a potbellied pig.

Also on the cover, the Hippo’s Best of readers’ poll closes Feb. 28, so don’t forget to vote for your favorite people, places and events in southern New Hampshire. See details on p. 39. And find local music, in-person or virtually, starting on p. 31.

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Got you covered

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Thinking and drinking

Bars across New Hampshire offer trivia fun By Sadie Burgesslistings@hippopress.com If you’re full of seemingly useless information, you can put ...

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Our advertiser supported e-edition will always be free to view and download.

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Local fitness pros talk about their shift to virtual classes. Find out why you might want to get off the couch and try Zumba, Pound, yoga, group personal training and more, all without leaving your house.

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Quality of Life 21/02/18

Youth protest peacefully with art installation

A group of youth organizers hung posters and banners on the chain link fence outside a Liberty Utilities office on Feb. 13, an act of solidarity with the No Coal No Gas campaign, according to a press release from 350NH, a local climate justice organization. The posters said things like “Time for diNOsaur FOSSIL FUELS to go extinct,” and they also displayed cardboard dinosaurs to illustrate their message that fossil fuels are “antiquated and dangerous,” according to the release. The No Coal Gas campaign seeks to end the use of fossil fuels in New England and transition to 100 percent renewable energy, with the next goal being to secure a shutdown date for the Merrimack Generating Station in Bow, which uses coal.

Score: +1 (because regardless of where you stand on the matter, youth getting involved in causes they believe in — peacefully — is a good thing)

Comment: Jordan King, a senior at Milford High School and member of the 350NH Youth Team, said in the release that he participated in the protest, “Because I’m a young person, my future is on the line and I don’t want to be the next thing to go extinct.”

Gas prices rising

Speaking of fuel, gas prices keep going up, so filling up the tank is quickly getting more depressing. According to GasBuddy, New Hampshire gas prices have risen 2.6 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.42 per gallon as of Feb. 15 — that’s 12.5 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and 3.8 cents per gallon higher than a year ago — about a month before the country shut down.

Score: -1

Comment: Lower gas prices was one of the few perks of the pandemic, and QOL is not excited about GasBuddy’s prediction that increased demand will raise the national average another 10 to 50 cents per gallon this spring and summer if oil production doesn’t increase along with the demand.

On the bright side …

One of the other benefits that resulted from the pandemic is that people are pretty used to staying home, so while this week has seen more winter storm weather, the ability to work from home and have kids do school remotely is significantly easier for many people, compared to previous winters. Last year, some schools were trying to figure out how to do remote “blizzard bags” for snow days in order to call it an official school day; now remote learning is the norm.

Score: +1

Comment: QOL is especially happy to be writing this from home, having avoided a stressful morning commute (and now dealing with only minor interruptions from kids who are supposedly in virtual classes but seem to have a lot of free time for snacking and video games).

Cheap-ish car insurance

New Hampshire is the 10th-cheapest state for car insurance in 2021, according to a new study from WalletHub, a personal-finance website. According to the study, full coverage car insurance costs 198 percent more than minimum coverage in New Hampshire, on average; 16-year-olds pay 453 percent more for car insurance than 55-year-olds, on average; and drivers with a DUI pay 125 percent more for car insurance than drivers with a clean record, on average.

Score: 0 (+1 for being in the Top 10, -1 for QOL, who has an almost-16-year-old and a soon-to-be-much-higher car insurance bill)

Comment: WalletHub also listed the Top 5 cheapest car insurance companies in the state: USAA ranked No. 1, followed by Concord Group, Safeco, Geico and MMG Insurance.

QOL score: 56

Net change: +1

QOL this week: 57

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Author: The Hippo Press

Thinking and drinking

Bars across New Hampshire offer trivia fun

Quality of Life 21/02/25

News & Notes 21/02/25

The year of pets

From couch to cardio

Quality of Life 21/02/18

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