Author: The Hippo Press

Kiddie Pool 24/03/07

Family fun for whenever

Play pickleball

•. Mini Pickles – Pickleball for Kids is being held at the City-Wide Community Center (14 Canterbury Road in Concord), where kids ages 10 to 14 can learn the fundamentals with coach Mel Crane every Friday from March 8 to March 29, 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Fee is $50 per resident, $60 per non-resident. Visit concordparksandrec.com.

Reading & storytime

• Get your reading engines running with Horse Powered Reading at UpReach (153 Paige Hill Road in Goffstown), a program to help kids ages 8 and up build and strengthen reading skills by connecting with horses, according to a press release. Classes start Monday, March 11, and will run through April 15, from 5 to 6 p.m. Space is limited and the cost is $200 per student; financial aid is available. Visit upreachtec.org or reach out to [email protected].

• Get reading and dancing at Water Street Bookstore (125 Water St., Exeter, waterstreetbooks.com) with a book-signing launch party for Mary McCrary The Irish Dance Fairy on Saturday, March 9, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will be Irish step dancers and giveaways at the event.


Science time

• Join the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St. in Dover) for Science Fridays. The first session, Friday, March 8, runs from 10:30 to 11 a.m. and the second session runs from 2:30 to 3 p.m. Each week is a new experiment, and your ticket is included with regular Museum admission. Science Friday drop-in programs engage children in experiments and activities that focus on fun and act as a jumping-off point for learning about science concepts, according to a press release. Museum admission is $12.50 for adults & children over 12 months of age, $10.50 for seniors age 65+, and free for Children’s Museum of New Hampshire members as well as children under 12 months of age. Visit childrens-museum.org to sign up for a spot.

All aboard the Maple Express

• Hop on the Maple Express at Charmingfare Farm (774 High St. in Candia) to celebrate Maple Month on Saturday, March 9; Sunday March 10; Saturday, March 16, and Sunday, March 17 (March 8 and March 15 for school groups) with multiple admission times throughout the day starting at 10 a.m. with the last train departing at 2 p.m. The horse-drawn or tractor train ride transports you into the heart of maple sugaring within a thriving farm and is designed for all ages, according to a press release. Participants will stop at an authentic maple syrup shack and learn about the maple trees, and tastings are encouraged. Admission is $29, free for children 23 months and under. Go to www.visitthefarm.com.

Save the date

• Kitty-Corn! Author Shannon Hale and illustrator LeUyen Pham visit Gibson’s Bookstore (45 S. Main St., Concord, 224-0562, gibsonsbookstore.com) on Friday, March 29, at 6:30 p.m. for a storytime with their newest book, Bubbly Beautiful Kitty-Corn. The two also worked together on Real Friends, Best Friends, and Friends Forever, as well as the Princess in Black series. Hale is the author of several YA books as well as the adult novel Austenland. See more about Hale at shannonhale.com and find Pham on Instagram @uyenloseordraw.

On The Job – Rachel Mack

Co-Owner of Loon Chocolate

Rachel Mack is the co-owner of Loon Chocolate along with her sister, Sara Steffensmeier, in Manchester. (This interview has been condensed.)

Explain your job and what it entails.

We have two great chocolate makers who help us make the chocolate. … I do most of the work setting up the shop here in the front, getting things ready on the operation and production side of things.

How long have you had this job?

Myself and my sister had bought Laurel Hill Jams and Jellies in February of this past year, but buying Loon Chocolate in June was really when everything changed and it became this full-time job.

What led you to this career field and your current job?

I had worked in finance for years and years, enjoyed the work … but I wanted something different. … Once we had gotten through [Covid, 2020 and homeschooling] I was looking at what was next — was I going to go back to a corporate job or was I going to do something else? — and that’s why we started with the jams and jellies as something on the side to fill the time while my daughter was at school and to keep me busy and mentally challenged. … It worked so well, that’s why we moved so quickly into taking over the chocolate as well. The chocolate is the majority of our time.

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?

Our merch that we proudly wear that has our logo of ‘Live free and eat great chocolate.’

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

We had a big shipment we had to send out in the fall leading up till Christmas and it was to a customer who wanted things a very particular way. If you are in a large business you can send that off to the shipping department and they can deal with it. … When you are a small-business owner you have to do it all. … but it really is fun to have each one of these challenges that you are faced with. That really is the hardest thing. Every day you walk in you don’t know what new thing you are learning that day.

What do you wish you had known at the beginning of your career?

There is a quote I heard recently, and I know I am going to screw it up, so I apologize, but it was, ‘don’t worry about the right decision, make your decision right.’

What do you wish other people knew about your job?

I wish I could just magically let everyone know … every detail about where the chocolate comes from because I think it is fascinating,

What was your first job?

My first real job, I was 16 years old … I worked for … Suncoast Motion Picture Company.

What is the best piece of work-related advice you’ve ever received?

I was so stressed at the beginning of starting all this … and my husband really helped me and he was like, ‘Just say yes. Say yes to the challenges that come to you. … Do the scary thing and great things are going to happen.’ It was absolutely true.

— Zachary Lewis

Favorite book: I love a journey. I loved The Hobbit.
Favorite movie: I know people don’t like Return of the Jedi, but I am going to say Return of the Jedi.
Favorite music: U2.
Favorite food: Any sort of Mexican food.
Favorite thing about NH: I just love the personality. The general vibe. People in New Hampshire are kind, and they don’t stress too much.

Featured photo: Rachel Mack. Courtesy Photo.

Matriarchs of the Queen City

It’s like an artichoke, but with more food per plant

If the city of Manchester could fit inside a mill building, the Millyard Museum at 200 Bedford St. would be the one. Kristy Ellsworth, Director of Education with The Manchester Historical Association, will be hosting an Afternoon Tea with Manchester’s Matriarchs, an American Doll Program, on Sunday, March 10, at noon.

“It is a tea party,” Ellsworth said. “It is a high tea for all ages, really. Not specifically geared toward children.” This tea party will have eight tables celebrating women from Manchester.

“Every one of the eight tables will feature a different Manchester Matriarch from an important time in Manchester’s history, from Molly Stark all the way up to May Gruber, the CEO of Pandora,” Ellsworth said.

“All of the women will have their bios featured but also an American Girl Doll that will replicate their period-correct outfits,” Ellsworth said.

The event is the culmination of funds received from grants and a tradition the Millyard Museum has of putting together similar functions.

“For the last seven years we have been doing American Girl Doll tea parties for young girls as affordable events that focus on history,” Ellsworth said. These get-togethers “have become really popular,” she said. But “every time we had the smaller-scale tea parties we’d always get older women [who would say,] ‘I wish you would do this for adults because I don’t have any children to take.’”

This led to including more women and focusing on specific women from the history of Manchester.

“When we talk about the Revolutionary War doll, Felicity,” Ellsworth said, “on the way up to visit her grandparents in New Hampshire, she stopped in Manchester, and this is what was happening. So that’s kind of where the idea got sparked.”

One of the women showcased is Elizabeth Molly Page Stark, whose waymark in Wilmington, Vermont, described her as “wife of general John Stark, mother of 11 children, homemaker, patriot, and defender of the household.” In addition to Stark and Gruber, the other women included are Elena Crough, Elizabeth Bisbee Hunt, Mary Carpenter Manning, Samantha Plantin, Bernice Blake Perry and Maud Briggs Knowlton.

Stark’s American Girl Doll has been uniquely clothed.

“We have a small piece of Molly Stark’s wedding dress in our collection,” Ellsworth said. “We decided to — the curator and myself — decided to do research as to what her dress actually would have looked like. … so we recreated Molly Stark’s wedding dress based on the information that we had and research we had gathered.”

The tea will be a full-service high tea, catered by the former owners of Roots Café, with petit fours and finger sandwiches. The entire soiree will take place in the Elm Street Gallery and will last around two hours.

“We will have a time for the women to go around and collect … trading cards from each of the tables so that they will leave with a full deck of Manchester Matriarchs,” Ellsworth said. “Then we will just do a short talk about the process of choosing the women and highlighting some of their accomplishments.”

“Manchester is such a women-centric city, starting with the Mill Girls who were half of the workforce of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company. So much of the story is female-driven — we just don’t tell it as often,” Ellsworth said. “I think it is really inspiring to young girls and to women to hear about these pioneers who sort of changed the history of Manchester and have kind of been forgotten or swept aside a little bit.”

New discoveries continue to happen.

“We have recently discovered in our collection one of Molly Stark’s dresses,” Ellsworth said. “It is the only one in existence that we know of, and it will be on display during the tea party.” The dress will be part of a new exhibit planned for April.

Afternoon Tea with the Matriarchs
Where: Millyard Museum, 200 Bedford St. in Manchester
Cost: $60 per person ($50 for MHA members)
When: Sunday, March 10, with seatings at noon and 3 p.m.
To register: manchesterhistoric.org

The Art Roundup 24/03/07

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

• Spring into love: “To Manchester With Love,” the new exhibition from theMosaic Art Collective ( 66 Hanover St., Suite 201, in Manchester; mosaicartcollective.com, 512-6209) is on display now through Friday, March 29. According to a press release, the show is dedicated to celebrating Youth Art Month and the artistic talents of high school students from Manchester. The opening reception will take place on Saturday, March 9, from 4 to 8 p.m.

• Spring on top of a piano: The city’s oldest music series, the Concord Community Concert Association opens its 93rd spring season Saturday, March 16, at 7:30 p.m. at Concord City Auditorium with Mia Vassilev. The internationally acclaimed piano virtuoso Mia Vassilev and Company’s ensemble adds percussion and dance to her dynamic performance style, according to a press release. The same press release stated that every CCCA concert becomes a party for the local music community with special refreshments served before the show and at the artists’ meet-and-greet. There will be a specially themed silent auction to support the artists’ fees. The CCCA season finale concert on Saturday, April 13, with headliner William Florian. The all-volunteer CCCA offers five concerts for a $60 season ticket, and students are admitted free. Tickets for this performance are $20 (free for youth to 18) and are available at the door 90 minutes before the show time or by calling 344-4747. See ccca-audi.org.

• See Simone: The Bookery (848 Elm St. in Manchester) will host TikTok artist Simone on her Open Book tour on Sunday, March 10, as she performs unreleased songs from her forthcoming EP at independent bookstores. According to the Bookery’s newsletter, a meet & greet will follow the performance. RSVP for the performance at laylo.com/simone/m/Crr66, and you can follow Simone at @simonemusic

• Spring into the color: On Sunday, March 10, from 2 to 4 p.m., the Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St. in Manchester, 669-6144, currier.org) welcomes Theatre Kapow back to present a staged reading of Red, John Logan’s 2009 play unpacking the artistic approach of artist Mark Rothko, according to a press release. The performance will be followed by a facilitated conversation and a gallery visit to view Rothko’s painting “Untitled (Red over Brown),” which is featured in “Toward the New: A Journey into Abstraction,” an exhibition on view at the museum now through March 31. Tickets are $30 for adults, $25 for ages 13-17 and 65+, $10 for members, and free for children under 13.

• Spring into a Shakespeare audition: The Cue Zero Theatre Co. will hold open auditions at the Arts Academy of New Hampshire (19 Keewaydin Drive in Salem) for William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged), a play by Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor, on Tuesday, April 2, at 6 p.m., with callbacks on Sunday, April 7, at 1 p.m. Performances will take place June 21 through June 23. Interested performers should sign up for a time slot on Cue Zero’s website, where you can find more information about preparing for the audition. See cztheatre.com/index.php/get-involved.

• Spring into the mothership: The Players’ Ring (105 Marcy St. in Portsmouth) is beaming up the play Aliens, written by Annie Baker, March 8 through March 24, produced in collaboration with Bardo Theatre Co. The play is described as a painfully beautiful drama as well as afunny, heartening play with music about art, friendship, and love, according to a press release. Showtimes will be Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. as well as matinee performances on Saturdays and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. General admission is $28, or $25 for students and 65+. Get tickets and more information atplayersring.org/shows/aliens.

• Spring acting classes: The Palace Youth Theatre’s Palace Academy has a slate of spring classes including Improv and Acting Games I (for grades 1-5; Thursdays at 5 p.m., starting March 14), Improv and Acting Games II (for grades 6 to 9; Thursdays at 6 p.m., starting March 14); Mini Camp (for grades 2 to 6; Fridays at 5 p.m., starting March 8); Scene to Song (for grades 5 to 9; Mondays at 4 p.m., staring March 11); Stagecraft: Props (grades 4 to 12; Fridays at 4 p.m. starting March 8); Scene Study (grades 6 to 12; Fridays at 5 p.m. starting March 8); Intro to Directing (grades 6 to 12; Fridays 6:30 p.m, starting March 8), and Intro to Sketch Writing (grades 6 to 12; Monday at 5 p.m., starting March 11). The cost is $100 for each class series; see palacetheatre.org/pyt/palace-academy to register.

—Zachary Lewis

Quality of Life 24/03/07

Nestflix

According to a March 4 newsletter from the New Hampshire Audubon Society, the mated pair of peregrine falcons is active in the nest box at the top of the Brady Sullivan Building in downtown Manchester. They have successfully defended the nesting spot from interlopers, such as an adult falcon and the NH Audubon during a cleaning, the newsletter said. Dedicated webcams have monitored the nest since the spring of 2003. According to The Peregrine Fund (peregrinefund.org), peregrine falcons faced extinction in the 1960s and ’70s, due to the widespread use of DDT, an insecticide that worked its way through the food web and weakened peregrines’ egg shells. Since the banning of DDT, peregrine populations have rebounded, particularly in urban areas where there are plenty of ledge-like nesting places and a large supply of pigeons, the website said. Manchester’s peregrine nest box can be seen from three angles on their own YouTube channel: youtube.com/@peregrinenetworks5080.

QOL score: +1

Comments: Manchester pigeons give it a QOL score of -5.

Scroll saws for shop class

The nonprofit Guild of New Hampshire Woodworkers has donated four new scroll saws to the Shop program at Franklin Middle School. In a Feb. 29 press release, Franklin Middle School Tech Ed teacher Kate Evans said that within a week’s time, seventh and eighth grade students in woodshop have been able to independently and safely create projects using the new scroll saws, changing blades as needed, and work collaboratively to create cut-outs and puzzles. The Guild hopes to partner with other schools across the state. For more information or to donate, visit www.gnhw.org.

QOL score: +1

Comments: According to Guild president Elliot Savitzky in the statement, “It’s all part of our effort to expand the diversity of the Guild. We are bridging our rich history of furniture and cabinet making since the 1700s by promoting woodworking and passing the torch to our future generations.”

Nobody’s searching for ‘X’ apparently

According to a recent study by digital marketing agency Hennessey Digital, New Hampshire is the ninth most social media-obsessed state in the country. According to a March 4 press release, the research studied the average number of internet searches for “Facebook,” “Instagram,” “TikTok,” “YouTube,” “Reddit,” “LinkedIn” and “Pinterest” in each U.S. state. New Hampshire, with 133,911 searches per 100,000 people per month, seems to be less enthusiastic about social media than eighth-place Georgia with 134,690, but slightly more fixated than 10th-ranked North Carolina with 133,110.

QOL score: -1

Comments: Oregon seems to be the most preoccupied state with 140,376 such searches per 100,000 people per month, according to the press release.

QOL score: 59

Net change: +2

QOL this week: 61

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

Let us know at [email protected].

This Week 24/03/07

Thursday, March 7

The Manchester City Library (405 Pine St., 624-6550, manchester.lib.nh.us.) will host a performance by the New England Irish Harp Orchestra today at 6:30 p.m. The New England Irish Harp Orchestra performs traditional Irish dance tunes, slow airs and songs, according to the library website, where you can register for the free event. See neiho.org for more on the orchestra and to hear their music.

Friday, March 8

The Capitol Center for the Arts (44 S Main St. in Concord, 225-1111, ccanh.com) presents Romeo and Juliet as presented by S—Faced Shakespeare, an entirely serious production of the Shakespeare play but with one cast member drinking throughout the show and growing progressively more intoxicated. The show starts at 8 p.m.; doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $39.75 in advance, $5 more at the door.

Saturday, March 9

Today from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Manchester Harley-Davidson (115 John E. Devine Dr., 782-4997, manchesterharley.com) will hold Part 2 of its Custom Audio Bike Build, a live demonstration by a master technician of how to design a custom sound system for a motorcycle.

Saturday, March 9

Comedian Steve Sweeney will perform tonight at 8:30 p.m. at the Greenside Restaurant function room (360 Laconia Road in Tilton). Tickets cost $25 and are available in advance at birdease.com/comedyshow. Find more comedy this weekend and beyond in the Comedy This Week listings on page 36.

Saturday, March 9

Dance to the music of Bad Bunny tonight at Benito’s Birthday Bash at the Nashua Center for the Arts (201 Main St. in Nashua; nashucenterforthearts.com) at 8 p.m. Bad Bunny will not be there but fans can celebrate his March 10 birthday with DJs playing all of his hits, according to the website, where you can get tickets (which cost $19 to $24).

Sunday, March 10

The 2024 Battle of the Badges Hockey Championship to benefit Dartmouth Health Children’s and the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (CHaD) will take place at SNHU Arena (555 Elm St. in Manchester; 644-5000, snhuarena.com) at 1 p.m. This annual game brings together firefighters, first responders and police officers to fight it out for charity. Tickets cost $16 and are free for children 5 and younger.

Save the Date! Sunday, March 24
The Citizens Bank Shamrock Shuffle will take place on March 24, shortly before Manchester’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The course for the annual run/walk will be 2 miles long. A 100-yard fun run for children 8 years old and younger will start at 10:30 a.m. The Shamrock Shuffle itself will begin at 11 a.m. The race will start and finish at Veterans Park on Elm Street in downtown Manchester. Participants can register online at runreg.com/shamrock. Millennium Running, the organizer of the event, can be reached at 488-1186, millenniumrunning.com.

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