Category: Art & Theater

The Art Roundup 23/06/22

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

• Thursday night live: Joey Clark and the Big Hearts is the band slated to play this Thursday, June 22, for Art After Work at the Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St. in Manchester; currier.org, 669-6144), which runs from 5 to 8 p.m., when admission is free and the Winter Garden will have its menu and a lineup of cocktails available for purchase. This week, catch a 15-minute “Looking Together Conversation” focused on Mark di Suvero’s “Origins.” Current exhibits include “A New Scheier Medium” featuring the works of Mary and Edwin Scheier; “Seeing is Not Believing,” a photography exhibit on display through Sunday, June 25; “Celebrating the Art and Life of Tomie dePaola,” which commemorates the USPS’s release of a stamp honoring dePaola’s work, and “The Living Forest: UÝRA.”

• From the water: “Ocean Gems,” a show featuring works by Sandra Kavanaugh, is on display at Sullivan Framing and Fine Art Gallery (15 N. Amherst Road in Bedford; sullivanframing.com). See the pieces at an artist reception on Saturday, June 24, from 1 to 3 p.m. The gallery is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The exhibit will run through Saturday, Aug. 26.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
The Palace Theatre’s (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org, 668-5588) production of the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat wraps up with this weekend’s shows: Friday, June 23, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, June 24, at 2 and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, June 25, at 2 p.m. Tickets start at $30.

• Rare finds: Balin Books (Somerset Plaza, 375 Amherst St. in Nashua; 417-7981) has joined with rare and collectible book dealer Richard Mori to present a bookcase featuring out-of-print titles of local and regional interest, according to a press release. See balinbooks.com.

• Seeking sculpture: The Peterborough Night Market, MAXT Makerspace and Friends of Public Art are looking for five sculptures to be displayed in a sculpture exhibition in downtown Peterborough between Tuesday, Aug. 1, and Tuesday, Oct. 10, according to a press release. The works will be a highlight of the Peterborough Night Market scheduled for Friday, Aug. 11, the release said. This year’s theme is “Retro Funk and Soul.” The deadline for application is 11:59 p.m. on Friday, June 30; selected pieces will receive a stipend of at least $250 to assist with installation, the release said. See maxtmakerspace.org/peterborough-public-art for details and to submit an application.

Three One-Acts
The Granite Playwrights, a Concord-based writing group and production company, will present “Three One Act Plays” — The College Game, It Happened One Afternoon and Soup’s On — at the Hatbox Theatre (270 Loudon Road in Concord; hatboxnh.com) for two weekends, according to a press release. Opening night is Friday, June 23, at 7:30 p.m. The show runs through Sunday, July 2, with shows Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $22 ($19 for students and seniors).

• Author talk: Monadnock Writers’ Group is hosting Carol Mabbs-Zeno on Thursday, June 22, at 11 a.m. at the Peterborough Town Library (2 Concord St. in Peterborough; peterboroughtownlibrary.org, 924-840) to discuss his book A Literary Guide to Bridge Construction, which is set in Peterborough, according to a press release. Register at the library’s events page, the release said.

• New exhibits: 3S Artspace (319 Vaughan St. in Portsmouth; 3sarts.org) has two new exhibits: “If You Knew, Let It Be Us” featuring the drawings, paintings and collage of McKinley Wallace and “Why Am I Here?” featuring the works of Natalie Fisk, which replicates “papel picado,” a form of Mexican folk art created with paper perforations, according to a press release. The exhibits will both hang until Sunday, Aug. 20. A multimedia exhibit called “Peripheral Vision” from Tom Canney is also on display through Sunday, July 9. The gallery is open Wednesdays through Saturdays at 11 a.m. through 6 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. You can also see the shows via a virtual gallery at galleryat3t.org.

Feed me, Seymour!
This year’s Prescott Park Arts Festival’s annual outdoor production at Prescott Park in Portsmouth is Little Shop of Horrors and it starts Friday, June 23, at 7 p.m. Shows will run most Thursdays through Sundays at 7 p.m. through Sunday, Aug. 13. See prescottpark.org for information on reserving a blanket or table for a performance.

Turning a page

Poetry Society of NH begins search for new poet laureate

The last four years for state Poet Laureate Alexandria Peary have been filled with readings, assorted projects, and making poetry as accessible for people as she could.

“It’s been a total joy to serve the state,” Peary said about her tenure. “I’m really happy with the initiatives I’ve started and that they are continuing. I feel like it’s been a whirlwind of all these activities and engagement, and I hope people have benefited from it.”

Her appointment will be over in March 2024. As of now, the submission gates are open for the Poetry Society of New Hampshire, as it begins the search for the next state poet laureate.

Melanie Chicoine, the president of PSNH, said that, while this will be her first time leading the search for a poet laureate, she was excited to be finding the new statewide voice for the artform.

Chicoine said the process for finding the next laureate will be a long one. Submissions are currently open online and will be until Tuesday, Aug. 1. She said that applicants could be nominated by a third party or self-nominated, so long as they meet the criteria the committee is looking at.

The guidelines are simple, Chicoine said. The writer must be a Granite State resident, must have published a full-length book of poetry (with a hardcover copy sent into PSNH) and must indicate what they plan to do with the position once they are appointed.

“That’s the really important part,” Chicoine said about the last requirement.

To her, a winning application will have something like what Peary has done through her international literary magazine Under the Madness, which relies on a teenage staff to sift through submissions and to edit and design. She also spent her time as laureate doing readings and workshops with poetry lovers of all ages and setting up a time to read poetry submissions on air with New Hampshire Public Radio.

Chicoine wants nominees to set goals in their submissions about making poetry available to study, read and create for as many members of the state as possible.

“Bringing poetry to people all over the state in different contexts that makes it something relatable is something important,” Chicoine said. “‘Make poetry more accessible,’ that’s my mantra. [The poet laureate] is representing poetry in the state; what is their plan for how to do that?”

Peary said that while the last four years have been exhilarating she’s also excited to have time to spend with her family and at her profession as well. Being a laureate is an unpaid appointment, and Peary said she would easily work 30 hours a week in addition to her teaching schedule.

While it has been demanding, Peary said it was equally rewarding, remembering a time she met an amateur poet whose work she had read during her poetry hour on NHPR. She said she remembered his poem clearly, and to see his excitement meeting her and expressing what he experienced was amazing.

“To basically do good like that for other writers, from anyone from a kid just starting, to someone older, or someone struggling with writer’s block, just helping out, that’s one of the purposes of life, to cause some good in the world,” Peary said. “I’ll miss that. I’ll miss giving people those bursts of pure joy and pleasure about writing.”

Submissions for New Hampshire Poet Laureate
Detailed guidelines can be found at psnh.org/2024-laureate-nomination-guidelines.
Submission deadline: Tuesday, Aug. 1

Featured photo: Alexandria Peary. Courtesy photo.

The Art Roundup 23/06/15

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

• One production, two plays: “A Night of One Act Plays” continues this weekend from Bedford Off Broadway. Check Please, Takes 1 & 2 and Bob’s Date run Friday, June 16, and Saturday, June 17, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, June 18, at 2 p.m. at the Bedford Old Town Hall (3 Meetinghouse Road in Bedford). The door opens an hour before curtain; tickets cost $15 ($12 for seniors, students and children) at the door or on brownpapertickets.com. See bedfordoffbroadway.com.

Calling all woodworkers
The Guild of New Hampshire Woodworkers is holding a New England Woodworking Competition, open to professional and amateur woodworkers with judges evaluating entries in 11 categories relative to ability and experience, according to a press release. Register to participate at gnhw.org/register. On Saturday, Oct. 21, from 5 to 10 p.m., the competition will culminate in a display of entries and award ceremony at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center & Planetarium in Concord. Tickets cost $25 in advance, $35 at the door. Some of the pieces on display may be for sale; the New Hampshire Furniture Masters will also present an exhibit on that night, the release said.

• Festival of chamber music: The Halcyon Music Festival features six chamber music programs at St. John’s Episocpal Church (101 Chapel St.) in Portsmouth begins Thursday, June 15, and runs through Saturday, June 14, according to a press release. All shows start at 7 p.m. Tickets are available to individual shows and multiple concerts as well as for livestreamed viewing: Single concert tickets cost $25, get tickets to all six concerts for $130 and buy a ticket for livestreamed viewing for $25 (additional ticket packages are available for fewer concerts and tickets for students to one concert cost $10). See halcyonmusicfestival.org/concert for tickets. The festival schedule is: “Lyric” (featuring Bach, George Walker, Brahms, Mozart and more) which also features a Q&A with musicians on Thursday, June 15; “Summer Sounds” (with Dvořák, Britten, Mendelssohn) on Friday, June 16; “Youthful Genius” (with Rachmaninoff, Schubert and Schönberg) on Saturday, June 17; “For the People (with Beethoven, Webern, Bolcom and Brahms) on Thursday, June 22; “Longing and Lullabies” (with Brahms, Schumann, Ravel) on Friday, June 23, and “Land of Dreams” (with Barber, Shostakovich, Beethoven and Brahms) on Saturday, June 24.

• Exhibits and receptions: The Rochester Museum of Fine Art (rochestrmfa.org), which displays its exhibits and collections at the James W. Foley Memorial Community Center and at the Rochester Public Library, has two artist receptions on the calendar. On Saturday, June 17, the museum will hold a reception for artists Nate Twombly, Barbara Morse and Connor Gottfried from 5 to 7 p.m at 150 Wakefield St. in Rochester and on Tuesday, June 27, there will be a reception for Kristy Cavaretta from 5 to 7 p.m. at 66 S. Main St. in Rochester. Twombly’s exhibit of illustrations is called “By & By” and Gottfried’s exhibit, featuring his scraped paint, improvised layering, and other techniques, is called “Save Game”; both of these exhibits hang through Friday, June 30, according to a museum press release. Cavaretta’s exhibit is called “Milk & Cookies” and hangs through Friday, Aug. 4; her preferred media include printmaking, woodblock, collagraph, and cyanotype, the release said.

Layers of Identity
The Mosaic Art Collective’s current show, in collaboration with Queerlective, is on display through Friday, June 30, and is called “Layers of Identity: A Visual Exploration,” according to a press release. The pieces invite “the viewer to consider their own complex identities and how societal factors influence perception and treatment of self and others,” the release said. The Mosaic Art Collective (66 Hanover St., Suite 201, in Manchester; 512-6209, mosaicartcollective.com) is open Wednesdays through Fridays from 2 to 6 p.m.

• What’s the buzz, tell me what’s a-happening: Actors Ted Neeley and Bob Bingham a.k.a. Jesus and Caiaphas from the 1973 film Jesus Christ Superstar will be at a screening of the musical at Park Theatre (19 Main St. in Jaffrey; theparktheatre.org, 532-8888) on Sunday, June 25, at 7 p.m. to celebrate the movie’s 50th anniversary, according to a press release from the theater. The screening will include a pre-film introduction by the actors and a post-film meet and greet, the release said. Tickets cost $20.

• American crafts: The Hampton Falls Liberty Craft Festival will take place Saturday, July 1, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, July 2, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Hampton Falls Town Common on Route 1 and feature more than 75 artisans, according to a press release. Admission is free; see castleberryfairs.com.

• Summer light: Exeter’s Seacoast Open Studio artists are displaying their spring show “Shades of Summer” at the Exeter Public Library (4 Chestnut St. in Exeter; the Godino Wing on the second floor features the exhibit; hours are Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.) through Thursday, June 29, according to a press release. The artists meet Friday mornings from 9:30 a.m. to noon at the Exeter Parks and Recreation building to share ideas and critiques and new members are welcome, the release said.

The Birdcage
The 1996 movie The Birdcage (R) starring Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman and Dianne Wiest will screen Friday, June 16, at 7 p.m. at the Nashua Center for the Arts (201 Main St. in Nashua; nashuacenterforthearts.com, 800-652-8874). Tickets cost $10 and will include an opportunity to enter a raffle for two tickets to the Pride Parade viewing party to be held at the Nashua Center for the Arts on Saturday, June 24.

Naturally photogenic

Conservation group accepting submissions for amateur photo contest

Photography hobbyists have until early September to get shoots ready for a photography contest by the New Hampshire Association of Conservation Commissions.

The contest, called the Natural World Photography Competition, wants photos that make the landscapes and wildlife of New Hampshire the star of the show.

“Important government entities and NHACC provide support, technical assistance, training, and education for these volunteers. We really wanted to showcase the work they do protecting the local lands,” said Barbara Richter, the executive director at NHACC. “We thought an ideal way would be through a photo contest to encourage residents to take pictures of these beautiful places that are on their back doorstep.”

Photos are accepted in three categories: those taken by kids up to 12 years old, by teens ages 12 to 18, and by adults over 18. The top photo in each age group will win $250, with the runner up winning $50. Each photographer can submit up to three photos in the competition, and Richter said that there have already been a few submissions.

The competition will have a theme, Richter said, focusing on the wetlands and water in the Granite State.

“We’ve done a lot of wetland training this year. The theme for the whole year is wetlands,” said Richter. “Water is the big theme [for the contest]. The bay, the ocean, especially in the summer, those are the places we love to visit, the beautiful beaches and lakes.”

While the Association has its own protected lands, Richter said the photos don’t need to be taken on its lands. She said that so long as the photos are of nature in New Hampshire, they’re fair game.

The competition will be judged by three photography specialists, including a member of the Association’s board. Richter said that, because the judges know a lot about photography, it might be best for submissions to be minimally edited, just because the judges had mentioned highly edited photos wouldn’t be considered as seriously.

In addition to prizes, and bragging rights, NHACC will be using some of the submitted photos for their marketing, Richter said. This means that photographers who want to seek professional gigs could have a published photo in their portfolios.

While the competition has a lot of benefits to photographers and the Association, Richter said the real emphasis is on getting the people of the state out into nature and being inspired by it.

“The connection to art is really important in New Hampshire,” Richter said. “While this is focused on amateur photographers, I think there’s a lot of people who enjoy taking pictures and being outside and I think it’s a great connection.”

Natural World Photography Competition
When: Now through Sept. 8. Winner will be announced on Nov. 4
Visit: nhacc.org

Featured photo: Cherry Mtn by Rick Van de Poll. Courtesy photo.

The Art Roundup 23/06/08

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

• The sun rises on summer music series: Henniker’s Summer Concert Series kicks off on Tuesday, June 13, with music at the Angela Robinson Bandstand (57 Main St.) starting at 6:30 p.m. The summer begins with Peabody’s Coal Train on June 13, which is described on their website as a “local NH acoustic Americana 6-piece band” (see peabodyscoaltrain.org). Food trucks and restaurants will attend the concerts to sell eats for the evening, according to a press release. Admission is free (donations accepted). See henniker.org for the summer’s lineup.

Londonderry Concerts on the Common (265 Mammoth Road in Londonderry) continue with the second concert of the season on Wednesday, June 14, when the Windham Community Swing Band performs from 7 to 8:30 p.m. The schedule continues Wednesday, June 21, with Bruce Marshall and the Shadow Riders, according to a press release. Find the full line-up at concertsonthecommon.org.

NH Master Chorale
The 30-voice chamber choir New Hampshire Master Chorale celebrates its 20th anniversary with two concerts this month, according to a press release. The concerts, themed “What (Only) Music Can Do,” will be performed Saturday, June 17, at 7 p.m. at the South Congregational Church (27 Pleasant St. in Concord) and on Sunday, June 18, at 4 p.m. at the Congregational Church in Plymouth. Tickets (which are available at the door or via nhmc.ticketleap.com/20years) cost $30 — $25 for seniors and free for students from kindergarten through undergrad, the release said. The concert will feature several pieces including “a pinwheel of favorites from the last 23 seasons,” the release said.

• At the Currier: The Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St. in Manchester; currier.org) will feature the second of four sewing circle sessions with artist in residence Calder Kamin on Saturday, June 10, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Winter Garden Cafe. Drop in and join the creation of a “Dream Feather” to be sewn into a community quilt that will be revealed at the Currier’s annual Summer Block Party on Saturday, July 15, from 4 to 9 p.m., according to a Currier newsletter. All ages and skill leaves are welcome, the release said. The sewing circle will also take place on Saturdays, July 1 and July 8. Calder will also be at the Art After Work series (Thursdays from 5 to 8 p.m., when admission to the museum is free), when people can meet her and participate in her community projects, the newsletter says.

Admission to the museum ($15 for adults, with discounts for seniors and students; kids 12 and under are free) is free to all New Hampshire residents on Saturday, June 10, as part of the museum’s second Saturday program. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, plus 5 to 8 p.m. on Thursdays.

On Sunday, June 11, at 2 p.m. Jon Brooks, a New Hampshire sculptor whose work appears in the Currier collections, will hold an ARTalk for those who purchase a $75 raffle ticket, the newsletter said. The winner of the raffle will win a piece, called “Running Bench,” and visit and tour his studio; only 150 tickets will be sold. See currier.org/event/2023-signature-raffle.

Beyond this weekend, on Thursday, June 15, curator of education and interpretation Rachael Kane will lead the final “Curator Tour” until the fall at 6 p.m., focusing on the ways textiles are represented in the museum’s collection.

And get tickets now for an ARTalk with photographer and educator Gary Sampson on Sunday, June 25, at 2 p.m. “Samson will offer insight into how New Hampshire photography fits into the larger picture of art history with a special focus on the legacy of Lotte Jacobi. Following the talk, the artist will lead a brief gallery conversation focusing on regional photographic traditions,” the newsletter said. Tickets cost $15.

• One-night screening: The documentary Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North will screen Sunday, June 11, at 4 p.m. at the Church of the Good Shepherd (214 Main St. in Nashua), in collaboration with the Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashua and the Reconciliation Commision of the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire, according to a press release. The film looks at the descendants of the DeWolf family of Rhode Island and their role in the slave trade, according to a press release. The screening is open to the public and will be followed by a panel discussion (see cgsnashua.org/events/film-traces-of-the-trade for information on the panelists), the release said. See the trailer for the documentary on tracesofthetrade.org.

Tiny Beautiful Things
Theatre Kapow wraps up its 15th season with a production of Tiny Beautiful Things, which runs Friday, June 9, through Sunday, June 11, at the Bank of New Hampshire Stage (16 S. Main St. in Concord; ccanh.com). Based on the book by Cheryl Strayed and adapted for the stage by Nia Vardalos, this production is the first of the play in New Hampshire, according to a press release. The play tells the story of Sugar, an online advice columnist (Strayed was the author of the “Dear Sugar” advice column). The performances are Friday, June 9, and Saturday, June 10, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, June 11, at 2 p.m. See tkapow.com.

• New skills: The League of New Hampshire Craftsmen in Meredith (279 Daniel Webster Hwy.; 279-7920, meredith.nhcrafts.org) has classes on the schedule for the end of June. On Saturday, June 24, from 10:30 to 4:30 p.m. learn to make a silver pendant with a bezel-set stone with League-juried artist Joy Raskin; tuition costs $75 per student plus a materials fee that varies based on silver and gemstones, according to a press release. On Sunday, June 25, from 1 to 4 p.m. learn to make a shadow box with League-juried artist Patsy Fraiser; tuition costs $40 plus materials fee of $20 paid to the instructor, the release said. Call or go online to register.

• One City, One Book: This year’s “Nashua Reads: One City, One Book” selection is Hell of a Book by Jason Mott, according to a press release from the Nashua Public Library (2 Court St. in Nashua; nashualibrary.org, 589-4610). “Winner of the National Book Awards 2021 for Fiction, Hell of a Book is a groundbreaking and inventive novel about a Black author who sets out on a cross-country publicity tour to promote his bestselling novel. Masterfully weaving together three narrative strands — an unnamed author, a boy named Soot, and a figure known as The Kid — Mott creates a heartbreaking work that goes to the heart of racism, police violence, and the hidden costs exacted upon Black Americans, and America as a whole,” the release said. Programming for Nashua Reads will begin in the fall but more than 75 print copies of the book are available now at the library as well as large print, e-book and audio book versions, the release said. Mott is slated to visit the library on Sunday, Oct. 15, at 2 p.m. for a “Beyond the Book” dicusssion. Tickets to the even cost $10 and can be purchased at the library or at Eventbrite.

• Author events at Balin: Benji Wozniak, a writer, comedian and the host of the Woz Happening podcast, will be at Balin Books (375 Amherst St. in Nashua; balinbooks.com, 417-7981) on Saturday, June 24, at 2 p.m. to discuss his book Hodge Podge.

• Author events at Gibson’s: Gibson’s Bookstore (45 S. Main St. in Concord; gibsonsbookstore.com, 224-0562) has several book events coming up in June. Author, hiker and parent Sarah Lamagna will discuss her new guidebook Hiking with Kids in New England: 50 Great Hikes for Families will discuss her book on Saturday, June 10, at 11 a.m. at Gibson’s. Debut authors Jean Duffy (author of the narrative nonfiction book Soccer Grannies: The South African Women Who Inspire the World) and Bev Stohl (author of Chomsky and Me: A Memoir) will be at Gibson’s on Tuesday, June 13, at 6:30 p.m. Children’s authors Kari Allen (Maddie and Mabel Know They Can, the third Maddie and Mabel book) and Amy Makechnie (The McNifficents) will be at Gibson’s on Tuesday, June 27, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. to sign copies of their books. Marielle Thompson will discuss her debut novel, Where Ivy Dares to Grow: A Gothic Time Travel Love Story, on Friday, June 30, at 6:30 p.m. at Gibson’s.

Gibson’s will participate in a virtual event involving author Juno Dawson, who will discuss her new novel The Shadow Cabinet on Wednesday, June 21, at 7 p.m. Register online for the event only or for a book-and-ticket bundle.

The Wind
Like many an eventual cultural touchstone, 1928 silent film The Wind was a bust at the box office (its box office is recorded as a loss of $87,000), and it came out as movie audiences were turning to sound films, according to Wikipedia. But the movie, which includes actress Lilian Gish’s final starring role in a silent film, is considered a classic of early film and was selected for preservation in 1993 in the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant,” according to a press release about the screening of The Wind on Sunday, June 11, at 2 p.m. at Wilton Town Hall Theatre (40 Main St. in Wilton). The film will be screened with live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis. Admission is a suggested donation of $10.

Elevating their experiences

Black Heritage Trail presents discussion panel with immigrants and refugees

The Currier Museum of Art is promoting a different type of art: the human experience. The museum has partnered with The Black Heritage Trail NH in hosting a panel discussion about the lives of Black immigrants and refugees in the Granite State.

The discussion is based around Uprooted: Heartache and Hope in New Hampshire, a 2009 documentary produced and created by the University of New Hampshire.

“It’s a great documentary and it tells stories of life in refugee camps,” said Anne Romney, one of the organizers for the event.

Romney said the plan originally was to invite the subjects of the documentary to discuss where they are now, but it became clear that due to the passage of time it wouldn’t be possible. She said several of the people in the documentary were now elderly and at least one had died.

Organizers reached out to younger refugees and immigrants to create the new panel. Romney said they are just as impressive and just as incredible to hear speak.

“It’s very powerful to hear these stories, based on real people and real experiences,” Romney said. “We had a Zoom meeting to make sure everyone [on the panel] is on the same page and it was an amazing hour I spent with these folks.”

The speakers are Rashida Eltag Mohamed, a domestic sexual violence advocate through the Manchester Police Department; Anzura Gakwaya, a community building specialist with NeighborWorks Southern New Hampshire, and Fisto Ndayishimiye, the lead organizer for Change for Concord. The panel will be moderated by Grace Kindeke, a program coordinator for American Friends Service Committee NH.

Romney said it was important for the panel to be a discussion, not just a series of questions each expert was answering. She said the Black Heritage Trail wanted to highlight the human element and the lived experience each person brings to the table.

“You can read an article about immigration and it might be interesting, but you can start and stop reading,” Romney said. “If you’re talking and listening to some human being talk and you can feel the humanity of it, you get drawn in.”

Romney said the Black Heritage Trail is about educating people on Black history in New Hampshire and also on what the current Black experience is. This panel, she said, brings to light the modern experience for Black refugees and immigrants coming to this state.

“I think it takes courage and it’s exhausting to people to always be educating, to help others understand,” Romney said. “[But] I think it felt that there’s an appreciation of having a platform to speak, as hard and exhausting it is, I think it’s necessary and I think they believe it’s necessary.”

A month of celebration

The Black Heritage Trail of NH has several events scheduled in June as part of its Juneteenth Celebration. Other events include these:

  • “African Roots: Herbal Medicine, Inoculation & The Shaker Connection” This tour at the Canterbury Shaker Village starts at 11 a.m. on Friday, June 10 (with a bus pickup in Portsmouth at 9:15 a.m). The day will feature a talk and tour on the history of medicine at the Canterbury Shaker Village and Sister Edith Green, an African American Shaker who lived at Canterbury Shaker Village, according to the website. Tickets cost $35 for the tour; $45 with the bus ride.
  • “If You Knew, Let It Be Us” An opening reception for this exhibit at 3S Artspace in Portsmouth will take place Friday, June 16, at 5 p.m. The exhibit features McKinley Wallace III, “a mixed-media painter and art educator,” who “paints, draws and collages to tell stories of power manifested in resilient peoples,” according to the website. The event is free.
  • “Chanting Down Babylon: Redemption Songs of the Diaspora” This Reggae Festival will take place Saturday, June 17, from noon to 10 p.m. at the Strawbery Banke Museum grounds in Portsmouth. In addition to music (see the line-up of scheduled artists online), the day will include food and craft vendors, drumming, dance, kids’ activities and more, according to the website. Tickets cost $60 general admission, $10 for kids ages 6 to 18; kids 5 and under get in free.
  • “Camille A. Brown & Dancers: Reclaiming Black Narratives” This dance performance will take place at the Music Hall in Portsmouth on Sunday, June 18, at 4 p.m. Tickets cost $30 to $70.
  • The Healing Rhythm of the Drums This African drumming performance featuring Akwaaba Ensemble will take place at the Portsmouth African Burying Ground on Monday, June 19, at 11 a.m. and include a ceremony by Rev. Robert Thompson, according to the website. The event is free and open to the public.
  • “From Africa to America: We Are the Drums” The Howard Gospel Choir will perform at the South Church Unitarian Universalist Church in Portsmouth on Monday, June 19, at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $35.

Still Uprooted? Heartache and Hope in New Hampshire
Where: The Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St. in Manchester; currier.org, 669-6144)
When: Wednesday, June 16, at 6 p.m. with a coffee hour before the panel at 5 p.m.
Tickets: Register at blackheritagetrailnh.org/juneteenth-celebration-2023 for the in-person or virtual presentation.

Featured photo: From left to right: Grace Kindeke, Anzura Gakwaya, Fisto Ndayishimiye and Rashida Eltag Mohamed. Courtesy photos.

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