Category: Cover Stories

An update on the local comedy scene
plus interviews with Craig Ferguson and Jenny Zigrino

From Adam Sandler to Sarah Silverman and Seth Meyers, many talented comedians have come from the Granite State. New Hampshire continues to be an incubator for standup comedy and also has plenty of showcases, including a sparkling new one opening soon in Manchester.

In the late 2000s and early 2010s the Queen City was a hotbed for a second wave of comedy that included future SNL stars and buzzy joke-tellers who now reign both on social media and in the nation’s comedy clubs. They were drawn to a weekly comedy night at Shaskeen Pub.

Run by three comics, it began as an open mic and stayed that way until 2015.

At that point one partner moved the open mic to Murphy’s Taproom. The Shaskeen switched to a showcase, run by Nick Lavallee and Dave Carter. It welcomed a new breed of comics like Dan Soder, W. Kamau Bell and Sam Jay. It also gave big names and rising stars with weekend shows in Boston an extra New England stop.

Drew Dunn’s first comedy sets came at the Shaskeen’s open mic. He’s now a touring comic, headlining clubs from Foxwoods to San Diego. On March 30 Dunn began a weeklong run in Las Vegas at Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club, atop the bill for three nights and opening for Garrett on the other four.

A few jokes about the sitting president helped win over a tough crowd. “I don’t think Trump is Christ-like, but it’d be funny if Christ was Trump-like,” he said, retelling the loaves and fishes tale in perfect voice. “I could feed a lot of people with this fish, it’s a big fish, it’s a beautiful fish, it’s a Bran-zino, it’s a very delicate fish.”

As his early success grew, Dunn was a regular performer at the Shaskeen. During a sit-down interview in the outside lounge of Garrett’s club following his opening night show, the Nashua native remembered those days with fondness, along with praise for Lavallee.

“It was probably the best show on a Wednesday anywhere in America for a good stint there,” he said. “Nick was a great tastemaker … ahead of the game on picking some of these guys that are huge names now. He was booking Tim Dillon when he had a few thousand followers, but he just saw how great he was.”

Five years ago Dunn moved to New York City, like many comics with their sights set on the next level in the business. When he arrived, the contacts he’d made performing at the Shaskeen were crucial for him getting booked at a very competitive NYC club.

“This is such a business of connections and having people believe in you,” he said. “My recommendations for the Comedy Cellar were Mark Norman, Soder, and Joe List. Two of those guys I had worked with at the Shaskeen Pub, or at least crossed paths with them there.”

While he was booking shows, including more than a few in the basement of his North Side house, Lavallee was also doing standup and making a name for himself. For much of the decade he traveled a path much like Dunn’s, touring the country and doing area shows at clubs like Rob Steen’s Headliners.

Combining doing and booking comedy with a full-time community media job wore on him, and it also clashed with his newfound sobriety, so Lavallee retired from standup. He and Carter closed out their Shaskeen run in 2021 with a series of shows and a sense of hope.

“When Dave and I passed the torch,” he said, “we wanted to see the comedy scene in Manchester grow. We wanted to leave behind a legacy that was like, ‘Hey, you can do this.’ If you put in the work, you can get great talent from New York, L.A., Chicago, anywhere to come to Manchester.”

It then continued in new hands. Initially Ruby Room Comedy took over. It’s now run by Sam Mangano, who also books pop-up Don’t Tell shows in the state, and is doing well. “Wednesday nights have good crowds and comics,” he said recently. “The past few months have been busy, with repeat faces in the crowd.”

Lavallee moved on to music, making pop culture action figures, and boosting his hometown as the Chicken Tender Capital of the World. He still missed the business, though, and with the recent opening of a complex on Canal Street anchored by Harpoon Brewery, he decided to return to comedy, this time strictly as a booker.

In late February Lavallee began teasing a new venue, and shows presented under his Wicked Joyful brand. Located in the Queen City Center, the 130-seat Queen City Center Showroom will open on April 17 with a veteran comic from his Shaskeen days, Jenny Zigrino (tickets $29 at eventbrite.com).

Lavallee also plans to book shows in a 500-seat space known as Studio A, and mentioned that depending on demand there might be a late show on April 17. Zigrino’s comedy star rose in New England, including many Shaskeen shows, which makes her a great choice to debut comedy at Queen City Center.

“My roots in New Hampshire … run pretty deep,” Zigrino said by phone recently. “I worked in Bedford when I was younger, and my mother lived in Manchester briefly. So I am very familiar with the town, and I love it. I’m excited for what Nick is going to be doing with Wicked Joyful, trying to bring in more arts entertainment.”

In mid-March Lavallee walked around the Queen City Center, showing off the two performance spaces along with a Wicked Joyful retail store that will open soon. There, he’ll be selling bespoke action figures, attire and other items in a room with an original booth from Manchester’s Puritan, the birthplace of “tendies.”

He’s looking forward to booking shows, but stressed that he’s no longer interested in doing comedy himself.

“I fell out of love with it,” he said, adding that the realization happened during the pandemic. “When no one was doing it, I had time to look at the things that mattered to me most.”

Comedy, he could see, had become an unhealthy ego-stroking exercise. “Because of sobriety, the person I evolved into wasn’t getting on stage and saying disparaging things about myself that may or may not be true.” With that understanding, he continued, “I could focus all that energy into my creative outlet.”

Returning as a promoter also offers a chance to restore the community that grew during the Shaskeen days. “I don’t mean community of comics, though they’re a part of it … it’s the regulars who’d show up, would tell their friends about it, would go to work talking about it the next day.”

His old partner will be a presence but not operationally involved.

“I want Dave to bask in the community that he built and consistently served for seven years, that truly loved him and the work that we did…. I want him to enjoy it,” Lavallee said. “That’s the best kind of family reunion you could go to, and I think he deserves that.”

The new endeavor has Lavallee energized for exciting things.

“Despite the great work that other rooms are doing, even the one we left behind,” he said, “I think there’s room to build up community and bring culture into Manchester through laughter and positivity. That’s what I’m most excited about.”

It’s helpful to recall that this began with a gaggle of wannabe funny people looking to sharpen their comedy muscles. That energy, along with the successful comics it’s produced (and continues to produce), is still here. In fact, the comedy scene in the region is arguably bigger than it’s ever been.

Manchester’s current longest-lived open mic offers proof that’s it’s both exciting and promising.

On a recent Friday night, a dozen or so comics, some more seasoned than others, gathered in the back room of Strange Brew Tavern to work in front of a crowd of nearly 50 people. Most had a “tight five” — standup code for the abbreviated set all comics must master to move forward in the trade.

All came from the Strange Brew’s Laugh Attic open mic night. Launched five years ago in June, it’s become a hub for aspiring comics and even a few veterans who use it to work on new material. It’s also launched a few to greater success, like Owen Damon, atop the bill that Friday and doing a 10-minute set.

Damon, no relation to the famous actor, is 21, and began coming to Laugh Attic in his teens. His success arc echoes Drew Dunn’s rise from open mics. Damon is now in Chicago, getting work in Midwest clubs with bits like the one about his Fox News-watching grandma who thinks Pilates is a terrorist group.

The Friday crowd laughed at the young comic’s jokes about sharing his Kindle account with his mom, and her shocking taste in racy books, why all service workers should be tipped like strippers (“I’m throwing a dollar at my barista”), and how a person’s milk preference is a clue to their religion — “almond is astrology.”

Danny Pee and Mike Dupont co-hosted, each doing their own five-minute sets. Danny Pee began coming to the Strange Brew when it started, looking to scratch his comedy itch. He did a solid set, landing with funny observations, such as his belief that fast food and smoking are basically the same vice.

Both cigarettes and cheeseburgers make you smell bad and feel ashamed enough to hide the noxious habit from your spouse, he noted. “I keep an extra shirt in the car,” he said. “I change into it after going to McDonald’s, so my wife doesn’t pick up the stink.”

That the open mic began as live entertainment was returning helped him make the leap into standup. “I’d been holed up, watching YouTube videos, thinking, ‘Where can I find that thing under my nose that I’m very interested in right now?’ This was one of those things,” he said. “I went, and never stopped showing up.”

Laugh Attic was launched by Ben Davis, who handed it over to him in 2024. Davis “really brought it up out of nowhere” and looked to him as someone a bit older and thus a dependable choice to keep it going; plus, he wanted it. “I think that he saw in me this desire to be there; I really hadn’t missed one open mic.”

The event has attracted interest from Rob Steen, who’s been doing comedy shows in New Hampshire longer than anyone. He’s showcased a deep lineup of comedy talent, including booking both Dunn and Lavallee early on, by keeping an eye on events like Laugh Attic, along with the recent explosion of open mics.

“Rob’s been through several times,” Danny Pee said. One open mic comic got booked at Chunky’s, a Steen venue, after he mentioned in his set that he worked there. “A light bulb went off for Rob … I don’t know how the set went or anything, but that was something that transpired from one of his most recent visits.”

Even with Steen’s network, large events and small open mic nights seemingly popping up everywhere, there’s room for more in the state’s comedy scene. Lavallee is excited to add another element to the mix with Queen City Center Comedy, with more bookings due to be announced.

“If there’s anything I missed from comedy, it’s producing a killer show,” he said. It’s something he did in both music and comedy for a big chunk of his 15-20 years as an entertainer. “Knowing I had the opportunity to do it again here, I jumped on it because, again, that’s the thing I miss the most.”

He sees his role as restoring the energy he and Carter created, while shining a light on a brand of comedy that he believes is mostly missing in the area. “Rarely do you see cutting edge … someone on their way up, before they do the Wilbur,” he said. “The shows that I produce here are going to fill that void.”

Full circle moment

Comedy at Queen City Center with Jenny Zigrino

Just over a year into her comedy career, Jenny Zigrino came to Manchester for the first of many times to do standup at Shaskeen Pub. She met Nick Lavallee there, and the two bonded over his connections to Zigrino’s home state of Minnesota.

The friendship endured, and Zigrino performed frequently at the Shaskeen over the years, including several times when it switched from open mic to comedy showcase in 2015. She remembers the era with fondness, and is excited to return to Manchester for the first show at Queen City Center on April 17.

“I’m honored to be doing it. I’m excited,” Zigrino said by phone recently. “I have so many starting out roots in New Hampshire. … My first filmed comedy sets were at the Shaskeen, and still on my YouTube.” After several years in L.A., she now lives in New York City, though she’s back in SoCal frequently for work.

One project that will send her back west is a play, co-written with Caleb Zeringue, about an obscure but crucial Revolutionary War figure. Zigrino’s a history fan who once led tours on the Freedom Trail in Boston, and she performs History Tonight shows dressed up as King George III, including one in Cambridge April 15.

The Drill Master is about Friedrich von Steuben, an openly gay Prussian captain who met Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane in Paris. Experienced officers were needed for a disorganized army, so they asked him to join as an unpaid, unranked volunteer. Bored with Europe, von Steuben agreed.

“He comes over, befriends Washington, and people absolutely love him,” Zigrino said. “He basically whips everybody into shape and teaches them how to be an army … we probably don’t win the war without him, and we still use a lot of the training that he brought to America in the army today.”

The play is filled with laughs and a lot of inconvenient historical facts, like Alexander Hamilton’s more than friendly relationship with John Lawrence. “In the National Archives, you can read the letters, it’s crazy,” she said. “Hamilton wrote, ‘You think that me getting a wife is going to make me love you any less?’”

The staged reading, May 3 at L.A.’s Elysian Theatre, will be a star-studded affair.

“We’ve got a … killer cast,” Zigrino said. “Bobcat Goldthwaite is going to be George Washington, we’ve got Gianmarco Soresi, Cameron Esposito, Lady Bushra, Dylan Adler… they’re going to make it so good.”

Zigrino is also writing a romance novel, and she’s convinced that more men should read them.

“They’re literal manuals on what women want. For once, read the instructions,” she says onstage. “It’s not that hard. We just want you to say that you burn for us and to call us a good girl and to be a grumpy cowboy billionaire that also is sometimes a gay hockey player and you’re a werewolf vampire that might kill us.”

She’s also readying a new comedy special. Like Jenny Z, released on Comedy Central’s YouTube channel in 2023, it’s fan-financed on GoFundMe and Zigrino’s quirky, pretty much PG-13 OnlyFans site. “I have pictures of me in lingerie dressed as King George,” she said. “I’m having fun with it.”

The show is about “starting over” after a challenging period in her life that included the death of her sister, a breakup, and health issues that were ultimately resolved with GLP-1. She lost 60 pounds as a result, but emphatically did not lose her commitment to body positivity. She’ll preview the show in Manchester.

“It’s called Afterbirth,” she said. “The idea is that you come into the world, and all this crap is behind you … but it’s not really. You’re covered in blood, and you’re gross, and that’s what happens when you start over. You’re just kind of like a little newborn baby covered in placenta.”

Wicked Joyful Presents: Jenny Zigrino
When: Friday, April 17, 6:30 p.m.
Where: Queen City Center, 215 Canal St., Manchester
Tickets: $28.50 at eventbrite.com

Comedy talk with Craig Ferguson

Years before he took over the Late Late Show or made his name as an actor alongside Drew Carey, Craig Ferguson was a standup comic. Ferguson’s first forays as a funny man were an outgrowth of his hazy days as a musician. He was drafted into the job, primarily because he had the proper mix of brave and crazy to work a punk crowd.

“They’d get me to go up when they were changing the equipment for the acts, or trying to resuscitate their guitarist, or something,” he recalled. “I would do five to 10 minutes between the bands. Then I kind of moved into it, but the very beginning was just being a loudmouth in punk rock bands.”

Ferguson brings his current Pants on Fire tour to Concord’s Capitol Center on April 12. Shortly after leaving late night in 2014, he hosted the game show Celebrity Name Game and won a couple of Daytime Emmys. In 2021 he did the same with ABC’s The Hustler, and last January he began hosting a TV version of Scrabble.

He likes the game show format because its prep requirements are pretty easy. “You learn how the game works and then you just play,” he said. Beyond that, “It’s very improvisational, it’s very engaging, and then there’s the whole thing of you’re giving away somebody else’s money, which is just icing on the cake.”

Is Ferguson a bit nostalgic for his late night days? “No, I don’t miss it really,” he said. “I’ll tell you why. I mean, I did it for a long time, and I’m proud of that show. I’m glad I did it. I think we managed to do something a little off the beaten track, but by the time I was done I was ready to go.”

Ever the good sport, Ferguson agreed to answer seven seminal questions about his career in comedy.

When did you realize that you were funny?

I’m not entirely convinced that I am, to be honest. I guess when they keep asking you back. So maybe in the punk rock days when you go up between the bands and nobody attacks you, you must have something going on. I think that must have been it.

What made you decide to be funny in front of people,beyond the bits between bands?

I never did decide to do that. It was kind of like I would be asked in increments to do things like that. I never really made a decision. It wasn’t a career path for me. I didn’t think, well, here’s my ambition, I’d like to be a stand-up comedian. I didn’t really have that. It was through kind of a series of unfortunate events.

Who were your inspirations, comics and things that you looked at as good examples?

Well, Billy Connolly was like Jackie Robinson for me. He was the first guy I ever heard or saw that sounded like us and was from a similar background. Billy’s about 20 years older than me, but he was becoming famous in Britain in his early 30s. I was in my early teens, so it was just perfect for me because he was the naughty comedian that would say naughty words, and I loved Billy. I still do. I guess in America it was the great American stand-ups of Richard Pryor and Robin Williams and George Carlin and Redd Foxx, and Eddie Murphy as well. Eddie Murphy’s stand-up. Eddie Murphy’s the same age as me, and I would watch. He was young when he was doing stand-ups. This guy’s amazing, and he was the same age as me. He still is amazing, but when he broke through, it was hard to overstate how important he was at that time.

How did your first set go?

You know, I’ll be honest with you. Again, it was in the before time, so I’m not entirely sure I remember my first set. There were a few very bad ones. I remember doing a show at a punk rock club in London. It was a festival of Scottish punk bands, and there was a bunch of Cockneys there. I thought it would be funny if I wore a kilt, but I was very frightened of the audience. They noticed that my knees were knocking. They were literally shaking. I was so nervous. You could see my knees because I was wearing a kilt. They started a chant, this Cockney chant. They were all shouting, His knees are knocking! His knees are knocking! It was an exercise in humiliation. Yeah, I think humiliation.

Was there a moment when you realized you could succeed at it?

Not particularly like that. When I talk to other comedians, they understand this. When it went really bad, like that gig at the Scribner where the audience were chanting, His knees are knocking, and I died on stage. When I came off, it was a weird kind of like, Oh man, I want to do that again. Comedians understand that it’s hard because you’re like, Why would anyone want to do that again? But you kind of do. I don’t know what it is. I want another crack at it. It’s weird.

Was there a time when you felt like giving up?

No, I don’t really think so. I think that it’s all part of the, especially now, I just kind of roll into it. It feels like I belong there. I’m very comfortable doing what I do. I like doing it. It’s relaxing for me in another way to be on stage.

What’s your favorite part about doing stand-up, Craig?

I think the immediacy and the organic nature of it. The fact that it’s not the same show every night. That it is an analog experience. It’s not, you know, I’m a 20th-century boy. I mean, I have a phone and I have a computer, but I like being in the dark with the audience. It is a visceral kind of immediate, authentic feel to me that I’ve never fallen out of love with.

Craig Ferguson
When: Sunday, April 12, at 7 p.m.
Where: Capitol Center for the Arts, 44 S. Main St., Concord
Tickets: $49 and up at ccanh.com

Upcoming comedy events

Small bites and small sips OFFER A big flavor experience

Having a hard time picking just one thing from the menu? Fortunately, there is a tool to make life easier when you’re feeling indecisive: flights. Originally the province of extra-fancy restaurants or vineyards, flights allow a guest to choose several — usually four to six — tasting-sized portions of beer or wine or even pancakes.

Looking to try a bunch of flavors in one sitting? Here are a few places offering flights.

Five beers at Rockingham Brewing Co.

1 Corporate Park Drive, Unit 1, Derry, 216-2324, rockinghambrewing.com, about $7

Microbreweries were some of the first businesses to serve flights, and especially for breweries with large numbers of beer on tap or unusual flavors or styles of beer, flights are a good way to introduce a guest to a range of what a brewery has to offer, said Ali Leleszi, owner of the Rockingham Brewing Co.

“We offer custom flights of five different beers — 4-ounce samples — in our tap room,” she said, “which allows our customers to choose a variety of beers rather than settling on just a full pint. It’s usually first-time visitors who opt for a flight rather than a full pour. We definitely encourage [a flight] if people want to try a little bit of everything.”

Leleszi said many people who order flights come in with a general idea of what style of beer they’d like to try.

“Usually,” she said, “there’s a style that they kind of gravitate toward and we can help them craft a flight that would be toward their preference. Oftentimes we have five different IPAs on [tap], so you could do a full hoppy flight if you’d like, or maybe people will go for a darker flight, but maybe they’ll put a wild card in there for a beer that maybe they wouldn’t have tried otherwise, that’s outside of their comfort zone.” On any given day Rockingham Brewing has 15 beers on tap. “And we have flights of five,” Leleszi said, so they can order about a third of the menu at a time.”

Ordering suggestion: “We’re releasing a dortmunder, which is a traditional German-style lager, towards the end of April, Lelleszi said. “That’s a returning beer for us. It’s a collaboration with Kelsen Brewing. Also, sometimes we offer flight pairings….”

Four iced coffees or milkshakes or martinis at Yolk Grill

116 Bridge St., Pelham, 635-09925, or 6 Elm St., Nashua, 864-0695, theyolkgrill.com; iced coffees are $16.95, milkshakes are $20.95, martinis are $35.95

Emily Kurs from The Yolk in Pelham said a surprising number of Girls’ Breakfasts Out involve drinking a flight of martinis.

“There can be one person who gets it, but ideally we have couples come in, usually two girlfriends going out for breakfast. It makes for a good little Girls’ Day. You can pick three of our martinis that we have on our specials, and customize it however you like, and then we bring it on a little tray. Espresso martinis are always popular, and we have a chocolate bunny martini right now — it’s called a Bad Bunny.”

Kurs said the options for iced coffee flights are changed frequently.

“Usually every two to three weeks we try to change it up,” she said. “We’ll change up the flavors, we’ll change up the topping, basically to just fit the theme of the month. Right now … Easter is right around the corner. We have four different flavors related to Easter themes like Marshmallow Peeps. There’s one that’s carrot cake. It has a little brownie on top,” Each serving of coffee is about 6 ounces, she said. “They come as black coffee topped with a little bit of whipped cream.”

“The milkshakes follow the same theme,” Kurs said, “but they have different toppings, so you won’t be getting the same thing. … The same idea, vanilla, Oreo. We do some cotton candy sometimes. Right now there’s banana on there. We try to change up the flavors pretty often.”

Ordering suggestion: “Honestly, I’m an Oreo girl,” Kurs said, “so I love a nice Oreo milkshake with some vanilla frosting and Oreos on the rim. I’ll put whipped cream on there, too.”

Six flavors of ice cream at Social Club Creamery

138 N. Main St., Concord, 333-2111, socialclubcreamery.com

According to Cole Glaude, owner of Social Club Creamery, ice cream flights are a popular Date Night activity.

“It’s mostly couples in general that want to try a bunch of different flavors,” he said. “In total, [a flight] is a lot of ice cream — I think maybe just a little too much for one person. And if they split a flight, it usually saves them money instead of getting a couple of different scoops of ice cream.”

Social Club’s flights have six half-scoops of ice cream.

“Basically,” Glaude said, “it’s just a sampler of six different flavors and it comes in a six-slot egg carton. I want to say in total it equals about three scoops of ice cream, but you get six different flavors, so it gets you a nice variety. You can try out a good majority of our menu without having to commit to one flavor.”

The ice cream menu at Social Club has two sections — several varieties of familiar flavors that are available year-round, and several monthly flavors that are more unusual and only available for a limited time. Glaude said a flight allows enthusiasts to try all the new flavors at a time.

“A lot of people will try the four monthly specials,” he said, “and then have an additional two, or sometimes they’ll just do six of the classics that they’ve never been in before. Usually the staff will give them recommendations on their favorites, but it’s completely up to the customer.”

Ordering suggestion: “I would probably do at least two seasonals,” Glaude said, “just so they could try out the monthly specials that we have going at the time. And then I would probably do honeycomb, salted caramel, peanut butter brownie, and then probably like maple latte — those aren’t too far out, not like our deep fried pickle ice cream or anything like that.”

Five wines or liquors at Flag Hill Winery and Distillery

297 N. River Road, Lee, 659-2949, flaghill.com, $15

“We are a winery and distillery, so we produce all of our own wines and spirits that we serve,” said David Brustlin, from Flag Hill Winery and Distillery. “The flights in our tasting room are pretty straightforward. We have a wide range of products, and you can taste any five of them, so if you just want to do wines, if you just want to do spirits or you want to mix and match, so you just pick five. For wine we pour an ounce of each, and for spirits we pour a half ounce.”

White wines are a popular category for flights, Brustlin said.

“People really like dry white wines,” he said, “and our Flag Hill whites are very popular, but if people like sweeter whites, our Cayuga White [a fruity wine made from Cayuga grapes] and the La Crescent [a sweet dessert wine] are very well loved. We also have some carbonated wine, a bubbly version of the Cayuga White, which people love. Then we have a wide range of spirits. People tend to want to try our whiskey, because we grow our own corn, rye and wheat on site. We also have a wide range of fruit liquors that appeal to a wide audience. Probably our Maple Bourbon — which is our straight whiskey with maple syrup added to it — is the spirit that almost everybody tries.”

Four margaritas at Raices Authentic Mexican Cuisine

2626 Brown Ave., Manchester, 932-2770, raicesnh.com, $23.99

A flight of margaritas at Raices comes balanced on a model Ferris wheel.

“This is a margarita flight that we call La Rueda de la Fortuna,” said Jose, one of Raices’ bartenders, “and we have four flavors — blackberry, tamarind, mango, and strawberry.” This flight is very popular, he said. “A lot of people order this…. People share it with their friends.

Which one should you grab before your friends get to it? “My favorite is tamarind,” Jose said. Tamarind and mango.”

Four types of pancakes or mimosas at Purple Finch Cafe

124 S. River Road, Bedford, 232-1953, purplefinchcafe.com, pancakes are $25

A pancake flight at the Purple Finch is big, manager Meagan Prudhomme said — shockingly big.

“You get two buttermilk pancakes; those are just plain. You get two chocolate chip pancakes. You get two blueberry pancakes and then two Fruity Pebbles. It comes with fresh fruit on the board, so there’s fresh strawberries, fresh bananas and fresh blueberries. And it comes with whipped cream on it. These are full-sized, 6-inch pancakes. It might be the perfect family meal. Everybody can split it. A lot of people even get it as an appetizer for big parties.”

Prudhomme said that far and away the most popular pancake in the pancake flight is the one made with Fruity Pebbles cereal.

“Everybody is really surprised that the Fruity Pebbles stay crispy,” she said, “because everybody assumes that with it going into the pancake batter that they would become soggy. But no! They’re nice and crispy and delicious.” The cereal doesn’t actually soak in pancake batter, she said. It is sprinkled across the tops of the pancakes before they are flipped, so it doesn’t have a chance to get soggy.

Perhaps the best thing about the pancake flight, Prudhomme said, is “that it goes really well with our mimosa flights. We have a couple — we have one called the Taste of New England, where you get a mimosa from each season. The spring one is a honey-lavender-lemonade mimosa. The summer is a pineapple sunrise. The fall one is apple cider. And the winter one is called the Jack Frost and it’s made with blue curacao and lemonade. We also have a Rainbow Mimosa flight, and that one is orange Aperol and then mango cherry. We have a tropical Midori, which is a green color. And then the last one is the honey lavender lemonade, just like from the New England one.”

Several small pies at Slightly Crooked Pies

1209 Elm St., Manchester, 661-4575, slightlycrookedpies.com, three 5-inch pies or six 3-inch pies are $27

“I have found that a lot of people will look at a menu and they get overwhelmed,” Lauren Cline, owner of Slightly Crooked Pies, said. “And they have a hard time picking — ‘Do I want blueberry or do I want blueberry and lavender? Do I want cherry or cherry coconut crumble?’ And so if you do a pie flight you can try it all. And you can try a little bit of it all. With pies, you’re an attentive audience, you’re in a dedicated area, and you’re trying a dedicated product. And it’s a great way for you to be able to experience something that you might not be willing to commit to, right? So those of us who have food commitment issues, it’s a fantastic way to do that. And if you don’t like it, you didn’t really lose that much; it takes the second guess out of there.”

Five spirits at Manchester Distillery

284 Willow St., Manchester, 978-308-2867, manchesterdistillery.com, $12

Liz Hitchcock, the owner of Manchester Distillery, has opinions about the order in which a flight-orderer should drink her spirits. She suggests moving from light liquors with some subtle flavors to progressively more assertive ones.

“You might start with our vodka [which has a clean, neutral flavor], then move into our gin, which is a crisp, American, citrusy-forward gin that finishes with classic gin flavors like juniper, coriander, and angelica root,” she said.

“We then offer a taste of our barrel-finished gin,” Hitchcock continued, “which sits in a high char, white oak barrel for 90 days and takes on the color of a whiskey and gives it a great new flavor.” Barrel-aging gin is a fairly recent development in the distilling world, and many such gins are lightly sweetened, she said. “That actually gives me a little bit of a headache, so ours isn’t sweetened at all; it’s just finished in the barrel. Then you probably would move into what we consider a ‘contract whiskey.’ It is a typical whiskey that we have contracted from out of state, brought it in and finished in our own special way. We call it ‘Double Bluff’ because it’s a bit of a fun play on the fact that we’re kind of making up things as we go just like you do when you’re doing a bluff. It’s a bourbon whiskey and it’s got sweet corn with an honest rye. It’s smooth — in fact, even our barrel strength, which you can sometimes get in the tasting room, which is 110 proof, people are surprised at how smooth it is. And then finally, we finish usually with our chocolate liqueur called ‘Speedy,’ which is made with cocoa nibs, French vanilla beans, and sugar, which kind of is like the dessert at the end of the tasting.”

Four cupcake-sized cheesecakes at Big Dog Eats, Home of Choo Choo’s Cheesecakes

20 South St., Milford, 249-5008, bigdogeats.com, $22

According to Shanna Allen, owner of Big Dog Eats, what makes her cheesecakes uniformly excellent is that they all start with the same perfect cheesecake base.

“Our cheesecakes are always the same flavor,” she said. “It’s the toppings and the crust that change. You always get that same decadent cheesecake that we have.”

A flight of cheesecakes might vary from season to season, Allen said, but, “they almost always have a plain with a graham crust, then some sort of a fruit compote. That’s a classic. The fruit goes on the side, for the people that don’t want anything. We usually have another flavor which we have all the time — maybe an apple crisp, or a turtle, or a plain cheesecake with a chocolate crust. We make different kinds of fruit creams, fresh fruit sauces and compote, lemon and lime curds. That all depends on the season…. Right now, for the end of March, we’ve done pistachio and then for April and for Mother’s Day we’re doing a blueberry-lemon, which has our lemon curd topped with our blueberry compote. Our cheesecakes aren’t inherently too sweet, so it really complements the sauces and toppings.They’re normally garnished with edible flowers.”

While you might think most of these four-packs of cheesecake are bought as gifts, Allen said that isn’t the case.

“We have some people come in twice a week,” she said, “just to get them for themselves to bring home for dinner, and again, for after dinner. A lot of people will get the four and sit and eat and have a cocktail and then they will share like half of each so they try all four flavors.”

Four mimosas or cocktails or mocktails or iced coffees at Friendly Toast Bedford

4 Main St., Bedford, 836-8907, thefriendlytoast.com/bedford-nh, $19

Drink flights at The Friendly Toast are inspired by one particular time of the week, COO Staci Pinard said.

“We’re known for our brunch,” she said, “but we’re really excited about our bar program as well. For us, what we serve from the bar really needs to match the food. So we recently launched a spring bar menu. So we do a seasonal bar menu and we currently have three featured flights on that. We have three alcoholic flights, and then we have a wellness mocktail flight as well.”

The most popular flight, Pinard said, is a classic mimosa flight.

“This is something we do — rotate with some seasonal flavors. We’re headed into spring, so we designed the mimosas around that.” This includes a ‘Market Square” mimosa, she said — a classic orange juice-based version. “We have the Rose Berry Bliss,” she said. “This is a new addition to our menu. Most of our mimosas have your classic Champagne on it. This one actually features a really nice rosé prosecco, so you get a nice kind of rosé hint to it. We use our mixed berry jam, which we make fresh in house, and then it has a elderflower liqueur as well. And then fresh lemon juice that we squeeze in house as well.” There is also an “Extra Fancy” mimosa, she said, made with Stiggins’ Fancy Pineapple Rum. This is followed by a blood orange Aperol Spritz.

There is also a spring-themed cocktail flight, Pinard said, called The Secret Garden, with drinks making use of white wine, berries, tequila, coconut water, grapefruit liqueur and several other light, zesty ingredients. There is also a non-alcoholic juice-based flight with carrot ginger turmeric juice, pineapple, kale, guava, and more blood orange.

Three espresso martinis at The Miller’s Tavern

1087 Elm St., Manchester, 854-8442, themillerstavern.com, $20

You’ve got your choice of two different espresso martini flights at The Miller’s Tavern, said bartender Kristyn Merritt — a Light Flight and a Dark Flight.

“The dark has no Baileys,” she said, pointing to each martini in turn.

“Here is an Original,” she said, “and there’s a salted caramel, and a peanut butter. The original does not have a rim, but it gets the three coffee beans.” By this she meant that two of the martini glasses had flavorings on their rims. “The salted caramel has caramel vodka, RumChata, and it has caramel and salt on the rim. And then the peanut butter gets chocolate and peanuts on the rim, and has Screwball [a peanut butter flavored whiskey], peanut butter, and the Baileys. The original dark is just Kahlua, vanilla vodka, and espresso.”

“It goes without saying that there are some secret ingredients,” she said. “They are delicious, but they are secret.”

Merritt said the flight is popular after dinner.

“Customers wait till dessert,” she said, “and everybody gets a round of espresso martinis. But some people start with it.”

Four types of lemonade at The Spot Eatery

1461 Hooksett Road, Hooksett, 664-4249, thespoteatery.com, $12.99

“We have a lot of lemonades that we can actually do,” said Jill Lucas, owner of The Spot, “but on our board we feature four of them to go in a flight. One of our baristas came up with most of these and right now we’re calling our lemonade flight The Garden Social.”

“The first one is a cucumber and honey lemonade. It’s got fresh muddled cucumber with honey. The second one is a sunburnt mango lemonade, which is fresh muddled mango with Tajin [a chili-lime spice blend]. The third one is a botanical berry lemonade, which is fresh muddled strawberries and basil. And then the fourth one is a blueberry breeze lemonade, which has fresh muddled blueberries and mint.”

“We just started this flight a couple of weeks ago,” Lucas said, “but people have started ordering it. We make fresh-squeezed lemonade here, so this seems like a natural for us. We can do hot chocolate flights. We do coffee flights. We do chai flights. We can do, you know, lemonade flights. We do whatever somebody wants.”

Foods that bring us joy

Now is the long, damp, Mud Season of our hearts. The weather see-saws madly from promisingly sunny to bitingly cold, seemingly on a whim. We’ve been inside with the same faces for just a bit too long. The comments that seem so funny before you actually say them fall to the floor with a thud and win you hard looks from your loved ones.

At times like this, when your patience is short, and your hopes have been knocked around, while you wait for the first robins and tulips of spring, is there anything that can keep you marching resolutely forward?

Comfort food.

We all have a food that bypasses the thinking part of our brain and stimulates our lizard brain, whispering of love and safety, and yes, comfort. It might be something your grandmother made for you when you were little. It might be something your roommate in college brought you when your heart was broken and you wouldn’t leave your bed for three days. It might be Champagne and smoked oysters to remind you that you deserve a little luxury in your life.

It might be toast and cold cereal.

What is your comfort food?

Macaroni and Cheese

“My personal go-to comfort food is served at my restaurant, mac and cheese. Mac and cheese. I love the way it feels in my stomach. I like the way it tastes. I like the fact that when I’m having a bad day it doesn’t involve a lot of thought, a lot of really anything — just delicious and warm and cheesy. I always put several cheeses in it when I make it. I like to do a little pepper jack in mine. I believe that that little bite is nice. I always put a little bit of Gouda. Sometimes I do some fontina. I kind of play with the cheese. It depends on what looks interesting.”

—MaryBeth Carcellino, co-owner, CodeX B.A.R., 29 Main St., Nashua

“I would have to say [my go-to comfort food is] mac and cheese, for sure. The best macaroni and cheese uses lots of different cheese combinations. And you have to put bacon in there, because bacon makes everything so good.”

—Krista Mellina, owner, The Twisted Mallow Marshmallow Co., 533-8455, twistedmallowcompany.com

Mac & Cheese

There are several approaches to homemade macaroni and cheese. Some of us are loyal to the boxed mac and cheese we had as children and swear by a stovetop version. For others only a baked, crusty-on-top version will do. This recipe takes inspiration from both schools, with a nod to southern-style mac and cheese, with a creamy, gooey interior but with a buttery, crumb topping.

10 ounces (285 grams) elbow macaroni – Yes, you can mix it up and go with a different shape of pasta (you could do a lot worse than radiator-shaped radiatori, in my opinion). But classics are classics for a reason, and you know that regular, bog-standard elbows will work perfectly. Now is not the time to play around experimenting with new pasta shapes.

• 4 Tablespoons butter
• 3 Tablespoons flour
• 2 Tablespoons dry mustard
• Half a small onion – white or yellow, pureed. If you have a mini-blender for making smoothies, it is perfect for this job.
• 3 cups (24 fluid ounces) whole milk – Some purists will tell you to heat the milk up before adding it to the recipe, which is definitely a nice touch, but I have never done this, and the Pasta Police have never issued me a citation.
• 2 bay leaves – If you don’t remember when you bought the bay leaves in your cupboard, throw them out and go buy some fresher ones.
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 large egg
• 8 ounces (225 g) shredded cheddar cheese
• 8 ounces (225 g) shredded Velveeta cheese – Yes, I know. This seems tacky, but it is the key to southern-style macaroni and cheese. If you were to say anything snarky about Velveeta at any church dinner in the South, you’d be chased out of town by a mob of angry women in large hats.
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Topping
• 3 Tablespoons melted butter
• 1 cup cracker crumbs – I like to use Cheez-Its

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

Boil the pasta in a large pot of salted water. On the box there will be a recommended cooking time. Boil the macaroni for the minimum suggested time — for instance, if it says, “eight to 10 minutes,” take it off the heat after eight. It will cook more in the oven, so you want it a bit al dente at this stage. Drain it and set it aside. Its time will come.

To make the cheesy part of this mac and cheese, you’re going to make what is called a béchamel sauce, a classic white cream sauce, then cheese it up. Start by melting the butter, then stirring it briskly with the flour and mustard powder until it darkens slightly. This is what fancy cooks call a roux. It will thicken the sauce.

Gradually stir in the pureed onion and the milk, then add the bay leaves and cook the mixture for 10 minutes or so, until the sauce thickens, then fish out the bay leaves and thank them for their service.

Beat the egg, then temper it into the sauce — this means to stir a spoonful of the hot béchamel at a time into the egg, slowly diluting it and bringing it up to temperature, without scrambling it. After a few spoonfuls of tempering, stir the eggy mixture into the sauce, and whisk it briskly, to make sure that it is distributed evenly throughout the sauce.

Stir in two thirds of each cheese, until it is combined and melted. Stir in the pasta.

Transfer the mixture to a large casserole dish, and top it with the remaining cheese.

Crush the crackers, then cook them in the melted butter until they start to smell nutty, then top the macaroni and cheese with them.

Bake the macaroni and cheese for 30 minutes, then remove it from the oven and let it cool for five to 10 minutes before serving.

A Smash-Burger

“My go-to comfort food would have to be a really good smash burger. … Basically, it would be just a perfect burger, really seasoned well … with various spices in it. I like to just throw in a kitchen sink of ingredients and some spices and see what sticks, then really smash it down, get a little crisp on it. There has to be caramelized onions as well. I sear it and watch it get juicy, then I put some nice cheese on it, some fresh cheese, a little bit of sliced Swiss cheese on it, but then also followed up with a blend of shredded cheeses, like pizza shredded mix, and get a nice little melt on that, and finish it with a little tangy barbecue sauce.

“I like mild-flavored cheeses [on my burger], because I like the texture of the cheese but I don’t want it to distract me from the flavor of the meat. I still want to get that good flavor of the meat itself with the spices that I mixed in, something like a Cajun spice mix. It’s about letting just really the spice and the meat take over, but have that sort of a nice complement. It’s usually on the weekend that I need a burger fix, usually when I’m watching sports — March Madness is coming up.

“One detail that some people overlook is the bun. It should be toasted, inside and outside. I do a little bit of butter and some garlic on it.”

—Eric Lesniak, Manchester Economic Development Office

Dim Sum (A variety of Chinese dumplings)

“My personal go-to comfort food would have to be dim sum. I grew up in New York City and every Sunday we would take the train down to Canal Street and we would do our shopping and we would go and have dim sum. So I have a very strong childhood association with it.”

—Caroline Arend, owner/chef, Caroline’s Fine Food and The Pot Pie Bar, 649 Mast Road, Manchester, 432-1927, thepotpiebar.com

Pizza

“For me, the best comfort food is probably pizza. I prefer a thin crust. I like mushrooms on mine, so that’s what I’ll usually get, but sometimes sausages or pepperoni. My pizza story goes back a ways. When I went to law school in New York City, there was Ray’s Pizza, which claimed to be the original New York pizza. (I think it’s been copied, and now there’s a battle over who’s the original Ray’s or whatever.) But nearby, there was Ray’s, and you could get an everything piece of pizza. And at the time, it cost quite a bit. I don’t know what that was, but it would be a meal to get one piece of Ray’s everything. That has stuck with me.

“Beyond that, my daughter likes pepperoni, so that’s what I end up getting a lot of the time.”

—Jim Donchess, Mayor of Nashua

American Chop Suey

“I love the American Chop Suey from the Red Arrow Diner [112 Loudon Road, Concord, 415-0444; 137 Rockingham Road, Londonderry, 552-3091; 61 Lowell St., Manchester, 626-1118; 149 DW Highway, Nashua, 204-5088, redarrowdiner.com]. It has your tomato sauce, and macaroni, and beef — cooked, ground beef. When I am stressed out and super busy and super hungry, It just is a bowl of warmth and sustenance. It fills me up. I don’t regret any bite that I take. And of course, there they serve it with garlic bread. And it’s just, oh, it makes me think of my grandmother.

“My grandmother was not a very elaborate cook, but she had these basics that she relied on. And one of them was macaroni and whatever. And so I remember her making something along those lines. She would make macaroni and cheese, but she would put tomato sauce in it and she called it ‘Blush and Bunny.’ And so the American chop suey makes me think of Blush and Bunny.”

—Lauren Cline, owner/operator, Slightly Crooked Pies, 1209 Elm St., Manchester, 661-4575, slightlycrookedpies.com

Chocolate cinnamon cake

My chocolate cinnamon cake is absolutely one of the best things that makes me feel happy at all times. It’s just absolutely delicious. It’s actual, rich chocolate, it’s got cinnamon in it, so it has a little bit of different flavor to it, and then a really creamy, fudgy cinnamon chocolate cream. It’s not cream cheese, but frosting for the top. It’s delicious. I’ll have it for breakfast sometimes, if the day seems like it’s going to be long, to get me through the day.

—Denise Nickerson, owner, The Bakeshop on Kelley Street, 171 Kelley St., Manchester, 624-3500, thebakeshoponkelleystreet.com

Shepherd’s Pie

“What is my go-to comfort food? Definitely shepherd’s pie. My mom used to make it when I was a kid, and I’ve always really loved it. I love the combination of meat, vegetables and potatoes. You know, I also like mashed potatoes. So shepherd’s pie just appeals to me because it’s kind of an efficiency meal. Everything is all right there in one place on the plate, rather than spread around. So when you eat it you kind of eat it all together. It always makes me think of a cold winter day back when I was a kid and my mom would put it on the table, and it would be hot and steamy while it was cold outside. To me, it’s perfect.”

—Byron Champlin, Mayor of Concord

Shepherd’s Pie

Shepherd’s pie is infinitely adaptable. You can put as much effort into making it as you want, but it also lends itself to shortcuts, one of which is used in this recipe.

• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1 pound ground beef, ground lamb, or plant-based “burger meat”
• Half a cup (a large handful) of chopped onion
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 Tablespoon dried herb mixture (optional)
• Another Tablespoon butter
• 1 16-ounce package of frozen corn
• More salt and pepper to taste
• 1 24-ounce container of frozen mashed potatoes – Ideally you’ll have saved some homemade mashed potatoes, or you could make some from scratch now, but for this dish you will be just as well served by the pre-packaged prepared stuff from the supermarket.
• Three more Tablespoons butter
• Paprika – I like the smoked, Spanish stuff

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

Melt a tablespoon of butter in a skillet, and cook the beef (or lamb, or Impossible Burger) and onion, stirring occasionally, until it looks like taco meat. Season it to taste. Transfer it to a casserole dish.

Melt another tablespoon of butter in the skillet, and cook the corn in it, until it has browned slightly and smells corny. Season it with salt and pepper, then transfer it to the same casserole dish, on top of the meat, building a second layer.

Prepare the mashed potatoes according to the instructions on the package, then transfer that to the same casserole dish, spreading it in an even layer over the corn. Top it with chunks of the rest of your butter, then sprinkle the top of the potatoes with paprika.

Bake until the potatoes have started to brown slightly, about 30 minutes, then remove it from the oven and let it cool for five to 10 minutes before serving on separate plates, or just eat it yourself with a fork, if it’s been that kind of day.

Ice Cream Sundae

“I think when I’m really sad, what I like to do is I go get ice cream, and the more sad I am the more elaborate the sundae. Like, you know, if I’m just a little bit sad, maybe I’ll just get like a little bit of hot fudge on there, and then maybe if I’m like in crisis I’m doing whipped cream, hot fudge and sprinkles, the whole thing, you know what I mean?”

—Nick Sands, comedian and host of the Nick Sands Presents podcast, youtube.com/@nicksandspresents

Chardonnay

“I’m firmly of the opinion that you can’t go wrong with a taco, any type, any time, anywhere, but instead of comfort food, I think more of comfort wine. An oaky chardonnay is my go-to. If I need comfort, if I’ve had my heart broken, I’m thinking less of ‘What am I going to eat?’ and more of going straight to my wine fridge. That’s where my emotional attachment is.”

—Emma Stetson, owner, Wine on Main, 9 N. Main St., Concord, 897-5828, wineonmainnh.com

Popcorn

“Popcorn. It’s all about popcorn for me. About 20 years ago my best friend passed away. She was my roommate as well, and she was killed in a car accident. A bunch of us all used to spend time together just watching movies and eating popcorn. And so now eating popcorn brings up important memories for me. I’ve learned how to make it at home really well. And there’s just nothing that compares to it. I use coconut oil and pink sea salt. I like butter and nutritional yeast, but I couldn’t care less if it’s on my popcorn. I do have a weird habit, though — I like throwing some unsalted peanuts in there, and just kind of like ruffle it around. For some reason I don’t like a lot of salt when it’s just going to sting my tongue and my mouth and stuff, so that’s also why I go with the unsalted peanuts, and the pink salt’s already on the popcorn, so [the combination] is all good.”

—Sarah Maillet, owner, 815 Cocktails & Provisions, 815 Elm St., Manchester, 782-8086, 815nh.com

Thanksgiving Sandwich

“My go-to comfort food would be a Thanksgiving sandwich with turkey and stuffing and cranberry sauce — the whole-berry kind — on a nice, thick, white bread. It’s not tied to any particular memories; it’s just very yummy. “

—Kristi St. Laurent, President, Andres Institute of Art, 106 Route 13, Brookline, 673-7441, andresinstitute.org

Welsh Rarebit

“I’ve always told people that my favorite comfort food is a grilled cheese sandwich, because of my warm memories of my mother making it for me with tomato soup when I was a child. But strangely, I just got off the phone with my mother back in the U.K., and she told me that she never made me a grilled cheese sandwich. She said that she made me Welsh rarebit, which makes a little more sense, because she’s Welsh.”

—Emma Round, owner, Unwined Bistro and Wine Bar, 1 Nashua St., Milford, 213-6703, unwinednh.com

Welsh rarebit is one of those dishes that, if you already know about it, you feel like everyone in the world knows about it, and then discover that it is new and exotic to the people you tell about it. It is a Welsh/sometimes British take on cheese fondue, served over the best toast you can make.

Welsh Rarebit

• 4 Tablespoons (half a stick) butter
• 8 ounces (225 grams) grated cheddar cheese – I like a smoked cheddar, like Old Croc.
• 2 ounces (57 grams) grated Swiss cheese
• Half a teaspoon Dijon or whole-grain mustard
• ¼ cup (2 ounces) very dark beer – porter is good for this.

Toast

Five to six slices of Very Good Bread – sourdough, for instance, liberally buttered.

In a double boiler, melt half a stick of butter, then stir in the cheese, until it is thoroughly melted. Whisk in the mustard and beer, and stir until it has made a silky cheese sauce.

In a skillet, fry the bread, as if you were making a grilled cheese sandwich — one side only. In the U.K., people inexplicably only toast bread on one side.

Serve the toast, covered by a generous amount of cheese sauce. Be reminded that life is generally better than you give it credit for.

Welcome, spring!

March 20 kicks off spring, equinox-ically speaking. The New England winter ends when mud overtakes snow as the thing getting everywhere, which happens whenever. But spring for the purposes of fun and happenings is well underway, with a season of theater, music, arts events and more filling the calendar until Memorial Day weekend, when the summer vibes begin.

Here are just a few reasons to get excited about March 19 through May 20. Know of a spring happening not mentioned here? Let us know at adiaz@hippopress.com. Details listed here are according to the organizations’ websites and social media (where you can find details on event tickets and admission prices) unless otherwise noted. Any phone numbers mentioned have a 603 area code unless otherwise noted.

Time to throw off a few of those winter layers and get out to enjoy the spring.

1. “All Kinds of Everything,” an exhibition of works by Lucy Mink, a painter, and Keiko Narahashi, a sculptor, is on display at Outer Space Art Gallery, 35 Pleasant St. in Concord, through May 23, according to outerspacearts.xyz. The gallery is open Saturdays from noon to 3 p.m.

2. TheBedford Village Inn in Bedford continues its special menu of burgers and fries called Burgerama, available in the Tavern through March 28. Through Saturday, March 21, it’s “Global Week” with a Wicked Desayuno Burger, a Wicked Godzilla Burger and a Wicked Mediterranean Burger, according to the menu at bedfordvillageinn.com.

3. Steve Blunt is John Hutchinson for a New Hampshire Humanities program on Thursday, March 19, at 6:30 p.m. — “Originally from Milford, NH, the Hutchinson Family Singers … achieved international recognition with songs advancing social reform and political causes such as abolition, temperance, women’s suffrage, and the Lincoln presidential campaign of 1860,” according to nhhumanities.org. Blunt will portray the performer in the program — “Liberty Is Our Motto!: Songs and Stories of the Hutchinson Family Singers” — at the Brookline Historical Society, 17 Meetinghouse Hill Road in Brookline. See the website or contact library.director@brooklinenh.gov for info. See the NH Humanities website for more events throughout the state.

4. The 18th annual New Hampshire Jewish Film Festival, which started on March 15, continues through Sunday, March 29, with in-person screenings at theaters across the state. As well as virtual screenings. The next two local screenings are The Road Between Us on Thursday, March 19, at 7 p.m. at Chunky’s in Manchester and Ethan Bloom on Tuesday, March 24, at 7 p.m. at O’Neil Cinemas in Londonderry. See nhjewishfilmfestival.com for the full schedule, tickets and trailers.

5. The rocking bagpipers Red Hot Chilli Pipers will play the Nashua Center for the Arts, 201 Main St. in Nashua, on Thursday, March 19, at 7:30 p.m. See nashuacenterforthearts.com for tickets. See redhotchillipipers.com for more on the band.

6. The Nashua Public Library’s Tiny Film Festival will screen 60-second films made by the community and present awards Friday, March 20, at 6 p.m. at the library, 2 Court St. in Nashua, according to nashualibrary.org, where you can find other events this spring, including a discussion with Laura Knoy, former NHPR host, about her novel, The Shopkeeper of Alsace, on Sunday, March 22, 1-2:30 p.m.

7. The DoBros — who describe themselves on their Facebook page as a “Down Home Local music project from Warner…. We specialize in FarmFunk, DirtGrass, JunkyardJazz and RedneckRock” — will play Pembroke City Limits, 134 Main St. in Suncook, on Friday, March 20, at 7 p.m. See pembrokecitylimits.com for more upcoming shows.

8. Bedford Youth Performing Company will present Disney’s Frozen: The Broadway Musical on Friday, March 20, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, March 21, at 1 and 7 p.m., at the Derryfield School in Manchester. The school will also present Disney Alice In Wonderland Jr. on Saturday, May 16, and Sunday, May 17, at 1 p.m. at the Derryfield School. See bypc.org for tickets.

9. Kids Coop Theatre will present Oliver! The Musical on Friday, March 20, and Saturday, March 21, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, March 22, at 2 p.m. at the Derry Opera House, 29 W Broadway in Derry, according kctnh.org, where you can purchase tickets.

10. The Pinkerton Players will present Chicago: Teen Editionon Friday, March 20, and Saturday, March 21, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, March 22, at 2 p.m. at the Stockbridge Theatre at Pinkerton Academy, 44 N. Main St. in Derry, according to stockbridgetheatre.showare.com, where you can purchase tickets.

11. Don Jovi: The Ultimate Tribute to the Music of Bon Jovi will perform on Friday, March 20, at 8 p.m. at the Tupelo Music Hall, 10 A St. in Derry, tupelomusichall.com. Other tribute acts bringing your favorites to you up close at the Tupelo this spring include The Phil Collins Experience on Saturday, March 21, at 8 p.m.; Evil Empire: A Tribute to Rage Against the Machine (with Lounge Fly: A Tribute to Stone Temple Pilots) on Saturday, March 28, at 1 p.m.; The Artimus Pyle Band — Honoring the music of Ronnie Van Zant’s Lynyrd Skynyrd on Friday, April 10, at 8 p.m.; Bad Animals — The Heart Tribute on Saturday, April 18, at 8 p.m., and Back to the Eighties with Jessie’s Girl on Saturday, May 9, at 8 p.m. See the website for more shows and to purchase tickets.

12. It’s Maple Weekend 2026 in New Hampshire Saturday, March 21, and Sunday, March 22! See nhmapleproducers.com and our story on page 18.

13. Manchester Proud will host Spring Into Summer 2026 on Saturday, March 21, from 9 a.m. to noon at Beech Street School in Manchester. It’s an “annual community event connecting youth, families, schools, and local businesses to meaningful summer opportunities,” according to manchesterproud.org.

14. Register to attend Hobbit Fest at the Concord Public Library, 45 Green St. in Concord, on Saturday, March 21, at 10 a.m., according to concordnh.gov/1983/Library. Enjoy a movie screening along with “second breakfast and elevenses,” costumes encouraged, according to the website, where you can find other upcoming library events.

15. New England Premier Events has two expos slated for the Everett Arena, 15 Loudon Road in Concord, on the March 21-22 weekend. On Saturday, March 21, it’s the Women’s Day Expo from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., featuring “vendors about career development, travel, financial planning, shopping, fashion, food, entertainment, and cosmetics,” according to the event’s Eventbrite page. On Sunday, March 22, it’s the Concord Wedding Event from noon to 3 p.m., featuring vendors offering “caterers, cake vendors, mobile bar, wedding dresses” and more, the event’s Eventbrite page said. Find ticket prices and more information on their Eventbrite pages.

16. “Mixing It Up,” featuring mixed media artists Anne Boedecker, Adele Sanborn, Becky Sawyer, Joy Malcolm, and Sandy Steen Bartholomew, will open on Saturday, March 21, and run through Saturday, April 25, at the Two Villages Art Society, 846 Main St. in Contoocook, according to twovillagesart.org. An artists reception will be held March 21 from noon to 2 p.m. The Society’s May show is “Boundless: Expansive Views of Land and Imagination,” featuring photography by William Balsam, Tom McHugh, Lindsay Holmes, Jay Fitzpatrick and running May 2-30, the website said.

17. Cheer Nashua’s Rivier University Raiders men’s and women’s lacrosse teams. The next home game for the men’s lacrosse team will be Saturday, March 21, at noon, on Joanne Merrill Field at Linda Robinson Pavilion in Nashua against Albertus Magnus College. The women’s team’s next home game is Thursday, March 26, at 5 p.m. vs. Vermont State University Castleton. See rivierathletics.com.

18. Get some Saint Anselm College Hawks lacrosse. The men’s team will play its next home game on Saturday, March 21, at noon against Franklin Pierce University. The women’s team’s next home game is Saturday, March 28, at 6 p.m. against Bentley. Both games take place at Grappone Stadium on the Saint Anselm College campus in Manchester. See saintanselmhawks.com.

19. Ballet Misha will present a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream on Saturday, March 21, at 1 and 6 p.m. at the Concord City Auditorium, 2 Prince St. in Concord. See balletmisha.com for tickets.

20. Fred Marple will appear with his book Udder Nonsense: More Tales from Frost Heaves on Saturday, March 21, at 2 p.m. at Bookery, 844 Elm St. in Manchester, according to bookerymht.com, where you can check back for more upcoming author events, book clubs, story times and other happenings.

21. Swing Into Spring Gala featuring the New Hampshire Jazz Orchestra takes place Saturday, March 21, at 7 p.m. at the Dana Center at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, according to tickets.anselm.edu, where you can purchase tickets. Other events at the Dana Center include the Celebration of Light Tour with pianist Teresa Walters on Friday, March 27, at 7:30 p.m.; Guitar Night with Hiroya Tsukamoto on Friday, April 24, at 7:30 p.m., and Mutts Gone Nuts on Friday, May 1, at 7 p.m.

22. Comedian Juston McKinney has shows in the area this spring. Catch him at the Capitol Center for the Arts’ Chubb Theatre in Concord on Saturday, March 21, at 8 p.m.; Park Theatre in Jaffrey on Friday, March 27, at 7:30 p.m., and the Rochester Opera House on Saturday, April 25, at 7:30 p.m., among other New Hampshire and New England dates, according to justonmckinney.com, where you can find a link to tickets.

23. New Hampshire Underground, 134 Haines St. in Nashua, newhampshireunderground.org, is slated to reopen after renovations on Saturday, March 21, with a Spring Equinox Drum Circle at Terminus Underground at 7 p.m. The event is 21+. See the website for more events.

24. Catch comedian Harrison Stebbins on Saturday, March 21, at 8 p.m. at the Headliners Comedy show at the DoubleTree by Hilton in downtown Manchester, according to headlinersnh.com, where you can purchase tickets and find a full line-up of comedy shows at the downtown Manchester location into May. Headliners also books comics at Chunky’s in Manchester and the website lists comedians into June at that location. See the website for tickets to those shows as well as Headliners shows at other area locations.

25. Patricia Zube will discuss her new book Gift of the Bear, described as “a middle-grade historical novel set in 1755 during the French and Indian War,” at Balin Books, 375 Amherst St. in Somerset Plaza, in Nashua, on Sunday, March 22, at 1 p.m., according to balinbooks.com, where you can check back to find more of their upcoming author, book club and other events.

26. The Currier Museum of Art, 150 Ash St. in Manchester, will host an Art Talk with Wendy Edwards, whose work is on display in “Flourishing,” an exhibition of oil paintings, on Sunday, March 22, from 2 to 3 p.m. Registration is required; see currier.org. “Flourishing” will be on display through April 5. Also on display at the museum is “Spray: Jules Olitski in the 1960s,” an exhibition of spray paintings, sculptures and other pieces from the Jules Olitski Foundation, and “Painting in Color” featuring the works of four contemporary artists, Heather Hutchison, Joseph Marioni, Jane Swavely and John Zurier, according to the website, which said both of those exhibits will be on display through Aug. 9.

27. Margo Burns, the 10th-generation great-granddaughter of Rebecca Nurse, who was hanged in Salem in 1692 on the charge of witchcraft, and the project manager and an associate editor of Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt, will present “The Capital Crime of Witchcraft” presented by NH Humanities (nhhumanities.org) on Tuesday, March 24, at 6 p.m. at Manchester City Library (405 Pine St., Manchester). Find more events at the Manchester City Library at manchester.lib.nh.us, including a family-friendly Earth Day celebration on Saturday, April 18, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

28. It’s a Spring Cleaning Pottery Sale and Pottery for a Purpose Fundraiser at Studio 550 Art Center, 550 Elm St. in Manchester, from Monday, March 23, through Saturday, March 28, from noon to 8 p.m., according to a post on the studio’s Facebook page. “Pottery for a Purpose: Marked at $1-20 per piece, proceeds go to The International Institute of New England,” the post said. See 550arts.com.

29. The Walker Lecture Fund presents “The Serious and the Sideshow: Two Sides of the NH Primary” on Wednesday, March 25, at 7:30 p.m. at the Concord City Auditorium, 2 Prince St. in Concord. The event is free, with open seating, according to theaudi.org. The presentation will feature Neil Levesque of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics and then former AP reporter David Tirrell-Wysocki, the website said. Other Walker events include “An Evening Of A Cappella with The Afternotes and Stonehenge” on Wednesday, April 1, at 7:30 p.m.; “A Jazz Celebration of African American Music and Art” on Wednesday, April 8, at 7:30 p.m.; “Life on the Seas, Life with the Bees,” in which Fred Richards leads a photo tour of his Merchant Marine experiences and father-daughter duo Jim and Katie Watt talk about turning a passion for beekeeping into the Concord Bee Company, on Wednesday, April 15, at 7:30 p.m., and Magic Play with Andrew Pinard on Wednesday, April 22, at 7:30 p.m., the Audi website said.

30. Lucy Kaplansky will perform at the Flying Goose Brew Pub & Grille, 40 Andover Road in New London, on Thursday, March 26, at 7:30 p.m., according to flyinggoose.com, where you can find information on reservations, which are required. Also on the schedule are The Boneheads on Thursday, April 2, at 7:30 p.m.; Liz Longley on Thursday, April 16, at 7:30 p.m., and Sam Robbins on Thursday, April 23, at 7:30 p.m., the website said.

31. Root for the lacrosse teams at Southern New Hampshire University. The women’s next home game is Friday, March 27, at 6 p.m. vs. Franklin Pierce University at Mark A. Ouellette Stadium on the SNHU campus (the stadium is on Victory Lane in Hooksett). The men’s team’s next home game is scheduled for Sunday, March 29, at 1 p.m. versus Adelphi University. See snhupenmen.com for the full schedule.

32. Actorsingers Jr. will present Goosebumps The Musical: Phantom of the Auditorium on Friday, March 27, and Saturday, March 28, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, March 29, at 2 p.m. at the Janice B. Streeter Theater, 14 Court St. in Nashua, according to actorsingers.org. Actorsingers will also present Shrek The Musical on Friday, May 1, and Saturday, May 2, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 3, at 2 p.m. at the Keefe Center for the Arts, 117 Elm St. in Nashua, according to actorsingers.org, where you can purchase tickets for both shows.

33. The Majestic Academy of Dramatic Arts will present High School Musical Jr. at the Derry Opera House, 29 West Broadway in Derry, on Friday, March 27, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, March 28, at 2 and 7 p.m., and Sunday, March 29, at 2 p.m. The Majestic will also present Airport Encounters, described as“a hilarious romp and sometimes touching peek at an ‘Anytown Airport’ gate waiting area, as passengers interact before boarding their flights,” according to majestictheatre.net, at the Majestic Theatre, 880 Page St. in Manchester, Friday, April 17, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, April 18, at 2 and 7 p.m., and Sunday, April 19, at 2 p.m. See the website for tickets.

34. Catch Entrain Friday, March 27, at 8 p.m. at the Tupelo Music Hall, 10 A St. in Derry, tupelomusichall.com. The Tupelo’s packed spring schedule includes A.J. Croce presenting Croce Plays Croce on Sunday, April 12, at 7 p.m.; Jake Shimabukuro on Sunday, April 19, at 7 p.m.; Vanilla Fudge on Wednesday, April 22, at 8 p.m.; Soul Asylum Acoustic on Thursday, April 23, at 8 p.m.; White Lion with All Sinners opening on Thursday, May 14, at 8 p.m., and Gary Hoey on Friday, May 15, at 8 p.m. See the website for more shows, updates and tickets.

35. The “Voices: Celebrating Women Together” show at Jewel Music Venue, 61 Canal St. in Manchester (find them on Facebook) will kick off at 8 p.m. on Friday, March 27, and feature Bella’s Bartok, Dog8Dog, DJ Amino and Wyn and the White Light, according to the post, where you can find a link to buy tickets. Check out the events tab on their Facebook page for a list of shows this spring.

36. SEE Science Center, 200 Bedford St. in Manchester, will host a regional Rube Goldberg Machine Contest on Saturday, March 28, during its regular hours — see the competition as part of regular admission, according to see-sciencecenter.org.

37. Saturday, March 28, is the final date for “Mosaic: A Collective Vision,” “an exhibition celebrating the teaching and studio artists of Kimball Jenkins,” 266 N. Main St. in Concord, according to kimballjenkins.com, where you can find viewing dates for the exhibition and updates for upcoming Kimball Jenkins exhibitions and events.

38. The New Hampshire Historical Society, 30 Park St. in Concord, is hosting a family program, “Redcoats and Rebels: Pick Your Path,” on Saturday, March 28, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., according to nhhistory.org. Geared toward ages 8 to 13, the program will allow kids to “immerse themselves in New Hampshire’s fight for independence from Britain,” according to the website, where you can register for this program (advance registration required).

39. Castleberry Fairs & Festivals will hold the 5th Annual Capital City Craft Festival, a juried indoor arts and crafts festival, at the Everett Arena, 15 Loudon Road in Concord, on Saturday, March 28, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, March 29, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., according to the event’s Facebook page. See also castleberryfairs.com.

40. The second GenXpo — described as “An expo in Nashua, NH for Generation X, Baby Boomers and beyond!” — will take place Saturday, March 28, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Nashua Senior Activity Center, 70 Temple St. in Nashua, according to the event’s Facebook page. Also on the expo schedule for spring is the New Hampshire Coin and Currency Expo Friday, April 3, and Saturday, April 4, at the DoubleTree By Hilton Manchester Downtown. See nhcoinexpo.com.

41. Charmingfare Farm, 774 High St. in Candia, will host an Egg-citing Egg Hunt, geared toward egg hunters ages 2 to 12, Saturdays and Sundays, March 28-29 and April 4-5, with entry times from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., according to visitthefarm.com, where you can purchase tickets. The egg hunt comes the weekend after Charmingfare wraps up its Maple Express event March 21-22, focused on maple sap collecting and the syrup making process. You can also hunt for eggs at the Lions Clubs of Pinardville and Goffstown’s Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, March 28, with 9 a.m. (for ages 1 to 4), 9:45 a.m. (ages 5 to 7) and 10:30 a.m. (ages 8 to 10) start times at Roy Park in Pinardville. Find the clubs on Facebook.

42. The New Hampshire Audubon’s Massabesic Center, 26 Audubon Way in Auburn, will feature “The Wildlife and Landscape of New England,” an exhibition of photography by Jason Davini, through Wednesday, April 29, and is open Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to nhaudubon.org, where you can find additional NH Audubon events such as the “Wildlife Friendly Gardening” event slated for Saturday, March 28 (as of March 16 it is listed as being sold out; email kwhiteman@nhaudubon.org for updates).

43. The Easter Bunny will arrive at the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire, 27 Navigator Road in Londonderry, aviationmuseumofnh.org, via student-built airplane on Saturday, March 28, at 11 a.m. with free admission to the museum and activities for kids until 1 p.m., according to a museum press release. Families are asked to arrive by 10:30 a.m. to witness Easter Bunny’s outdoor arrival, after which the Bunny will pose for photos, talk with fans and hand out candy, the press release said. The Aviation Museum will also hold its annual Run the Rail Trail 4-Miler on Saturday, May 2, at 9 a.m., open to runners and walkers, according to the website, where you can find a link to register.

44. Learn how to make Pysanky, Ukrainian Easter Eggs, on Saturday, March 28, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. and Sunday, March 29, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the New Hampshire School of Languages and Arts, 3 J Taggart Drive in Nashua. Register by emailing mariabronfine@gmail.com.

45. March 30 is the final day of “Women Wize,” the current show at the Mosaic Art Collective, 66 Hanover St., Suite 201, in Manchester, which opened earlier in March. Next up is “Clear To Me,” a show “focusing on negative space and the balance of light and dark,” running Monday, April 6, through Tuesday, April 28, with a reception on Saturday, April 11, from 5 to 7 p.m., according to mosaicartcollective.com. And check with See Saw Art, an exhibition space within Mosaic, for their offerings at seesaw.gallery.

46. Ladysmith Black Mambazo will perform at the Capitol Center for the Arts’ Chubb Theatre, 44 S. Main St. in Concord, on Tuesday, March 31, at 7 p.m. Tickets are free as part of the Gile Series but go to ccanh.com to reserve a spot. The Cap Center’s venues — Chubb Theatre and BNH Stage — have lots of music on the schedule this spring. A few examples include the Brubeck Brothers Quartet on Saturday, April 11, at 7 p.m.; Celtic Woman on Thursday, April 23, at 7:30 p.m.; Sad AF Emo Nite on Saturday, April 25, at 8 p.m.; Panorama: A Tribute to The Cars on Friday, May 8, at 7:30 p.m., and The Head and The Heart on Friday, May 8, at 8 p.m.

47. Click, Clack Moo, based on the book by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin, will be on stage at the Stockbridge Theatre at Pinkerton Academy, 44 N. Main St. in Derry, on Thursday, April 2, at 10 a.m., according to stockbridgetheatre.showare.com, where you can purchase tickets.

48. Honor Patrick Swayze and Jerry Orbach by showing off your Dirty Dancing knowledge at Dirty Dancing Trivia night on Thursday, April 2, at 7:30 p.m. at Chunky’s Cinema Pub, 707 Huse Road in Manchester, chunkys.com. Check out the schedule of upcoming events for more specialty trivia nights and bingo nights (with both games having family nights about once a month), live comedy, paint nights and special family screenings.

49. The Casino Ballroom, 169 Ocean Blvd in Hampton Beach, kicks off its season with Melissa Etheridge on Thursday, April 2, at 8 p.m., according to casinoballroom.com. Other shows this spring include The Fools with Fortune and Captain Jack & The Strangers on April 4; Clint Black on April 9; One Night of Queen on April 17; Lita Ford on May 8; Bret Michaels on May 15 and May 16, and Avatar on May 20.

50. The Hispanic Flamenco Ballet will perform for students on Friday, April 3, at 10 and 11 a.m. at the Concord City Auditorium, 2 Prince St. in Concord, according to theaudi.org. Call 305-420-6622 for tickets.

51. Is this the actual start of spring? It’s opening day for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats at Delta Dental Stadium in downtown Manchester. The Fisher Cats take on the Binghamton Rumble Ponies on Friday, April 3, at 6:03 p.m. (nice) and then again Saturday, April 4, and Sunday, April 5, at 1:05 p.m. See milb.com/new-hampshire for tickets. April 3 is also the home opener for the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, when they’ll play the San Diego Padres at 2:10 p.m. See mlb.com/redsox.

52. Ovation Theatre Company will present The Addams Family Musical, primarily featuring performers ages 13 to 19, on Friday, April 3, and Saturday, April 4, at 7 p.m. as well as April 4 at 2 p.m. at the Derry Opera House, 29 W. Broadway in Derry, according to ovationtc.com, where you can purchase tickets. Ovation will also present 101 Dalmatian Kids with performers ages 7 to 14 Friday, May 8, through Sunday, May 10, at Ovation Studios, 61 Harvey Road in Londonderry, the website said.

53. April 3 is the first Friday of the month, which means it’s time for Super Stellar Friday at McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, 2 Institute Drive in Concord. On Fridays, catch specialty programming starting with a speaker presentation at 7 p.m., a planetarium show at 8 p.m. and, weather permitting, a sky view with the New Hampshire Astronomical Society, according to starhop.com, where you can purchase tickets for the presentation as well as the add-on tickets for the planetarium show.

54. Concord’s Giant Indoor Yard Sale will take place Saturday, April 4, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Everett Arena, 15 Loudon Road in Concord, according to the event’s Facebook page. Adult admission costs $5, the page said.

55. Carriage Shack Farm, 5 Dan Hill Road in Londonderry, will hold an Easter Bunny Party At the Farm on Saturday, April 4, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., according to carriageshackfarmllc.org, where you can purchase tickets.

56. Southern New Hampshire Youth Ballet will present Cinderella as their spring show on Saturday, April 4, at 1 and 4 p.m. See snhdt.org for tickets; the show takes place at the Palace Theatre, 80 Hanover St. in Manchester, whose website says the show is 75 minutes long with a 15-minute intermission.

57. Catch Cecil B. Demille’s first attempt at the Moses story when the 1923 silent film The Ten Commandmentsplays at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre on Main Street in Wilton, screened with live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, on Sunday, April 5, at 2 p.m. Find more of Jeff’s upcoming silent film presentations at silentfilmlivemusic.blogspot.com/p/upcoming-silent-film-screenings.html. In other movie news, weather permitting, Friday, April 10, or possibly Friday, April 17, will be the opening weekend for the Milford Drive-In, 531 Elm St. in Milford. Keep an eye on milforddrivein.com for opening dates and double features.

58. The April 9-May 9 show at The Glimpse Gallery, 4 Park St. in Concord, opens Thursday, April 9, with a reception on Saturday, April 11, from 5 to 7 p.m., according to theglimpsegallery.com.

59. The Capitol Center for the Arts has comedy on the schedule this spring, including Mae Martin with their new show The Possum on Thursday, April 9, at 7:30 p.m. (find their 2023 show Sap on Netflix). Other comedy on the schedule includes Karen Morgan on Thursday, April 2, at 7:30 p.m. and Craig Ferguson on Sunday, April 12, at 7 p.m.

60. Kids can treat their fluffy friend to a night out at Stuffy Sleepover Storytime on Friday, April 10, at Wonderland Books and Toys, Maple Valley Plaza, 245 Maple St. in Manchester, wonderlandbooksandtoys.com. PJ-wearing kids and their stuffies can come for storytime at 6:30 p.m. and then the stuffies will stay the night, with kids able to pick them up at 11 a.m. the next morning, according to the website, where you can register for April’s sleepover or for an upcoming second Friday.

61. The Flying Gravity Circus, featuring children and teen performers, will hold its spring show “Tales: A Circus Adventure” on Friday, April 10, and Saturday, April 11, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, April 12, at 2 p.m. at the Peterborough Players Theatre, according to flyinggravitycircus.org, where you can check back for additional details.

62. The Anselmian Abbey Players will present the musical comedy Something Rotten!on Fridays, April 10 and April 17, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays, April 11 and April 18, at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, April 12, at 2 p.m., and Thursday, April 16, at 7:30 p.m. at the Dana Center at Saint Anselm College in Manchester. See tickets.anselm.edu for tickets.

63. After a few mid-March dates in Florida, comedian Bob Marley returns to New England with dates in Maine and Massachusetts before coming to the Palace Theatre in Manchester April 10-12 and then heading to Keene (April 18) and Lebanon (May 9). Follow Marley at bmarley.com.

64. The Little Giant “Old School” Comic Show will be held Saturday, April 11, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Everett Arena, 15 Loudon Road in Concord, featuring comic book sellers, art and artists, according to oldschoolcomicshow.com.

65. O’Neil Cinemas at 16 Orchard View in Londonderry hosts sensory-friendly screenings where house lights are higher and there are no loud noises, according to oneilcinemas.com. Next up is Super Mario Galaxy Movieon Saturday, April 11, at 10 a.m.

66. The Concord Arts Market will hold “HeARTwork: A Seasonal Artisan Market Series” at Kimball Jenkins, 266 N. Main St. in Concord, on Saturday, April 11, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with this month’s theme being “Life,” according to concordartsmarket.org. The event will feature kids’ activities and refreshments, according to the Market’s Facebook page.

67. Safe Haven Ballet will perform Don Quixote this spring with shows at the Capitol Center for the Arts Chubb Theatre, 44 S. Main St. in Concord, on Saturday, April 11, at 4:30 p.m.; at the Music Hall Historic Theatre in Portsmouth on Sunday, April 12, at 4:30 p.m., and at the Nashua Center for the Arts, 201 Main St. in Nashua, on Saturday, April 18, at 4:30 p.m. See safehavenballet.org.

68. The Palace Theatre presents its Short Play Fest featuring six new short plays on Friday, April 10, and Saturday, April 11, at 7:30 p.m. at the Rex Theatre, 23 Amherst St. in Manchester. See palacetheatre.org. Other shows at the Palace include Cabaret, wrapping up March 22; Footloose April 17-May 10, and a few Palace Youth Theatre productions including 9 to 5 Jr. on March 19. The Palace Theatre, 80 Hanover St., and Rex Theatre, 23 Amherst St., in Manchester, will also feature several musical tribute shows this spring, including one honoring four ladies of country music. Catch Legends Live On: A Tribute to Dolly Parton, Patsy Cline, Reba McEntire and Tammy Wynette on Friday, May 15, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, May 16, at 2 and 7:30 p.m. See palacetheatre.org for tickets.

69. The Concord Community Concert Association will present “Here Come The Judds — A Tribute” on Saturday, April 11, at 7:30 p.m. at the Concord City Auditorium, 2 Prince St. in Concord, according to theaudi.org. Purchase tickets in advance at ccca-audi.org or for cash or check at the door.

70. Kids Con New England — a celebration of comic books, comic book creators, comic book readers, superheroes and more — will take place Sunday, April 12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Sheraton in Nashua. See kidsconne.com for tickets and for a list of artists and authors scheduled to attend as well as activities and programming scheduled throughout the event.

71. ArtHub, 98 Main St. in Nashua, will hold its Spring EAST Show (Emerging Art Student Talent)on Sunday, April 12, where kids from ages 6 to 18 can display their works, according to nashuaarts.org, where you can find registration information. Works will be awarded prizes, and First Place and Best in Show winners will be displayed at ArtHub for a month, the website said. ArtHub currently has a spring exhibit on display; see the website for upcoming events.

72. 815 Cocktails and Provisions, 815 Elm St. in Manchester, will hold The Daiq Off, a Tiki party and daiquiri competition, on Sunday, April 12, from 3 to 7 p.m., according to a post on its Facebook page, where you can find a link for tickets. See 815nh.com.

73. The Millyard Museum, 200 Bedford St. in Manchester, will open the new exhibition “Reflections of the Revolution: The Derryfield Perspective” on Wednesday, April 15, according to an email from the museum. “This exhibit will feature stories, portraits and artifacts from several influential characters in America’s Revolution,” the email said. See manchesterhistoric.org.

74. The Joshua Tree Concert: U2’s Premier Tribute Band will perform on Thursday, April 16, at 8 p.m. at LaBelle Winery Amherst. Other shows on the Amherst location’s spring schedule include Redneck Castaway Band: A Tribute to Kenny Chesney on Thursday, March 26; Bridgerton-Inspired Dinner Party with String Quartet on Saturday, March 28; Sci-Fi Murder Mystery Dinner Party on Saturday, April 18, and Studio Two: The Beatles Tribute Concert on Thursday, April 23, according to the website, labellewinery.com, along with several other food and craft events.

75. The Made in NH Expo will take place Friday, April 17, from 1 to 7 p.m.; Saturday, April 18, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, April 19, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown Hotel, 700 Elm St. in Manchester. See madeinnhexpo.com for tickets and a link to the event’s Facebook page, where you can see some of the vendors slated to appear.

76. Epping Community Theatre will present Matilda Jr. Friday, April 17, at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.; and Saturday, April 18, and Sunday, April 19, at 2 p.m. at the Epping Playhouse, 38 Ladds Lane in Epping, according to eppingtheater.org, where you can purchase tickets. The Epping Playhouse will also host Roland’s Basement ’80s Night on Saturday, May 9, at 7 p.m.

77. Catch Adam Ezra Group at the Flying Monkey, 39 Main St. in Plymouth, on Friday, April 17, at 7:30 p.m., according to flyingmonkeynh.com, where you can purchase tickets and find the full rundown of upcoming events, including movie screenings such as 1980’s Caddyshack on Wednesday, April 8, at 6 p.m.

78. See comedians Brian Glowacki and Jeff Koen at the Tupelo Night of Comedy on Friday, April 17, at 8 p.m. at the Tupelo Music Hall, 10 A St. in Derry, tupelomusichall.com.

79. The Nossrat Yassini Poetry Festival will take place at the University of New Hampshire, Hamilton Smith Hall in Durham, Friday, April 17, and Saturday, April 18, when there will be a small press fair from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. See unhpoetry.com for more details including a schedule, which should be posted in March.

80. Saturday, April 18, is Record Store Day, a celebration of your local vinyl purveyors with special releases and limited-edition albums. See recordstoreday.com to find a participating store. At Pitchfork Records in Concord, they plan to open at 8 a.m., according to pitchforkrecordsconcord.com. Metro City Records, 691 Somerville St. in Manchester, will be open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

81. The Woman’s Service Club of Windham will hold its Spring Craft Fair on Saturday, April 18, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Golden Brook School, 112B Lowell Road in Windham, according to womansserviceclubofwindham.org.

82. Bring Back the Trades will hold a Skills Expo Saturday, April 18, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Londonderry High School (295 Mammoth Road in Londonderry) featuring local trades organizations, according to bringbackthetrades.org.

83. Discover WILD New Hampshire Day is Saturday, April 18, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the NH Fish and Game Department, 11 Hazen Drive in Concord, according to wildlife.nh.gov/dwnh. This family-friendly event features live animals, a food truck alley, exhibits, hands-on activities and more, according to the website.

84. The Derry Author Fest will take place Saturday, April 18, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Derry Public Library, 64 E. Broadway in Derry, according to an email from the library. This year’s theme is “Pathways to Publication.” The day will feature a book sale and a series of panels and workshops, including a keynote with authors Rebecca Rule and Adi Rule. See derryauthorfest.wordpress.com. Rochester will also host an authors event: The Rochester Writ- ers Night will hold its third annual Rochester Area Authors Fair on Saturday, April 11, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the covered pavilion at Hanson Pines Park, 68 Dominicus Way in Rochester, featuring keynote speaker J.R. Rainville, author of the Ungifted fantasy series, according to a press release. See facebook.com/rochesterNHwriters.

85. Red River Theatres, 11 S. Main St. in Concord, will screen The Biggest Little Farm (PG, 2019), a documentary about Apricot Lane Farms in southern California, on Saturday, April 18, at 10 a.m., according to redrivertheatres.org, where you can purchase tickets and find more upcoming screenings.

86. The Luna Moth Zine Fest will take place Saturday, April 18, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 72 Concord St. in Manchester. The event is all-ages and free, according to lunamothzinefest.com where you can see a list of participating vendors.

87. Duncan Watson, manager of Keene’s solid waste program, will talk about his book, Everyone’s Trash: One Man Against 1.6 Billion Pounds, on Saturday, April 18, at 1 p.m. at the McLane Center (84 Silk Farm Road, Concord, 224-9909). Register at nhaudubon.org/event to attend. Watson will also discuss his book at the Manchester City Library on Thursday, April 9, at 6 p.m., according to manchester.lib.nh.us.

Also at the McLane Center, the exhibition “Party Animals,” a show of handprinted linocuts by Bethany Clarke, runs through Saturday, May 2, and the gallery is open Wednesdays through Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to nhaudubon.org, where you can find additional NH Audubon events at the McLane Center.

88. The New Hampshire Philharmonic Orchestra will present Antonio Vivaldi, Four Seasons and Ralph Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 5 with special guest soloist David Kim from The Philadelphia Orchestra on Saturday, April 18, and Sunday, April 19, at 2 p.m. at the Seifert Performing Arts Center in Salem, according to nhphil.org, where you can purchase tickets.

89. Brooklyn composer Sunny Jain, described as having “a dynamic fusion of South Asian classical music, jazz, and funk,” will bring his show “Love Force” to Stockbridge Theatre at Pinkerton Academy, 44 N. Main St. in Derry, on Saturday, April 18, at 7 p.m., according to stockbridgetheatre.showare.com, where you can purchase tickets.

90. Symphony NH music director finalist Tianhui Ng will present “New Hampshire Passions” on Saturday, April 18, at 7:30 p.m. at the Keefe Auditorium, 117 Elm St. in Nashua, in a show that will feature a collaboration with Black Hole Symphony as well as a pre-show talk at 6:30 p.m., according to symphonynh.org, where you can purchase tickets. Also on Symphony NH’s spring schedule is a Chamber Concert featuring Symphony NH musicians on Saturday, March 28, at 7:30 p.m. also at the Keefe Auditorium.

91. The Littlefield Gazette Does Not End Today by Don Zolidis, directed by Alexander Slocum, will be presented by the Nashua Theatre Guild on Friday, April 24, and Saturday, April 25, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, April 26, at 2 p.m. at Janice B. Streeter Theatre, 14 Court St. in Nashua. See nashuatheatreguild.org to purchase tickets.

92. The 2026 National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors New England Regional will be held at the Everett Arena, 15 Loudon Road in Concord, with its public day on Saturday, April 25, from 8 a.m. to noon and its members day on Friday, April 24. See newenglandregional.org. In other hobby news, the Hooksett Lions Club will hold its annual model train show at David R. Cawley Middle School in Hooksett on Sunday, April 26, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

93. LeVar Burton is the Indie Bookstore Ambassador for this year’s Independent Bookstore Day, according to bookweb.org/independent-bookstore-day, which is slated for Saturday, April 25. Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord has the day on their schedule and last year Bookery in Manchester and Balin Books in Nashua also celebrated.

94. Springfest, held by the Goffstown Citizens Committee, will run Saturday, April 25, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Sullivan Arena at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, according to goffstowncitizens.org, where you can purchase tickets. The day will feature vendors, a food court, kids’ activities and more, the website said.

95. Etz Hayim Synagogue, 1½ Hood Road in Derry, will hold a Mah Jongg Tournament on Sunday, April 26, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sign up by April 12 for a day featuring four rounds of game play with four games per one-hour round, according to a press release. Register and pay at etzhayim.org/mah-jongg-tournament.

96. Remix Roller Skating & Event Center, 725 Huse Road in Manchester, will offer a Vacation Skate Party on Monday, April 27, with two-hour skate blocks and a free 20-minute roller skate lesson for the 10 a.m. block, according to skateremix.com, where you can purchase tickets for time blocks and find other upcoming all-ages and adults-only skating events.

97. Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord, in conjunction with New Hampshire Public Radio and the Capitol Center for the Arts, will host author Emma Straub with her new book American Fantasy for an Authors on Main event at the BNH Stage in Concord on Tuesday, April 28, at 7 p.m. See ccanh.com for tickets. See gibsonsbookstore.com for more upcoming author and book club events.

98. The Craftworkers’ Guild Spring Fair Craft Shop at Oliver Kendall House (3A Meetinghouse Road in Bedford, behind the Bedford Public Library) will open Thursday, April 30, and stay open through Sunday, May 24. See thecraftworkersguild.org.

99. The Manchester Vegan Chef Challenge returns May 1-31, with participating eateries featuring special vegan items, according to veganchefchallenge.org/manchester, where you can go for updates. In other Manchester-based food news, keep an eye on tacotourmanchester.com for updates on the 2026 Taco Tour Manchester. Traditionally, the celebration of tacos in downtown Manchester takes place on a Thursday in early May. In Nashua stay tuned to downtownnashua.org for details on the Nashua Food Truck Festival slated for May 2, according to the website.

100. The New Hampshire Farm, Forest and Garden Expo will run Friday, May 1, from 9 a.m .to 5 p.m. and Saturday, May 2, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Deerfield Fairgrounds with the 2026 theme “From Soil to Sawdust: How New Hampshire Makes Ag Happen” and featuring “two full days of live demonstrations, expert-led workshops, running machinery, barnyard animals, lumberjack shows, and free horse-drawn wagon rides,” according to nhfarmandforestexpo.org, where you can find a map and other details. Tickets are for sale at the gate, the website said.

101. Intown Concord’s First Friday in downtown Concord returns Friday, May 1, from 4 to 8 p.m. with the theme “Petals & Pedals,” according to firstfridayconcord.com, where you can check back for updates on participating food trucks and other activities. The Wandering Souls are slated to play City Plaza from 4 to 8 p.m. and in Bicentennial Square Chasing Ghosts is scheduled to play from 4 to 5:45 p.m. and Stray Dog from 6:15 to 8 p.m.

102. The Manchester Community Theatre Players will present You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown on Fridays and Saturdays, May 1-2 and May 8-9, at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays, May 3 and May 10, at 2 p.m. at the MCTP Theatre, the North End Montessori School, 698 Beech St. in Manchester. See manchestercommunitytheatre.com for tickets.

103. The Powerhouse Theatre Collaborative will present the New Hampshire premiere of The Magician’s Elephant, based on the book by Kate DiCamillo, on Friday, May 1, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, May 2, and Sunday, May 3, at 2 p.m. at Colonial Theatre, 609 Main St. in Laconia, according to powerhousenh.org, where you can purchase tickets.

104. The Community Players of Concord presentTo Kill A MockingbirdFriday, May 1, and Saturday, May 2, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 3, at 2 p.m. at the Concord City Auditorium, 2 Prince St. in Concord. See communityplayersofconcord.org for tickets.

105. Cue Zero Theatre will present the Tracy Letts play Bug on Friday, May 1, and Saturday, May 2, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 3, at 2 p.m., at Arts Academy of New Hampshire, 19 Keewaydin Drive in Salem, according to cztheatre.com, where you can purchase tickets.

106. Free Comic Book Day 2026 is Saturday, May 2! Celebrate comic books with free specially published issues — see freecomicbookday.com for a list of this year’s titles. Double Midnight Comics, 252 Willow St. in Manchester and 341 Loudon Road in Concord, does Free Comic Book Day up right with the Manchester store holding a comic con and a cosplay contest and featuring a food truck court and movie cars, according to dmcomics.com, where you can check back for details on this year.

107. The outdoor downtown Concord Farmers’ Market will open for the season on Saturday, May 2, from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Capitol Street next to the Statehouse lawn, according to concordfarmersmarket.com.

108. The Seacoast Cat Club will have their annual Cat Show at the Everett Arena, 15 Loudon Road in Concord, on Saturday, May 2, and Sunday, May 3, according to the Everett Arena’s schedule on the city’s website. Check cfa.org/event/seacoast-cat-club for updates.

109. The Concord Chorale will perform Brahms Requiem on Saturday, May 2, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, May 3, at 3 p.m. at St. Paul’s Church in Concord, according to concordchorale.org, where you can check back for updates.

110. NH Roller Derby kicks off its season with a bout on Saturday, May 2, at JFK Coliseum, 303 Beech St. in Manchester, according to nhrollerderby.com. Check back to the website and the NH Roller Derby Facebook page for updated details. Interested in joining? Meet-and-Greets will be held Thursdays, March 19 and April 9, at 7:30 p.m. at the Manchester Ballers Association, 3 Sundial Ave. in Manchester, according to a Facebook post, where you can find details.

111. Napoleon Dynamite Live comes to the Nashua Center for the Arts, 201 Main St. in Nashua, nashuacenterforthearts.com, on Saturday, May 2, at 7 p.m. featuring a full screening of 2004’s Napoleon Dynamite and a “lively, freewheeling interactive experience with fan-favorite cast members John Heder (Napoleon Dynamite), Jon Gries (Uncle Rico) and Efren Ramirez (Pedro),” according to the website. Other shows slated for the Nashua Center for the Arts include Better Than Ezra on March 22, The Peking Acrobats on April 1, James Austin Johnson on April 23 and The Machine Performs Pink Floyd on May 3. See the website for all upcoming shows.

112. Millennium Running will hold its annual Cinco de Miles 5K in Bedford, starting and ending near the Bedford High School, on Sunday, May 3, at 9:30 a.m. See millenniumrunning.com for details on this and other races this spring.

113. The Concord Hospital Rock’N Race will be held Wednesday, May 6, at 6 p.m., featuring live music and food on the Statehouse lawn, according to runsignup.com/Race/NH/Concord/RockNRace, where you can register.

114. The Nashua Center’s annual Taste of the Towns event will take place Thursday, May 7, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Sheraton Nashua, 11 Tara Blvd. in Nashua, according to nashuacenter.org/taste-of-the-towns.

115. Catch comedians Christine Hurley, Kerri Louise and Kristy Kielbasinski at Mother of A Comedy Show on Thursday, May 7, at 8 p.m. at LaBelle Winery Derry, according to labellewinery.com. Other shows slated for LaBelle Winery Derry this spring include A Pirate’s Life for Me: Murder Mystery Dinner Party on Saturday, March 21; The Eagles Experience on Thursday, March 26; Northern Cross: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Tribute Show on Thursday, April 2; Fleetwood Macked: The Ultimate Fleetwood Mac Tribute on Thursday, April 9; Completely Unchained: Van Halen Tribute Concert on Thursday, April 30, and Mamma Mania: Premier ABBA Tribute on Thursday, May 14, according to the website, where you can purchase tickets and which also lists craft- and food-related workshops.

116. Friday, May 8, is the closing day of the exhibit “Still Waters, Deep Reflections: The Art of Evelin Bodfish Bourne” at the Alva de Mars Megan Chapel Art Center at Saint Anselm College in Manchester. The gallery is open Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., plus 4 to 7 p.m. on Thursday. See anselm.edu/about/offices-centers-institutes/centers-institutes/alva-de-mars-megan-chapel-art-center.

117. The Great New England Spring Craft Fair will take place Friday, May 8, from 4 to 8 p.m. and Saturday, May 9, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at LaBelle Winery, 14 Route 111 in Derry. See gnecraftartisanshows.com.

118. The New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival will take place Saturday, May 9, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, May 10, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Deerfield Fairgrounds, 34 Stage Road in Deerfield, and feature workshops, lectures, a youth sheep show, a fleece sale and more, according to nhswga.org, where you can purchase tickets and check for updates.

119. New Hampshire Renaissance Faire will take place Saturdays, May 9 and May 16, and Sundays, May 10 and May 17, at 80 Martin Road in Fremont, according to nhrenfaire.com, where you can check back for updates and purchase tickets.

120. The Granite State Trading Card and Collectibles Show will take place Saturday, May 9, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Everett Arena, 15 Loudon Road in Concord, according to the Facebook page for Jimmy’s Place Sports Cards and Memorabilia in Tilton. See jimmysplacesportscards.com.

121. Kick off plant sale season! The Amherst Garden Club will hold its plant sale on Saturday, May 9, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Wilkins School, 80 Boston Post Road in Amherst, according to amherstgardenclub.org/plant_sale. The Milford NH Garden Club will hold its annual plant sale on Saturday, May 16, from 8:30 a.m. to noon at the Community House Lawn, according to milfordnhgardenclub.org. The Bedford Garden Club will hold its plant sale on Saturday, May 16, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Educational Farm at Joppa Hill, according to bgcnh.org/plant-sale-2026.

122. Catch Monster Jam “Freestyle Mania” at SNHU Arena in downtown Manchester on Saturday, May 9, at 1 and 7 p.m. and Sunday, May 10, at 1 p.m., according to snhuarena.com, where you can purchase tickets.

123. The New Hampshire Gay Men’s Chorus will present its spring concert series “Love, Pride & Hope” with scheduled dates including Saturday, May 9, at 7 p.m. at BNH Stage, 16 S. Main St. in Concord, ccanh.com. See nhgmc.com for additional performances which include May 3 in Hanover; Saturday, May 16, 7 p.m. at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Nashua and Sunday, May 17, at 3 p.m. at Rex Theatre in Manchester.

124. Cosmic Blossom will bring their “funk, soul and rock & roll” to the Andres Institute of Art, Big Bear Lodge, 106 Route 13 in Brookline, on Saturday, May 9, at 7 p.m. Other Andres shows this spring include Portrait in Jazz on Sunday, March 22, at 6 p.m.; Aces and Eights on Saturday, April 4, at 7 p.m., and Jamdemic and Mighty Colors on Saturday, April 18, at 7 p.m., according to the website.

125. Sunday, May 10, is Mother’s Day! Instead of bringing flowers, you can take the mom in your life to The Friends of the Audi and Concord’s General Service Department Perennial Exchange on Sunday, May 10, at 8 a.m. at the Concord City Auditorium, according to theaudi.org.

126. 1991’s Fried Green Tomatoes gets its 35-year anniversary screening via Fathom Entertainment on Sunday, May 10, and Wednesday, May 13. See fathomentertainment.com for locations and times. Other screenings this spring include 1991’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze on March 19; 1959’s Ben-Hur on March 29, March 30, April 1 and April 2, and 1991’s The Silence of the Lambs on April 26 and April 29, as well as productions of the Royal Ballet and The Metropolitan Opera.

127. The 2026 Nashua International Sculpture Symposium will begin with its opening celebration on Thursday, May 14, at 5:30 p.m. at the Picker Artists building, 3 Pine St. in Nashua, with a closing ceremony and visit to the sculptures’ installation sites on Saturday, June 6, at 1 p.m. During the symposium you can watch the sculptors work at the Pine Street site. See NashuaSculptureSymposium.org.

128. The Kiwanis Club of Concord will hold its annual Spring Carnival May 14-17 at the Everett Arena, 15 Loudon Road in Concorde. See k01213.site.kiwanis.org or find the club on Facebook for updates.

129. The Northeast Coffee Festival will run Friday, May 15, and Saturday, May 16, in downtown Concord with workshops, a community market and a latte art throwdown, according to northeastcoffeefestival.com.

130. Come for the gyros, stay for the baklava! St. Philip Greek Orthodox Church, 500 W. Hollis St. in Nashua, stphilipnashua.com, will hold its annual Greek Food Festival Friday, May 15, and Saturday, May 16.

131. Joppa Hill Educational Farm, 174 Joppa Hill Road in Bedford, will hold a Star Gazing and Sky Watching event on Friday, May 15, from 8 to 10 p.m., according to jhef.org/events-at-the-farm. The farm has other events on its spring schedule, including “Frogs and Salamanders!” on Sunday, April 19, from 5 to 7 p.m. for ages 6 and up, which includes a hike to the pond, and the Woolly Wonder Fest on Saturday, May 2, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., where you can see the sheep get shorn and learn about the wool preparation process, according to the website, where you can register for the event.

A look at the scene built on the music of Ireland and beyond

One in five of all New Hampshire residents have Irish heritage, more than in any other state. Fittingly, there’s a robust Celtic music scene here. Irish Sessiuns — circles of players calling tunes, quaffing pints and finding a melodic flow — gather together regularly at pubs in Concord, Manchester, Greenland and elsewhere.

As St. Patrick’s Day nears, Irish songs are everywhere. Irish music has the highest profile of the Celtic Nations — Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man, and Cornwall, in the southwest corner of England, as well as Brittany in northwest France and Galicia in northwest Spain.

The Granite State is home to many great Celtic musicians, and March 17 is their busiest day of the year. But the music is for every season. Regina Delaney, creator and leader of the New England Irish Harp Orchestra, pointed out that her ensemble gets especially busy on the last day of October.

“All the origins of everything that we do at Halloween are from Pagan Celtic rituals,” Delaney said recently from her home in Rochester. “We have so many great ghost songs and stories and things like that. So we do a bunch of Halloween shows.”

New Hampshire will prove its Irish bona fides with long St. Patrick’s Day queues soon enough, but it’s worth thinking of ways to keep the spirit going after.

Some leading purveyors shared their thoughts on Celtic music in New Hampshire. As befits a genre with a catalog of songs dating back hundreds of years, all the musicians made sure to mention the many performers who’d come before them and helped to light their paths.

One name that came up frequently was David Surette, who taught at Concord Community Music School for 30 years, spearheading the development of the folk program there. Surette succumbed to cancer in 2021. He was a gifted arranger of Celtic tunes, as demonstrated on albums like Back Roads and Trip to Kemper.

When Audrey Budington was 9 and taking violin lessons, Surette changed her musical path from classical to Celtic.

“I heard some different music that I’d never heard before coming from two studios down,” she said by Zoom recently. “I didn’t know at the time, but it was Celtic. I kind of peeked in and it was David Surette.”

Surette wasn’t a fiddler, but that didn’t deter her. “I was so enamored of the music that my mom contacted him and was like, ‘Hey, I know you don’t teach fiddle, but could you please at least give her an understanding of that style of music? She’s really into it.’ He started working with me. I learned a bunch of tunes.”

Budington teaches violin and fiddle at CCMS, as does folk department chair Liz Faiella. Liz performs in a duo with her brother Dan, also a teacher and guitarist specializing in Celtic music. “When I was in my early teens I studied a lot of that music with David Surette at the music school,” Dan said in a Zoom meeting with Liz.

Dan pointed out other Celtic greats who lived here.

“Tommy Makem was in New Hampshire for a bunch of years, and Winifred Horan from Solas [at Portsmouth’s Music Hall on March 12],” he said. “There are a lot of really cool people who wanted a lower-key environment, and they wound up in New Hampshire.”

Another musician mentioned by many was Paddy Keenan, who spent several years here before moving back to Ireland.

“He’s probably the most well-known Irish piper in the world; he lived in Loudon,” Jim Prendergast, a guitarist and Celtic music producer who hosts Irish Matinee on Sundays at Stone Church, said recently.

Uilleann piper Anthony Santoro, who leads the weekly sessiun at Salt hill Pub in Lebanon, remembers Keenan performing at the home of Charlie Clarke and his wife, Mary Lou Philbin-Clarke, who sold Irish music books, CDs, videos and cassettes at their Loudon store, Ossian USA.

“They were called the Loft Concerts,” Santoro said by phone. “Whoever was touring through the area would stay with them, and anybody in New Hampshire, or anywhere willing to travel that distance, could come and see whoever was there. There were great players, and Paddy was one of them.”

Santoro is now a partner in Ossian USA with Ruarri Serpa, who took over and runs the now web-based store from his home in Kennebunkport, Maine, but has Granite State roots. “I’ve been playing Irish Traditional Music since I was a kid in rural New Hampshire,” Serpa writes on Ossian’s website.

The thread continues with Roger Burridge, who was a fixture at Salt hill and led a sessiun at Manchester’s Shaskeen Pub before he passed away during Covid. Burridge was beloved throughout the state. “One of the finest fiddle players anywhere, not just New England,” Salt hill owner Josh Tuohy said in 2023.

Liz Faiella was studying at Dartmouth, with no plans for a music career, when she joined Burridge, Santoro and players like Roger Kahle and Randy Miller at Salt hill. “I just learned so much through that experience,” she recalled. “The sessiun scene is very often where you’re going to learn the most as an Irish musician.”

Any short list of New Hampshire’s top Celtic players includes Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki. The fiddler was making his mark here before he was a teenager. Liz Faiella calls him an inspiration. “There was this wonderful fiddle contest at Eagle Square in Concord, and Jordan was the big kid who was always winning,” she recalled.

“I began when I was 8, and by the time I was 10 or 11 I was calling myself an Irish or Celtic fiddler,” Tirrell-Wysocki, who’s also a CCMS faculty member, said in a recent Zoom call. “Of all the New England-style dance music that I was learning, it was the Celtic tunes in particular that I was most interested in.”

Jordan T-W, as he’s known, has played in jam bands and lent his fiddle sound to a range of studio recordings, including the blistering “Devil Went Down to Boston” with Adam Ezra Band a few years back. On St. Patrick’s Day his trio performs at Salt hill Pub in Newport in the morning and does an evening showcase at BNH Stage.

His view of the Celtic music world reaches across the pond to include Nova Scotia and fiddlers like Buddy & Natalie MacMaster and Ashley MacIsaac. “Those are technically the traditions,” he said. “It was heavily influenced by Scottish settlers, so that’s why there’s a lot of shared tunes and shared style.”

Mike Green leads Rebel Collective, a rock-leaning Celtic band in the vein of Dropkick Murphys or the Pogues that includes Audrey Budington on fiddle. His definition of the music is more spiritual.

“To me, it’s the songs and the stories of our people,” Green said, along with their struggles.

“The history books are written by the victors, but the songs, music and the arts are written by the suppressed and oppressed,” he continued. “Often when people were singing these songs to tell their truth and freedoms, the musicians, the harpers, and the bards were killed as an effective way to shut it down.”

An oral tradition kept these songs from vanishing.

“They weren’t written down,” he said. “We keep them alive and bring them to new audiences and new listeners. We get to play our role in the continuum of these stories of our people. For me, it has that deep connection to it, and that’s why I just love doing it.”

For Rebel Collective — Green, cofounder Brian Waldron, Ross Ketchum, Connor Veazey, Wayne Summerford and Budington — March 17 lasts all month. Their Rebel Call Stumble includes St. Patrick’s Day appearances at all three Salt hill Pubs, a stop at Manchester’s Shaskeen and a showcase at BNH Stage on March 20.

As they’ve done many times before, the band will play in the first pint at Salt hill Lebanon, and they’ll close out Shaskeen Pub’s annual bash. That gig grew out of a show by Derek Warfield and the Young Wolfe Tones in 2015 at the storied Manchester bar, which was co-founded by a member of the Chieftains.

Green cites Warfield as his biggest influence. When he learned of the show he cold-called Shaskeen owner Josh Ames to offer his band’s services.

“If you need an opener for Derek Warfield, it would be an honor of my life, we’ll do it for free,” he told him. “We took a chance, and we started playing there at least once a year.”

On the other hand, JD & the Stonemasons, a band that will share the stage with Rebel Collective in Concord on March 20, was born by taking a risk. The Newport trio went to check out their local pub, and brought their instruments, just in case — on a Friday night.

“We kind of knew what that meant,” the band’s flute, whistle, banjo and guitar player David Counts said in an interview that included JD Nadeau, who plays fiddle, mandolin and bass. “What are the odds they’re going to actually let a bunch of random people start playing on a Friday night? But to give them credit, they said yes.”

Pub owner Joe Tuohy was impressed enough to bring them back for an encore, and the group, which includes James Potvin on bodhran, harmonica player David Gainer and Hendrik Mahling on bouzouki and mandolin, is now a St. Patrick’s regular at Salt hill, playing all three pubs on the big day.

They’re careful to keep the three-bar circuit from becoming, in Nadeau’s words, the Salt hill Death March. “We’ve been relatively good about behaving ourselves with a drink; that’s the dragon in the cave,” he said. “You’ve definitely got to pace yourself, particularly if you’re going to play a late gig too.”

When it comes to sessiuns, almost everyone has a favorite. For Nadeau and Counts, it’s Waterhorse Tavern in Franklin.

“It’s a great way to learn new songs, and it’s a challenge, too,” Nadeau said. “You meet someone that’s really good and you’re like, ‘Oh, man, I want to play. I’ve got to pick up my guitar.’”

The Faiella siblings and Budington are part of an unofficial house band at Epsom microbrewery Blasty Bough, a tiny pub with a living room vibe. There’s also Pete Van Berkum on button concertina, bodhran player Chris Murphy, Charles Siletti on Irish flute and bouzouki player Anders Larson, who was taught by Dan Faiella.

Larson was playing folk music with his dad and brother when he enrolled at CCMS.

“From there, a few of my teachers introduced me to Irish music,” he said in a phone call the day after the Blasty Bough sessiun. Along with bouzouki, he plays concertina and guitar. “My newest addition is bass; that’s all another music world.”

Weekly Shaskeen sessiuns at age 12 were seminal for him.

“Chris Stevens, an accordion player up in Maine, would drive down,” he said. “One or two times, his buddy Owen Marshall would come down as well. Those two, along with Alden Robinson, were a band called The Press Gang. They are by far my biggest influence.”

Delaney travels to Somerville for sessiuns at the Burren and McCarthy’s, but also occasionally hits the Barley Pub in Concord’s Tuesday get-together, one of the longest-running in the state. “That was the second sessiun that I spent a lot of time at,” she said. “My first band that I was with, we all met there.”

Green hosts Sea Shanty Singalongs twice a month at Canterbury AleWorks and at the Forum Pub in Concord in the afternoon on the final Saturday of every month. Although Green allows the genre isn’t strictly Celtic, it’s an excuse to gather, and many of the selections come from the Irish canon.

“I actually added a song that’s sung in Irish, about the pirate queen, Grace O’Malley,” Green said, noting that he’s mainly focused on sharing these centuries-old songs. “The oldest one we do is from the 1600s … some crazy old sailor happened to live long enough to have it documented and pass it on down.”

Interestingly, a guitar is in many ways a secondary instrument in Celtic music. A good guitarist must know when to pick a lane and merge into the music at a sessiun.

“It’s a completely different approach to playing guitar than any other kind of music,” Jim Prendergast said. “That’s a really big deal.”

Even for a guy like Prendergast who spent years as a go-to guitarist in Nashville studios because he was such a flexible player, adjustment was hard. He had to completely re-learn his instrument for the special tunings and modal structures of Irish music, which is not made for a guitar strumming along.

“It doesn’t need any kind of chordal accompaniment from a piano or a guitar; you’re there to shine different kinds of light on the melody … almost like a theatrical role,” he said. However, “It’s really fun to have the kind of freedom it allows…. You can choose to play a lot, a few, or no chords.”

Almost all the musicians sharing their thoughts have Irish blood, from a little to a lot. Larson is the exception; he’s primarily German and Norwegian. However, all agree that Celtic lineage isn’t required to play the music from the Seven Nations (or six, or eight, or maybe even nine, the number is often disputed).

Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki believes it’s less about heritage and more about personality and attitude.

“Make yourself aware of why this music exists, what historical circumstances helped create it, and where all the powerful emotions … are coming from,” he said. “You become a much more authentic [and] effective performer of the music if you’re taking the time to connect to [its] historical time and place.”

Green sees an advantage in his bloodline.

“It can help draw you in, and you can learn a little bit more about your history and your ancestry and feel a deeper connection,” he said. “But anybody with a background of people that have been oppressed, or had to deal with that, can automatically tap into this kind of feeling.”

Celtic music is universal, Dan Faiella noted, and can be found in all sorts of unlikely locales.

“Italy, Japan, some places in Germany … Russia has some Irish music fans and people play there. I’ve heard from people who tour in those areas that they’ll go to a session and there’s all these people who’ve maybe never been to Ireland and have spent a lot of time studying the music, and the sessions are amazing.”

Finally, Liz Faiella encouraged even newcomers to consider attending a sessiun.

“Even if you’ve learned three tunes, you can join in and play along,” she said. “People who’ve been playing for years will enjoy the same songs that they learned right at the outset. It’s a great way to do something creative and also connect with other people through that.”

Attend an Irish sessiun

Salt hill Pub
2 W. Park St., Lebanon, 448-4532
Tuesdays at 6 p.m.

Waterhorse Irish Pub
361 Central St., Franklin, 671-7118
Fridays at 7 p.m.

Shaskeen Pub
909 Elm St., Manchester, 625-0246
Saturdays at 3 p.m.

The Barley House
132 N. Main St., Concord, 228-6363
Tuesdays at 6 p.m.

Blasty Bough Brewing Co.
3 Griffin Road, Epsom, 738-4717
Thursdays at 6 p.m.

Canterbury Aleworks
305 Baptist Hill Road, Canterbury, canterburyaleworks.com
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15 Village St., Concord, 565-3100
Last Saturday of the month at 4 p.m.(Shanty Singalong)

A look at this celebration of textures, flavors and tacos

New Hampshire diners like fish tacos so much they’ve been known to DIY them at the restaurant.

“Every year we have customers order ceviche,” Jose Rodriguez said, “but instead of having the tostadas they ask for tortillas on the side and they make tacos out of it. It’s definitely something we’re not too used to seeing, but it makes a nice little taco. You can’t go wrong with that, you know? It’s a hack. A taco hack.”

Rodriguez is the manager of Puerto Vallarta Mexican Grill in Manchester, and he observed that people in New Hampshire love seafood tacos — maybe more than people in Mexico.

“Fish tacos in general — and I mean, I don’t even like to say it — they’re not very popular around the area I’m from. My family is from an inland area. In Mexico they’re not a big popularity of ours. We go for more like the whole fish, fish plates. But here [in New England], honestly, everyone loves seafood. So everyone likes seafood; everyone likes tacos. Give it a mix in between both of them and you get kind of like what people are looking for.”

Rodriguez said for Puerto Vallarta and its sister restaurants, Nuevo Vallarta and Vallarta Tequila Bar, seafood tacos are a mainstay.

“Here we have grilled fish tacos and we have crispy fish tacos, which are breaded fish that we deep-fry. But we also have crispy shrimp tacos. Everyone likes the crispy fish, and with the shrimp dishes it’s the same thing. We have grilled shrimp tacos, but we had deep-fried shrimp with rice and a salad and everything, and people would start grabbing tortillas and making tacos out of them. So we started making tacos out of it. Everyone seems to like their breaded seafood deep fried.”

And that’s not counting the off-menu items like the ceviche tacos. Ceviche is a way of preparing seafood without heat. The fish or shrimp is cooked, but with acid. The seafood is marinated in something highly acidic, like lime juice, and it is cooked chemically, but cold, and it is served cold as well, which, Rodriguez said, can make for a delicious taco. Most tacos, he said, benefit from a squeeze of lime for some acid, and the ceviche is already acidic, so it really works well.

For most customers, however, the go-to seafood tacos are made with fish, Rodriguez said.

“We use tilapia for deep fried whole fish and everything like that,” he said, “but we use haddock for tacos.” Traditionally, fish tacos are served on a grilled flour tortilla, he said, “but we use corn. Your options are open, though. If you want to do flour, you can do flour. Some people have done hard shell. It really depends. We usually use the authentic corn tortilla; it’s a little more Mexican traditional. We give you all your toppings on the side, give you some rice, a mixture of cabbage and lettuce, pico de gallo, and some sauce, so you can customize your own tacos. We give you a homemade sauce as well with the fish, a chipotle cream sauce, to give it a little spice.”

Fish tacos are usually made with fresh white ocean fish. On the beach in Baja they would probably be made with a meaty fish like shark or swordfish, but according to Adam Podraza, Kitchen Manager at Makris Lobster & Steak House in Concord, here in New England it is more likely to be a cold-water Atlantic fish. Which one you use, he said, really depends on how you plan to cook it. Firm, “steaky” fish is better for a grilled fish taco, he said, but flaky fish tends to fall apart on a grill and is better battered and deep fried. The crispy batter holds the fish together, and gives it some crunch — as in fish and chips.

“Up here in the north,” Podraza said, “it’s very common to see haddock tacos. Cod works very well, too. As you go further south, you see more mahi-mahi, and I love mahi-mahi! It works well up here as well, but it’s more common to see haddock as a fish taco. It’s a flaky fish. It’s white with a very mild flavor. It’s a whole lot flakier than your mahi-mahi. Mahi-mahi is more of a steak fish, like a swordfish, which makes a great taco, but you do it as a different preparation. You’ll see a lot of winter fish tacos that are being fried, as opposed to something like the mahi-mahi, which might be grilled, or pan-seared, maybe blackened, something like that. A seasoned application versus being a mild, flaky fried fish.”

Podraza said East Coast American fish tacos are fundamentally different from Pacific Coast Mexican ones.

“In northern Mexico, they’re going to use whatever they’ve got,” he said. “If someone’s got a swordfish or whatever — whatever the catch of the day was.” And it would probably be flame grilled, which calls for a firmer fleshed fish, he said. “I don’t like grilling haddock. I don’t like grilling cod — they flake away too hard. Really, I go with the mahi-mahi and the haddock.” He said that for tacos it’s a good idea to stay away from strong-flavored, oily fish like mackerel. “You could do a striped bass,” he said. “Striped bass would be wonderful grilled. That would work out very nicely.”

“For me,” Podraza said, “my ideal [taco] would have something fried — you know, batter-fried. It’s going to give it some texture, plus it will take on a sauce well. Even today we’ve got a beautiful pineapple cilantro salsa at the restaurant that we’re using with our tuna. A grilled tuna taco would be fantastic too.” He said fresh tuna is more affordable than most people would assume. “Our tuna right now is $15.99 a pound — that’s cheaper than a steak.”

Given that it is ice-fishing season, Podraza noted that some fresh-water fish work in a taco, even if they aren’t traditional.

“You could use a toothy fish like a pike,” he said, “and bass would be wonderful. You’re looking for something that’s going to take on the flavors of your taco versus fighting against it.”

If you are comfortable with looking for signs and portents, the popularity of fish tacos might be an indicator of New Hampshire’s evolving tastes. Roger Soulard, owner of North Side Grille in Hudson, has been a little surprised to see fish tacos adopted as a mainstream dish.

“It’s funny,” Soulard said. “When we first opened 13 years ago fish tacos weren’t on the menu. I always give credit to one of our cooks. His name was Terry and he was probably our largest seafood lover. I just want something different to serve something that wasn’t like you’d get from a diner down the street or even just like other American fare. We needed something different. that we could make day in and day out. Terry wasn’t from California, but he was from out West — Arizona — and he was like, ‘Well, what do you think about fish tacos?’ And I was like, ‘What are you thinking?’ He came up with a recipe, and we tweaked it here and there, and it’s been here ever since. What I love about it is it’s all simple and fresh. It works. Our customers love it.”

At the time, though, Soulard was worried about whether his customers would actually order it. It was unusual for New Hampshire at the time, he said. “Sometimes we’ll have like a great idea but unfortunately sometimes our Hudson neighborhood just is not ready for it yet. I remember a lot of cool sandwiches and ideas that we had in the beginning. Avocado was like something that we could not sell to our customers, though, for instance. We were wasting so much avocado. I was like, ‘Alright, we’ve got to stop ordering avocado; they’re just not eating it.’ But then we gave it a break for like a year or two. And then we just reintroduced it as guacamole. Obviously the guac is a little bit more flavorful, but that’s how we introduced it to the crowd. But like when we first started out, yeah, like we were just throwing out so much avocado.”

But for whatever reason, North Side Grille’s fish tacos took off right away.

“It’s one of the few things that has not changed on our menu,” Soulard said. “It wasn’t always originally a classic, but we made it a classic. So that’s like one of my favorite things about it — it’s something that found its way onto our menu and stayed there. It’s easy to put something like a cheeseburger on a menu and it’s never going anywhere because it’s the American cheeseburger. But if you told me fish tacos 13 years ago, I wouldn’t be able to tell you that that really would be a thing. But now, 13 years later, I’m like, yeah, the fish tacos could never come off [our menu], because if they did come off, we’d still be making them regardless. People would come in and they’d be like, ‘We know fish tacos aren’t on the menu, but can we have them anyway?’”

Soulard’s fish tacos are made with grilled haddock.

“That’s kind of nice,” he said, “because it feels like a cleaner option, compared to the fried seafood that you usually find in our area. There’s just something about the grilled white flaky haddock that is lightly seasoned. The only thing that’s not the healthiest about it might be the aioli we serve on it. It’s pretty much mayonnaise, cilantro and fresh lime, that’s all whipped up, and that’s the basic topping. Our recipe is pretty simple. It has fresh diced tomato, light lettuce, light cabbage, and it’s topped with that cilantro aioli. That’s our classic fish taco that, like I said, it’s been on there for at least a decade. We have not changed it at all.”

Isabel Reyes, co-owner of Los Reyes Street Tacos & More in Derry, said that while fish and shrimp tacos are always popular at her restaurant there is an extra demand in late winter.

“I was raised in the U.S.,” she said. “I was 10 months old when we came here. But when we visit my parents’ home area, it’s not on the coast of Mexico, it’s more in the center, so people don’t do much fresh fish or shrimp. The only time we really eat it is during Lent. You know, Mexico is very Catholic-oriented. It’s not the only religion in Mexico, but obviously its influence is important. So [at this time of year] we utilize a lot of shrimp, fish and veggies into our Lent options. So if you look at our special Lent menu on Instagram, we did incorporate that. from our hometown. We call them Boom Fish Tacos. They were the idea of Jose Reyes; he’s the co-owner.”

“[The Boom Fish Tacos] aren’t technically on our regular menu, Reyes said. “It started as a Lent special last year, but then people loved it, so it’s kind of stayed since then. It’s two battered cod fish tacos on a flour tortilla. And it’s topped with the in-house cabbage slaw that we offer for our shrimp Baja tacos. And then it’s topped with cilantro. And then we wanted to add a little something of New Hampshire, so we added maple chipotle cream. And then it comes with a side of our house-made pico de gallo. So it’s a regular pico de gallo, but the Southwest part comes from roasted corn. And then it comes with the cilantro white rice.”

“Our Baja shrimp tacos are pretty similar,” Reyes said. “For the most part, we use the same ingredients that we already have in house. Those are on a corn tortilla with grilled shrimp. They have the same cabbage slaw. We do chipotle, but just regular chipotle, with some ancho chilies. The Baja tacos come in three and with no sides.” There are three of the shrimp tacos to an order, she said, because the corn tortillas are smaller than the flour ones. “The corn tortillas are 6 inches, and the flour are 8.”

“I think fish tacos are a type of comfort food,” Jason Berkman from Fish & Chix in Derry said. “They blend fish and some tropical ingredients that go together well. Typically there’s a little bit of spice, a little bit of vinegar, salt, and some creamy cheese that goes with it. I think that people gravitate toward them just because of the combination of flavor.”

Fish & Chix uses haddock for its fish tacos, which are battered and deep-fried.

“We actually use a soft corn tortilla,” Berkman said, “so they’re a little bit different from what you’d typically find. You’re either getting a hard corn shell, or a lot of people serve it on the soft flour tortilla. Ours is a yellow corn [tortilla], similar in softness to the flour but just a little bit different. Fish tacos almost always have cabbage; we use red pickled cabbage. It brings some acidity and brightness to the taco. We serve ours with chipotle mayonnaise, red pickled cabbage, pico de gallo, and cotija cheese. It’s crumbly, somewhat soft still, and salty.”

Berkman said the fish tacos have been a hit with customers across the board.

“The full spectrum of people order it,” he said, “younger and older. I think what happens a lot is people try them and they tell their friends and they come in.”

The fish tacos come two to an order, and Berkman is not a traditionalist when it comes to sides. “We serve ours with fries,” he said, “but you can substitute that with onion rings, potato salad, whatever. We make a really good chicken taco, too, but the fish is by far the No. 1 that people order.”

The fish taco panel

Puerto Vallarta Mexican Grill (865 Second St., Manchester, 935-9182, vallartamexicannh.com) is open from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, until 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and until 9 p.m. on Sunday. Fish tacos (made with batter-fried haddock), grilled shrimp tacos, and ceviche are available as dinner plates for $22.

North Side Grille (323 Derry Road, Hudson, 886-3663, northsidegrillenh.com) is open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday. Fish tacos (made with grilled Cajun haddock) are $17.

Los Reyes Street Tacos & More (127 Rockingham Road, Derry, 845-8327, losreyesstreettacos.com) is open Monday through Saturday from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday). The eatery is also open for lunch from 11:30 to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. “Boom Boom” tacos (made with batter-fried cod) are $15 on a special Lent menu. “Baja” tacos (made with grilled shrimp) are $13.95.

Fish & Chix (22 Manchester Road, Derry, 704-3410, fshnchx.com) is open seven days a week, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and until 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Fish tacos (made with batter-fried haddock) are $13.

The fish market at Makris Lobster & Steak House (354 Sheep Davis Road, Concord, 225-7665, eatalobster.com) is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Monday, and until 8 p.m. on Sunday. The availability and price of fish depend on market conditions.