Category: Cover Stories

A look at the salty and sweet comfort dish

Nothing says Sunday brunch quite like a warm, fluffy fresh-baked waffle, topped with a generous drizzle of sweet maple syrup, maybe some butter, and paired with — fried chicken? While it may seem like a strange combination, chicken and waffles is a beloved comfort dish not only for its marriage of sweet and savory flavors but also for its astonishing versatility. It’s increasingly becoming a popular brunch menu item across New Hampshire restaurant menus, although some have noted that it’s also commonly enjoyed for dinner.

“I feel like here people order it any time from like 8 o’clock in the morning until 2 p.m. It’s kind of that any-time-of-day sort of dish,” said Alex Horton, owner of Café la Reine, which opened its second spot in Manchester’s North End last October.

The Saint Anselm College alum opened the original Café la Reine on Elm Street downtown in 2013 before her team expanded their operations in the space long occupied by Blake’s Restaurant. With the new location came all kinds of new menu items exclusive to the space — chief among them are the chicken and waffles, which feature a house-made waffle mix and hand-breaded chicken tenders, topped with scallions and the eatery’s own hot honey. Both the waffles and the chicken are gluten-free, Horton said, making it one of their top-selling items.

But just what is it about fried chicken and waffles that makes these two indulgences work so well together? Kendra Smith of Soel Sistas, a Nashua-based food trailer and catering company, said it’s the unique balance of tastes and textures that make it shine — in particular, the crispiness and saltiness of the fried chicken with the soft, buttery flavor of the waffle and the sweetness of the dressing, be it a hot honey or a maple syrup.

“It hits all of those notes on your tongue,” said Smith, who regularly offers chicken and waffles on her trailer’s menu and attends public and private events across the Granite State.

With Mother’s Day just around the corner, many local eateries that don’t already have chicken and waffles on their regular menu are incorporating it as a brunch special this week. Here’s a closer look at some rather interesting variations of the dish and where you can get them.

From brunch to dinner

Whether it’s the type of chicken used or how the waffle batter is prepared — not to mention whatever extra ingredients are chosen to drizzle on top — chicken and waffles can take on a surprising array of different forms to exploit that sweet and savory flavor fusion.

“It’s one of my favorite dishes in general. I can’t even explain why. I just love it,” said Kimmy Labrie, executive chef of The Hills Restaurant at Milford’s Hampshire Hills Athletic Club. “If it was just plain chicken and plain waffles, then I probably wouldn’t like it, but I love to see all of the creativity that people put into it. Everywhere you go, there’s a different spin on it.”

As a brunch special for Mother’s Day, on Sunday, May 14, for instance, Labrie will serve a maple bourbon dry rubbed chicken breast, going over a sweet vanilla buttermilk waffle before that is all topped with pink peppercorn bacon and a Buffalo-infused maple syrup.

“The pink peppercorn bacon is super floral, and then you have your spiced, your sweet [and] your savory, so it kind of hits all of your taste buds there,” she said.

Labrie recalls making dinner-friendly chicken and waffles, featuring chicken tenders, a scallion waffle and a homemade maple bacon syrup, while she was a chef at Bar One near the Milford Oval several years ago.

“I was whipping bacon fat into the syrup. It was so good,” she said. “That one had tons of black pepper too. It was a good late-night snack, for sure. It soaked up all the beers.”

Smith will usually offer waffles topped with boneless fried chicken thighs, along with two sides each of maple syrup and hot sauce, although she too has tried different things, especially when collaborating with Nashua’s Lounge 38 Bar and Grill for their brunch menus.

“We’ve done a honey ginger chicken and waffle … and then a mac and cheese chicken and waffle, so it’s a waffle with mac and cheese in it,” she said. “We can do them on the trailer, but typically when we do brunches at Lounge 38 is when we’ll do the different variations, because it’s just easier to do in a regular kitchen.”

In Manchester, Backyard Brewery & Kitchen started out with offering chicken and waffles as a week-long special on its menu. But due to its steady popularity, owner Marcus Doucet said, the decision was quickly made to keep it on the menu all the time. Theirs features buttermilk fried chicken tenders atop a Belgian waffle, finished with North Country Smokehouse bacon, Sriracha-infused maple syrup and a honey mustard drizzle.

“Chicken and waffles has gone way beyond brunch food and is now most popular at dinner time,” Doucet said in an email. “You get the juicy and crunchy fried chicken on a bed of fluffy waffles, mixed with the sweet and savory bacon and the maple syrup.”

At the Copper Door Restaurant, you can get chicken and waffles one of two ways — as a brunch entree featuring a full-sized waffle topped with buttermilk fried chicken, crispy prosciutto, herbed gravy and a local maple syrup, or as an appetizer option with smaller bite-sized waffles, syrup, gravy and a Creole aioli. Its sister restaurant, CJ’s Great West Grill, meanwhile, just added its own chicken and waffles dish within the last year and a half, according to Great New Hampshire Restaurants marketing and menu development director Nicole Barreira. That one has a cornbread-sugar crunch waffle that’s topped with turkey gravy, maple Sriracha, chopped bacon and scallions, in addition to the buttermilk marinated fried chicken.

Even Buffalo chicken and waffles is a thing — you can get that anytime at The Yolk Grill in Pelham, which boasts the dish as one of its more popular offerings. Chicken and waffles Benedicts are also available, at Margaret’s Kitchen in Sanbornton, featuring two local poached eggs, a house hollandaise sauce and chives.

“As a chef, it’s so versatile. You can make it as sweet or savory as you want,” Margaret’s Kitchen owner and chef Dustin Martel said. “We’ve done a Thai-style one that uses Sriracha, Thai chilis and basil.”

An American staple

Exactly when and where someone decided to pair chicken with waffles for the first time is unclear, although at least one version of the dish appears to be a traditional meal associated with Pennsylvania Dutch fare, dating as far back as the 1600s. In his 2013 book As American as Shoofly Pie: The Foodlore and Fakelore of Pennsylvania Dutch Cuisine, prolific author and food historian William Woys Weaver writes that it was known for being prepared several different ways, with the most basic form featuring a chicken-based gravy served over waffles.

Perhaps one of the best-known restaurants nationwide serving the version with fried chicken we most commonly see today is Roscoe’s House of Chicken ’N Waffles. Founded in 1975, the Los Angeles-based chain, which has seven locations in that city’s metro area, is referred to by John T. Edge as “ground zero for the phenomenon” of chicken and waffles in his 2004 book Fried Chicken: An American Story.

According to information on its website, Roscoe’s House of Chicken ’N Waffles, the site of several movies and television shows, “making it a favorite for everyday diners and celebrities alike,” was founded by Herb Hudson, a native of Harlem, New York. Edge traces that origin story and arrives in New York City during the height of the Harlem Renaissance, with the opening of Wells Supper Club by Joseph T. Wells in 1938, famous for its chicken and waffles.

But Edge goes on to surmise that the dish, in some form, was likely “already ensconced in the folk repertoire” even earlier than that. Wells Supper Club stayed open until 1982, but chicken and waffles remains a popular menu item across many Harlem-area soul food restaurants.

Where to get chicken and waffles

Here’s a list of local restaurants, diners, food trailers and other businesses serving up plates of chicken and waffles — some offer it on a regular basis, while others are featuring it as a menu special ahead of Mother’s Day (Sunday, May 14). Did we miss any in the Manchester, Concord or Nashua areas that you know of? Tell us about them at [email protected].

• 110 Grill (875 Elm St., Manchester, 836-1150; 27 Trafalgar Square, Nashua, 943-7443; 110grill.com) is offering chicken and waffles as a special feature on its Mother’s Day brunch menu, featuring cornflake-crusted fried chicken served with a Belgian waffle, whipped cream and hot honey maple syrup. Brunch specials will be available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 14.

• Airport Diner (2280 Brown Ave., Manchester, 623-5040, thecman.com) offers fried chicken and waffles, featuring a house-made Belgian waffle topped with hand-breaded chicken tenders, and served with your choice of real New Hampshire maple syrup or white country gravy.

• The Alamo Texas Barbecue & Tequila Bar (99 Route 13, Brookline, 721-5500, alamobarbecue.com) offers mini fried chicken and waffles as an appetizer, topped with maple butter and Sriracha maple syrup.

• Americus Restaurant (LaBelle Winery, 14 Route 11, Derry, 672-9898, labellewinery.com) has chicken and waffles available as a brunch entree, featuring fried chicken thighs, a sweet potato waffle and five onion relish, topped with a honey ginger Demi sauce and cowboy butter.

• Ansanm (20 South St., Milford, 554-1248, ansanmnh.com) is offering its signature fried chicken and waffles during its Mother’s Day brunch buffet, which is scheduled for Sunday, May 14, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tickets are $25 per person and available online via Eventbrite.

• Backyard Brewery & Kitchen (1211 S. Mammoth Road, Manchester, 623-3545, backyardbrewerynh.com) has chicken and waffles as a regular menu item, featuring fried chicken tenders atop a Belgian waffle, with North Country Smokehouse bacon, Sriracha-infused maple syrup and a honey mustard drizzle.

• BluAqua Restrobar (930 Elm St., Manchester, 836-3970, bluaquarestrobar.com) offers chicken and waffles on its menu, featuring a house-made Belgian waffle with maple butter, buttermilk fried chicken topped with North Country Smokehouse bacon ends and finished with a generous drizzle of honey.

• Boards & Brews (941 Elm St., Manchester, 232-5184, boardsandbrewsnh.com) offers chicken and waffles as a main staple on its entree menu.

• Bobola’s Restaurant (9 Simon St., Nashua, 577-1086, bobolasrestaurants.com) has chicken and waffles on its breakfast menu.

• Café la Reine – North End (53 Hooksett Road, Unit 6, Manchester, 782-5367, cafelareine.com) offers chicken and waffles on its menu that feature crispy hand-breaded chicken breast, scallions and hot honey and are served with a side of house-cut fries. Café la Reine – North End is accepting reservations online for Mother’s Day weekend, according to owner Alex Horton, and also plans to open its outdoor patio for the first time since opening last fall.

• Chez Vachon (136 Kelley St., Manchester, 625-9660, chezvachon.com) has chicken and waffles as a breakfast specialty on its menu, with the option of honey sugar butter.

• CJ’s Great West Grill (782 S. Willow St., Manchester, 627-8600, cjsgreatwestgrill.com) offers chicken and waffles on its entree menu, featuring buttermilk marinated fried chicken, a corn bread-sugar crunch waffle, turkey gravy, maple Sriracha, chopped bacon and scallions.

• Copper Door Restaurant (15 Leavy Drive, Bedford, 488-2677; 41 S. Broadway, Salem, 458-2033; copperdoor.com) has two ways to order chicken and waffles — you can get them as an appetizer, featuring house-made waffle bites topped with crispy chicken, Creole aioli, maple syrup, herbed gravy and crispy prosciutto, or as a brunch option with prosciutto, herbed gravy, local maple syrup and fresh fruit.

• Diz’s Cafe (860 Elm St., Manchester, 606-2532, dizscafe.com) has chicken and waffles on its breakfast menu, available on Saturdays and Sundays, from 8:30 a.m. to noon.

• Francoeur’s Cafe (488 S. Main St., Manchester, 206-5329, francoeurscafe.com) offers chicken and waffles with the option to add local New Hampshire maple syrup or habanero maple syrup.

• Frankie’s Diner (63 Route 13, Milford, 554-1359, find them on Facebook @frankiesdinermilford) offers panko-fried chicken and waffles on its breakfast menu.

• The Friendly Toast (4 Main St., Bedford, 836-6238, thefriendlytoast.com) offers chicken and waffles on its brunch menu, featuring a fluffy Belgian waffle infused with bacon, fire-roasted poblano corn and jalapeno jack cheese, layered with chicken breast and topped with hot honey, chipotle maple sour cream, pickled onions and scallions.

• The Goat Bar & Grill (50 Old Granite St., Manchester, 844-603-4628, goatnh.com) has chicken and waffles on its menu as an appetizer, featuring fried chicken tenders on a pearl sugar waffle with jalapenos and a maple Sriracha drizzle.

• The Hidden Pig (53 Main St., Nashua, 402-9640, thehiddenpig.com) has chicken and waffles as a menu specialty, topped with a sunny-side-up egg, maple-bacon butter, maple syrup and homemade gravy.

• The Hills Restaurant (Hampshire Hills Athletic Club, 50 Emerson Road, Milford, 673-7123, hampshirehills.com/the-hills-restaurant) has chicken and waffles as one of the featured options on its a la carte Mother’s Day brunch menu, available Sunday, May 14, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and featuring bourbon maple fried chicken, a sweet buttermilk waffle, pink peppercorn bacon and Buffalo maple syrup. Other variations on chicken and waffles are sometimes run as menu specials, according to executive chef Kimmy Labrie.

• Margaret’s Kitchen (1002 Laconia Road, Sanbornton, 729-0038, mkitchennh.com) offers a chicken and waffles Benedict, featuring crispy chicken and a house recipe waffle, two local poached eggs, house-made hollandaise and chives.

• MaryAnn’s Diner (4 Cobbetts Pond Road, Windham, 965-3066; 29 E. Broadway, Derry, 434-5785; 3 Veterans Memorial Parkway, Salem, 893-9877; 1 Craftsman Lane, Amherst; maryannsdiner.com) offers chicken and waffles on its breakfast menu. It’s available at all four locations, including the newest one, which opened in the former Joey’s Diner space earlier this year.

• Odd Fellows Brewery (124 Main St., Nashua, 521-8129, oddfellowsbrewery.com) has chicken and waffle sliders, featuring Nashville hot crispy chicken on toasted waffle biscuits, with bourbon bacon jam and a fresh pickle chip.

• Parker’s Maple Barn (1349 Brookline Road, Mason, 878-2308, parkersmaplebarn.com) offers chicken and waffles with a house maple bourbon drizzle.

• The Red Arrow Diner (112 Loudon Road, Concord, 415-0444; 137 Rockingham Road, Londonderry, 552-3091; 61 Lowell Road, Manchester, 626-1118; 149 Daniel Webster Hwy., Nashua, 204-5088; redarrowdiner.com) has offered four-piece fried chicken and waffle plates as a rotating Blue Plate special at each of its locations.

• The Rollin’ Grille (therollingrille.com) is a southern New Hampshire-based food trailer that has offered chicken and waffles as a special in the past, featuring house-breaded tender chicken breast with spicy and sweet flavors and drizzled with maple syrup.

• The Shaskeen Pub and Restaurant (909 Elm St., Manchester, 625-0246, shaskeenirishpub.com) has chicken and waffles on its Sunday brunch menu, available from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and featuring beer-battered chicken tenders, maple syrup, whipped cream and an optional maple bacon glaze.

• Soel Sistas Catering & Meal Prep (soelsistas.com, and on Facebook @soelsistasllc) is a Nashua-based food trailer and catering service that participates in several local public and private events, specializing in soul and Southern comfort food. Its chicken and waffles are available all the time, featuring Southern fried chicken thighs and a house waffle with maple syrup and hot sauce on the side, although Soel Sistas owner Kendra Smith has also dabbled in honey ginger chicken and waffles and even macaroni and cheese chicken and waffles in the past.

• Suzie’s Diner (76 Lowell Road, Hudson, 883-2741, suziesdiner.com) has chicken and waffles on its breakfast menu, with added options of either classic or hot honey maple syrup.

• Tilt’n Diner (61 Laconia Road, Tilton, 286-2204, thecman.com) offers fried chicken and waffles, featuring a house-made Belgian waffle topped with hand-breaded chicken tenders, and served with your choice of real New Hampshire maple syrup or white country gravy.

• The Yolk Grill (116 Bridge St., Pelham, 635-0992, theyolkgrill.com) offers Buffalo chicken and waffles as a menu specialty.

Featured photo: Cafe la Reine — North End. Photo by Ethos & Able Creative.

Celebrate Free Comic Book Day! Kids get their own Comic Con! Popcorn movies hit the screens!

More than just free comics

Comic shops are going all out for Free Comic Book Day

By Katelyn Sahagian

[email protected]

Those who love Marvel, DC, Star Wars, graphic novels and other pop culture powerhouses should be gearing up to celebrate one of the biggest days in comic book culture: Free Comic Book Day, which returns on Saturday, May 6, at participating venues across the Granite State.

In downtown Rochester, for example, fans can find all sorts of goodies, giveaways, freebies and more across 24 shops.

“At this point, the event has become something the city is known for, and [people] know it as Rochester’s Free Comic Book Day festival,” said Ralph DiBernardo, owner of Jetpack Comics and Games.

This is the 15th year that Jetpack has partnered with the city to put on the festival. The first year, the shop had 800 customers, and the event’s popularity grew each year.

After three years of success, DiBernardo wanted to include the rest of the city for a chance to really let Rochester shine.

“I wanted my customers [to] see what else Rochester had to offer,” he said. “The Main Street Program is super supportive of our store and we got started, wrapped them into [the day] and they help us promote and turn [Free Comic Book Day] into a citywide event.”

DiBernardo said the event is family-friendly. He said it’s important to him to have the day be inclusive. Features range from special collectibles at different locations — including a special Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book cover, created especially for Jetpack Comics and Games — to a costume contest at 4 p.m.

In addition to the events, there will be a beer garden and food truck area set up. After the costume contest, DiBernardo said, visitors can close out the night with an afterparty until 11 p.m.

While Rochester has a citywide con lined up, Double Midnight Comics will have two smaller conventions at each of its locations in Manchester and Concord — both will feature local artists, vendors, writers and representatives from Kids Con New England providing activities for pint-sized comic buffs.

Co-owner Scott Proulx said this year will be bigger than ever before for the Manchester shop, inside The Factory on Willow.

“This year we’re gearing up and we have more space to work with,” he said. “Next to us, at the Factory, we rented out an event space to have artists from all over the area, and a few guest creators that are published writers and artists.”

Double Midnight will also have food trucks and a costume contest with prizes for each of the age groups.

While Double Midnight Comics in Manchester is going all out, the Concord location is a smaller affair. It will still have activities provided by Kids Con New England, but there won’t be a miniature comic convention. The shop will have an open house, with deals and discounts on a lot of their stock, as well as all of the comics that are being released for free by major companies, Proulx said.

Proulx said it was important to him, as someone who grew up reading comics, to connect with kids and younger fans. Having organizers of Kids Con New England there to supply activities not only encourages kids to read, but also reminds them that they have a community in the comic world.

“I remember growing up, I loved comics as a kid, but [they weren’t] mainstream,” Proulx said. “But now … it’s cool to see that there’s something for everybody out there.”

Free Comic Book Day
Saturday, May 6
Find more participating stores as well as a preview of some of the comics at freecomicbookday.com.
• Double Midnight Comics (252 Willow St., Manchester, 669-9636; 341 Loudon Road, Concord, 715-2683; dmcomics.com); 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Concord, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Manchester
• Jetpack Comics & Games (37 N. Main St., Rochester, 330-9363, jetpackcomics.com); 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., costume contest at 4 p.m., after party until 11 p.m.
• Merrymac Comics and Games (550 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack, 420-8161, merrymacgc.com); 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Getting into character

A conversation with a local cosplayer

J. Jester, a professional cosplayer based in New Hampshire, will appear at Kids Con New England, at the Douglas N. Everett Arena (15 Loudon Road, Concord) on Saturday, May 13. He will be cosplaying as Nightwing, one of the heroes in the Batman universe. Jester, who chose to go by his stage name for this interview, has been a cosplayer for eight years.

What is cosplaying?

Essentially cosplay is a word of two words: “costume” and “play.” Dressing up as someone is one thing, but a lot of cosplayers will also emanate the character. So it’s almost like a costume party plus theater.

How did you get started with it?

I got into cosplaying to become part of something bigger than myself. I was doing some soul-searching at the time and found cosplay and doing charity work through it. Some people I’ve met have gone into it looking to become well-known. Other people I know have gotten into it because they have a passion for art.

What is your favorite cosplay?

In the beginning I had, for about six years, I had … cosplayed [as] the Joker from Batman: The Animated Series. Over time, though, I retired that character. I’d have to say it would be Joker, just because of the memories I have with that costume.

What is your favorite thing about cosplaying?

My favorite part about cosplaying is just the sheer energy of interacting with kids or the people who aren’t cosplaying or even other people who are cosplaying. There are few better feelings than having kids and adults alike smile and light up seeing one of their favorite characters right in front of them. In a lot of instances, those kids truly believe you are that character.

What advice would you give someone who’s never cosplayed before but wants to try it out?

Advice I would give is to just give it a shot. My first costume was literally just a denim jacket and an Ash Ketchum T-shirt with a giant Pikachu plush. Everybody starts somewhere and you can dress up however you want. Cosplay has no real limitations outside of one’s own imagination, so I would say just go for it. The only thing that can hold you back is yourself at that point. That’s the advice somebody gave me a while back.

What is some etiquette for people meeting cosplayers?

Rule of thumb is that cosplay is not consent. You’ll actually hear or see that a lot at conventions, or at least in the community. The reason being is just because somebody is dressed as a particular character, there’s still a person behind that character. At one point, someone wanted a photo of me [as the Joker] and Harley drinking from the same drink with two different straws. And sometimes those requests will pan out. But other times it is one of those etiquette things — you wouldn’t want somebody coming up and interrupting you while you’re trying to just sit down and eat as a normal person. So it’s always good to ask.

Just for kids

Kids Con New England celebrates comic books & literacy

By Katelyn Sahagian

[email protected]

With the last decade came the rise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the widespread acceptance of comic books, superheroes and other more niche genres of movies and reading materials.

What didn’t come with all that popularity was a lot of spaces for kids, said Emily Drouin, the creator of Kids Con New England.

“When I was tabling at events in 2013, I felt the need for there to be more kids’ activities and a family-friendly space,” Drouin said. “Lots of times at cons, not everything is for kids. You might [have] more mature and adult-themed comics. Being a kids’ creator, I wanted to gather more kids’ creators. I thought it would be fun to help and have a kids’ focus.”

Drouin, who works as an illustrator, writer and comic creator for the children’s genre, set out to build a convention that would put an emphasis on children first. She gathered together fellow children’s book writers and illustrators to build an event where kids would be at the center.

In 2016 she hosted the first Kids Con, which was extremely well-received. This year’s convention will have more than 100 vendors and creators. Some of the creators will be nationally celebrated children’s creators like Will Murray, creator of Squirrel Girl; Jeff Kline, who produced G.I. Joe and Dragon Tales; and anime and video game voice actress Christina Costello.

“It’s pretty awesome getting to meet creators up close,” Drouin said. “Now you can meet them [and] get autographs. We encourage kids to bring sketchbooks for tips and advice and to share work with others. It’s a great way to make friends too, through workshops and kids playing.”

In addition to the usual convention activities, like meet-and-greets with creators and cosplayers, the event has workshops for kids to learn everything from how to fight like a Jedi to getting started making their own comics. A local Boy Scouts troop will have an area set up for visitors to play video games and learn other outdoor activities. There will also be a few food trucks.

To Drouin, Kids Con New England is a way to encourage kids to have pride in owning the things they like, whether it’s princesses, superheroes or video games.

“It’s exciting to live out my own childhood as an adult again,” she said. “You feel like you’re a kid again when you come to these things. It’s great too for parents passing down the geekdom to their kids, and the kids living out their fantasies in the superhero world and meeting them.”

Kids Con New England
Where: Douglas N. Everett Arena, 15 Loudon Road, Concord
When: Saturday, May 13, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Cost: $12 for visitors ages 5 and older, $10 for seniors ages 65 and older and for veterans, and free for kids ages 5 and under
Visit: kidsconne.com

Roll the film

Local movie theaters looking forward to a strong summer

By Matt Ingersoll

[email protected]

A schedule filled with major film releases in the coming months has local movie theaters optimistic that it will be a strong summer, as the industry continues to recover post-pandemic.

Global box office numbers have already bounced back in a big way so far this year, driven in part by the success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie — that’s according to data from London-based film tech company Gower Street Analytics, which announced on April 23 it has increased its 2023 projections to $32 billion, up from a $29 billion estimate in December.

The announcement came on the eve of CinemaCon, an annual four-day movie theater industry convention in Las Vegas. Regional operations manager Jessica Robitaille of Apple Cinemas, which has two theaters, in Merrimack and Hooksett, attended this year’s convention.

“This summer is jam packed with a lot of really great movies that are coming out this year,” Robitaille said. “Pretty much every week this summer we’re going to have a fairly decent title … and a lot of these are strictly theatrical releases with lots of people wanting to see them. … I’ve noticed too that children’s movies do very well for us, and I think that’s because there’s not quite as many that get released in theaters as there maybe once was. In the summer, of course, we do tend to see an uptick in families on a day-to-day basis instead of just on the weekends.”

Apple Cinemas took over two of the three former Cinemagic locations in the Granite State in the summer of 2021, just months after that chain announced it was shutting them down permanently.

“We took 2022 as an opportunity to really develop [our locations in] Hooksett and Merrimack, to give them a more modernized look,” said Robitaille, who had previously worked at Cinemagic. “They’ve got full recliners now in Merrimack, and a beautiful self-serve lobby with new floors, new paint and all of that, and there’s plans as well for a bar in the future. … It’s got to be an experience these days. It can’t just be the hour-and-a-half, two hours to see a movie. People really need to feel like they are having a nice time out and getting that experience.”

Chunky’s Cinema Pub, with locations in Manchester, Nashua and Pelham, has similarly transformed their theaters into hubs for all kinds of special events over the last few years, from comedy nights and drag shows to scratch ticket bingo nights and even farm-to-table dinners.

“If we just think of our rooms as a room with four walls, comfortable seating and big-screen capabilities, any idea is on the table,” Chunky’s marketing director Mike Mannetta said.

Even though many of Chunky’s non-movie event ideas came out of the pandemic and will continue this summer, Mannetta said the upcoming schedule of film releases looks to be a solid one. He expects The Super Mario Bros. Movie, already out for a month, to stay on their lineup of featured films for much if not all of the summer, and also predicts the June 30 release of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny as among those to perform the best.

“The inventory is getting better and better, and the quality is getting better and better also,” Mannetta said. “I think that studios are learning that cinema is still the best format for movie releases, and I mean, for Mario, you have people coming back multiple times. They’re seeing it in 2D but then they are coming back to check out how it looks in 3D.”

Caitlin Piper is the director of public relations for Cinemark Theatres, which operates 320 locations nationwide, including one next to The Mall at Rockingham Park in Salem. She said the sheer number of slated theatrical-only films has been on a steady increase year over year since 2020, with this year’s scheduled films already surpassing the overall number seen in 2022.

“It’s still about 20 percent off, roughly, from a pre-pandemic year, but we’re still feeling incredibly strong about it,” Piper said. “It’s really those production cycles that just need to catch up again. … A typical movie production cycle is about two to four years, depending on the scale of the movie, and that’s the reason why the industry is still in a bit of a transition, is because of all of those pauses in the production cycles that had to happen during Covid.”

Beginning June 19, Cinemark is bringing back its Summer Movie Clubhouse program, featuring an eight-week schedule of previously released children’s and family-friendly films for $1.50 per ticket in addition to some discounts on snacks and drinks.

“It’s all of those more fun, recent animated family films, so we’ve got Minions: The Rise of Gru, Sonic the Hedgehog, Mummies [and] The Bad Guys,” Piper said. “[They are] films that aren’t still in theaters but maybe not everyone got to see them, or they did and loved them and mom and dad are thrilled to bring them back to the theaters for a few hours to watch them again.”

O’neil Cinemas in Epping is also bringing back its summer kids’ series, which will run every Monday and Wednesday throughout July and August. That lineup of films is expected to be finalized by the end of this month, according to marketing manager Loni Dirksen.

“They are all mostly animated, some that were just in theaters within the past 12 months and then some that we had a few years ago, but all previous releases,” Dirksen said. “We get a lot of summer camps that bring a field trip group in to go see these movies, and it’s a great way to spend a rainy day in the summer to just get out of the house and still have some fun.”

The Milford Drive-In reopened for the season the weekend of April 15. It’s currently open on Fridays and Saturdays only but will expand to seven days a week by the start of the summer, said Barry Scharmett, whose family has run the venue since 1969.

“If all the movies that are coming out do the business that we think they’re going to do, then I think it’s going to be an excellent season for us,” Scharmett said. “The thing is, people are out, and they are coming out more and more, which is a great sign.”

In Concord, the independent nonprofit Red River Theatres has a full schedule of its own special screenings this summer, according to executive director Angie Lane. Their “Fan Favorites” series kicks off with a showing of Star Wars: A New Hope on Thursday, May 4, for Star Wars Day, and costumes are encouraged. It will be followed by a sing-along of Little Shop of Horrors on May 13, a quote-along of The Princess Bride on June 10 and a special “fan night” of The Big Lebowski on June 15. Beginning with a showing of 50 First Dates during Intown Concord’s Market Days Festival on June 22, Red River Theatres will also hold a series of free outdoor screenings — others on the schedule will take place at area parks, including The Explorers at Memorial Field on July 12, The Rescuers Down Under at Rollins Park on Aug. 9 and The Nightmare Before Christmas at Keach Park on Oct. 20.

Red River Theatres did receive crucial funding in 2021 from the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, but continues to be open only Thursday through Sunday. Lane said the goal is to eventually get the theater back open and showing films seven days a week.

“I would say for the first time in the last three or four years we’ve actually been able to foresee a future where we’re going to be expanding operations once we are able to staff up, because that’s the other side of it, is the hiring,” Lane said. “I’m very optimistic about the future, but I’m definitely very realistic in that it’s going to take a lot of work, and a lot of investment on the part of our community to make sure that it happens.”

Visit the movie theater

Catch a movie this summer at one of these local theaters, several of which are also holding special events, exclusive kid-friendly or 21+ screenings and more.

AMC Theatres
16 Orchard View Drive, Londonderry, 434-8715; 440 Middlesex Road, Tyngsborough, Mass., 978-649-4158; amctheatres.com
One of the largest movie theater chains in the world, AMC Theatres has more than 600 locations across the country, including one in Londonderry and another just over the state line, in Tyngsborough, Mass.

Apple Cinemas
11 Executive Park Drive, Merrimack, 696-3200; 38 Cinemagic Way, Hooksett, 868-6200; applecinemas.com
Just months after Cinemagic permanently closed all its theaters in February 2021, Apple Cinemas took over the shuttered chain’s Merrimack and Hooksett locations. Both underwent renovations in 2022, and films at the Hooksett theater are also available to view in IMAX.

Chunky’s Cinema Pub
707 Huse Road, Manchester, 206-3888; 151 Coliseum Ave., Nashua, 880-8055; 150 Bridge St., Pelham, 635-7499; chunkys.com
The local movie theater chain is unique for also featuring a full dinner menu and bar, as well as maintaining a regular schedule of events from comedy nights and drag shows to scratch ticket bingo nights, exclusive 21+ film screenings and more.

Cinemark Theatres
15 Mall Road, Salem, 890-7111, cinemark.com
Cinemark operates about 320 theaters nationwide, including one a stone’s throw away from The Mall at Rockingham Park in Salem that opened in late 2019. Beginning June 19, Cinemark will run its Summer Movie Clubhouse program, featuring an eight-week schedule of previously released children’s and family-friendly films for $1.50 per ticket. See the website for the full list of films, which includes Sonic the Hedgehog (2020, PG), The Bad Guys (2022, PG) and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022, PG), among others.

Milford Drive-In
531 Elm St., Milford, 673-4090, milforddrivein.com
Owned and operated by the Scharmett family since 1969, the Milford Drive-In is the only remaining drive-in movie theater in southern New Hampshire. The drive-in reopened for the season on April 14 and is currently open on Fridays and Saturdays only, but will be open seven days a week by the start of the summer.

O’neil Cinemas
24 Calef Hwy., Epping, 679-3529, oneilcinemas.com
O’neil Cinemas owns two movie theaters, one of which is in Epping’s Brickyard Square. On Mondays and Wednesdays in July and August, O’neil Cinemas hosts its annual summer kids series, featuring a schedule of previously released children’s and family-friendly films for $3 per ticket. According to marketing manager Loni Dirksen, that lineup of films is expected to be finalized by the end of May.

Red River Theatres
11 S. Main St., Concord, 224-4600, redrivertheatres.org
A nonprofit independent cinema, Red River Theatres opened its doors in 2007 and operates three screens in the lower level of downtown Concord’s Capital Commons. Beginning with a screening of 50 First Dates (2004, PG-13) on Thursday, June 22, during Intown Concord’s Market Days Festival, Red River Theatres will present a schedule of free outdoor movies at area parks that start at dusk. They will also hold a “Fan Favorites” series in May and June, starting with a showing of Star Wars: A New Hope (1977, PG) on Thursday, May 4, at 7 p.m., for Star Wars Day. Costumes are encouraged and prizes will be awarded for the best.

Regal Cinemas
100 Technology Drive, Hooksett; 282 Loudon Road, Concord; 45 Gosling Road, Newington; 844-462-7342, regmovies.com
Regal Cinemas operates more than 500 theaters in 42 states nationwide, according to its website — three are in the Granite State, in Hooksett, Concord and Newington.

Smitty’s Cinema
630 W. Main St., Tilton, 286-3275, smittyscinema.com
The Maine-based Smitty’s Cinema operates one New Hampshire location in Tilton, where a full dinner menu and bar are also available.

Wilton Town Hall Theatre
40 Main St., Wilton, 654-3456, wiltontownhalltheatre.com
Originally a silent movie house that also showed dramatic presentations and vaudeville productions, the Wilton Town Hall Theatre has been in operation almost every year since 1912. Several upcoming construction projects for the Wilton Town Hall make the immediate future of the theater’s programming uncertain, according to longtime owner and town native Dennis Markaverich, although he does plan to continue holding its silent film series on Sunday afternoons featuring live music from silent film accompanist (and Hippo co-founder and associate publisher) Jeff Rapsis.

From Guardians to Equalizer

A look at the summer movie schedule

By Amy Diaz

[email protected]

As it so often has, summer begins with Marvel.

The latest Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, has the Friday, May 5, release slot, which has become the start of the movie’s summer season (which ends, more or less, with Labor Day weekend). The last few years, of course, have not had normal summers at the movies — almost no movies were released in the summer of 2020 and there were weeks in 2021 and even last year where in-theater-only new releases were slim pickings. This summer’s calendar has filled out with lots of franchise films and a few original-idea movies with potential. With all the usual notes about schedules (as gleaned from IMDb, along with cast details) being subject to change, here are some of the films hoping to entice you to the theater this summer:

• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (May 5) There’s a real “last ride” vibe to the trailers, not that that means anything in this world of immortal IP but I hope that the movie puts story over franchise a bit and gives a nice sense of closure to this fun, knockabout corner of the MCU.

• Book Club: The Next Chapter (May 12) Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Mary Steenburgen and Candice Bergen return for this sequel, which you gotta respect for that foursome if nothing else.

• Fast X (May 19) Allegedly, this will be the second to last of what Wikipedia calls the series’ main installment (could we still get another Hobbs & Shaw someday? Please?). The most important facts: Jason Momoa is some kind of villain, and in the trailers his styling is delightfully bonkers. Helen Mirren returns and I love everything about her character. Rita Moreno plays Vin Diesel’s character’s grandmother and I love that Moreno is in this goofy franchise.

• The Little Mermaid (May 26) These live-action Disney situations are settling in to a real “meh” place, but the casting here — Halle Bailey, Melissa McCarthy, Javier Bardem, Daveed Diggs, Awkwafina — offers something. Plus, it’s Memorial Day weekend and it offers more than two hours of kid-friendly air-conditioned entertainment.

• You Hurt My Feelings (May 26) Nicole Holofcener wrote and directed this movie starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus — a chef’s kiss combination (see also Enough Said).

• Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse (June 2) The Spider-verse we’re returning to here is the animated, Phil Lord & Christopher Miller (and Dave Callaham)-penned version featuring Miles Morales at its center.

• Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (June 9) According to IMDb, one of the humans of this live action deal is played by Anthony Ramos and the movie is set in 1994 .

• The Flash (June 16) Look, I’m not going to lie — reading the “DCEU morphs into the DCU” stuff on Wikipedia does not make me look forward to this bit of leftover Snyderverse-ness. However. Michael Keaton does show up as an alternate-universe Batman.

• Elemental (June 16) Pixar’s latest animated feature has fun visuals, based on its trailers, that make clever use of its fire, water and earth characters.

• Asteroid City (June 23) Wes Anderson directs and Anderson and Roman Coppola wrote this movie with a packed cast (Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton) and visuals, based on the trailer, that call to mind not just Anderson’s usual jewel-box symmetry but also a mid-century postcard.

• Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (June 30) The trailer and general existence of this movie fill me with a cold dread. Starring Harrison Ford.

• Harold and the Purple Crayon (June 30) For the “air-conditioned thing do do” aspect if nothing else, I’m, always excited for a mid-summer kid movie.

• Joy Ride (July 7) Just go watch the trailer and then try to tell me that this comedy about 20-somethings on a road trip isn’t a welcome palate-cleanser from the franchise movie schedule.

• Insidious: The Red Door (July 7) According to Wikipedia this is the fifth movie in the Insidious franchise and a direct sequel to the second movie with the Lambert family (Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne). Fun fact: the fourth movie was released two centuries ago in 2017.

• Mission Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One (July 14) The pandemic-filmed Tom Cruise movie (No. 7 in this series, apparently) finally sees the light of day. I can’t personally tell one Mission Impossible from another and have no emotional connection to any of the characters (except maybe Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames) and yet I always have fun.

• Barbie (July 21) Directed and co-written by Greta Gerwig! Greta! Gerwig! Like, tell me nothing else and I’m in! The trailers, with Margot Robbie as a Barbie Prime, are pretty great too.

• Oppenheimer (July 21) In a, like, matter/anti-matter bit of movie scheduling, this Christopher Nolan movie about Robert Oppenheimer (he of the “I am become death etc.” atomic bomb development) opens the same weekend as the candy-colored Barbie.

• Haunted Mansion (July 28) The Disney ride gets another movie adaptation, written by Katie Dippold (writer of the totally fun 2016 Ghostbusters and the Sandra Bullock/Melissa McCarthy buddy cop comedy The Heat), and with a cast list that includes Rosario Dawson, LaKeith Stanfield, Owen Wilson, Winona Ryder, Tiffany Haddish, Jamie Lee Curtis, Hasan Minhaj and Danny DeVito.

• The Meg 2: The Trench (Aug. 4) Looking back at my review of the first giant-shark movie The Meg, which apparently came out in 2018 (though it feels so much longer ago than that), I was apparently disappointed that it wasn’t as dumb-fun as I’d hoped. But I feel that the ensuing everything has dramatically lowered my standards (see my review of this year’s Plane) and so I have some optimism for this movie, which once again stars Jason Statham.

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Aug. 4) The Dover-born turtles get an animated outing with a fun line-up of voices: Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, Paul Rudd, John Cena, Maya Rudolph, Ice Cube, Hannibal Buress and Jackie Chan, among others.

• Blue Beetle (Aug. 18) Here’s a DC property I’m genuinely looking forward to. Xolo Maridueña, who does some solid goofball work on Cobra Kai, is the young adult kid person being surprise-superheroed here, with Susan Sarandon playing what the trailers suggest is the villain.

• The Equalizer 3 (Sept. 1) Director Antoine Fuqua and actor Denzel Washington reteam for Part 3 of the adventures of (movie) Robert McCall. I have enjoyed the past two outings and, should you be looking for low-impact stuff to watch at home this summer, I am also a fan of TV’s (Robin) McCall, as played by Queen Latifah in CBS’s current TV show The Equalizer.

Featured photo: from Kids Con New England 2016 by Neil Young Photography

Plants to attract birds, bees and other pollinators

By Matt Ingersoll, Angie Sykeny and Katelyn Sahagian
[email protected]

A gorgeous garden isn’t just about creating the perfect landscape. Choosing the right plants helps to foster an environment where native bees, hummingbirds, butterflies and other key pollinators can thrive.

“When we say pollination, what we’re referring to is essentially the fertilization of these plants to be able to reproduce, so part of it is maintaining and increasing that genetic diversity for these plants so that they can continue to survive,” said Stephanie Sosinski, program manager for home horticulture at the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension’s Education Center in Goffstown. “Pollinators are such an important part of the greater ecosystem, and even birds who aren’t necessarily pollinators are also part of that. They eat the larvae of the insects that pollinate the plant.”

Most pollinators are not generalists. In fact, Sosinski noted that “a pretty high percentage” of them are attracted to very specific species of plants, sometimes even just by their color.

“For bees, it would be white, blue, purple and yellow flowers,” she said. “If we’re thinking about hummingbirds, they tend to be attracted to reds. … The quality of the flower will also sometimes give you a hint. The coneflower is easy for bees to land on to get the pollen.”

Pollinator-friendly plants include everything from perennials (which come back year after year) and annuals (which only live for one growing season) to herbs, shrubs and some trees, all with a wide range of blooming stages, from early spring to late fall. Choosing the right ones for your garden, Sosinski said, may come down to its overall layout.

“You definitely want to think about which plants fit the site that you have,” she said. “Look at what amount of light it gets, whether it’s full sun or partial shade, and you definitely also want to think about moisture. Is it a well-draining area, is it really sandy or is it wet more often? Those are all things to consider. … You want to give your plant the full ability to succeed, so you want to make sure you give them all the right stuff.”

When visiting a nursery or garden center, it’s important to understand the difference between a New England native plant and a nativar or cultivar — some are OK for pollinators and others are not, said Donna Miller, of Petals in the Pines in Canterbury.

“A nativar or a cultivar is a native plant that’s been bred for some reason,” she said. “A rule of thumb that we use is to strive for about 70 percent natives and 30 percent cultivars in your garden. … It’s OK to have cultivars, but you don’t want them to dominate your landscape.”

Cultivars are more likely to have a prettier bloom or nicer look, said Becky Stoughton, a master gardener for UNH. While the beauty is enhanced, it can take away from the benefits. Stoughton said there are coneflowers that have been cultivated to have double blossoms, but those flowers are sterile, meaning they don’t produce pollen, so they are useless to pollinators.

Stoughton said planting and cultivating plants for aesthetics alone is a habit that she and some of her gardening friends are still unlearning.

“Our dependence on plants for not just their beauty [but] for other things … we lost it for a while, we got focused on the aesthetic,” she said. “It’s not just us that has to benefit from [the plant].”

The big question becomes, when looking for pollinators, how do you recognize cultivars and nativars? Miller recommends reading the tag on the plant.

“It should have the scientific name for plants, the genus and species. It’s usually in italic print,” she said, “and following that, if there’s another name and it has single quote marks around it. If you see something that has a name like that, then you know it’s a nativar. There are some that are good for pollinators, but it’s one of those things where you’ve got to kind of do your research and know which ones are fine and which ones aren’t.”

Miller is part of the Pollinator Garden Certification Committee, a joint effort between UNH and UMaine Cooperative Extensions that encourages growers to get their gardens certified as pollinator-friendly. Gardeners can apply online through UMaine Cooperative Extension’s website.

“Most people, if they just fill it out with all the different required criteria, pass pretty easily,” Miller said. “The thing that’s significant is that it’s all straight native species, so nativars and cultivars are not included whatsoever. … Once you pass, then you can order a sign that says you’re certified, and you can put it in your garden or yard. It’s a great conversation-starter.”

Here’s a list of several pollinator-friendly plants as suggested by local gardening and horticulture experts. We’ve included details on the conditions they prefer, as well as the types of pollinators they will attract.

American cranberrybush

Viburnum trilobum

Life facts: Deciduous shrub that can grow up to 8 to 12 feet tall and wide, with multiple stems

How it comes: Available as a potted shrub at local nurseries and garden centers, likely in a 1-gallon or slightly larger pot

Care: According to Amy Papineau, landscape and greenhouse horticulture field specialist for UNH Cooperative Extension, this shrub naturally grows in boggy areas but also grows nicely in gardens.

“It has nice clusters of bright, red berries that are edible. They just have a hard seed in the middle and are a bit sour,” she said.

While a great option for pollinators, the American cranberrybush is one of several viburnums vulnerable to the viburnum leaf beetle, which can be a problem pest in some landscapes.

Who likes it: Blooming in the spring, the American cranberrybush does best in medium to moist soil and full sun to part shade.

“It’s a really valuable food source for those early-season native bees, and also butterflies,” Papineau said. “Those berries also persist into the fall, so they are a good food source for birds.”

Arrowwood viburnum

Viburnum dentatum

Life facts: Deciduous shrub that grows about 6 to 10 feet tall and wide, with multiple stems

How it comes: Available as a potted shrub at local nurseries and garden centers, likely in a 1-gallon or slightly larger pot

Care: According to Papineau, the arrowwood viburnum blooms in mid-summer and is very easy to care for, due to its adaptability.

“It grows in a variety of soils and full sun to part shade,” she said. “It can look really kind of tidy and nice, and in the fall it has some really nice red or yellow foliage, so it’s something that people really like to plant for that fall color.”

Who likes it: The arrowwood viburnum has large clusters of lacy white flowers that are very attractive to native bees.

“This is one that honey bees are also particularly attracted to, because it has a lot of nectar,” Papineau said. “Butterflies also really like this plant.”

Bergamot

Monarda fistulosa

Life facts: This perennial grows 4 to 5 feet tall and yields pink blossoms in July and August.

How it comes: Well-established potted plants, available where plants are sold, or by seed, which can be ordered online.

“It can spread easily, but also can be edited if it gets too aggressive,” Miller said.

Care: Bergamot can tolerate dry soil, enjoys full to part sun and grows well in meadows and old fields, but can also find its place in a perennial back border, according to Miller. When planting, be sure to give each plant space to grow for good airflow between them.

Who likes it: Miller said bergamot’s blooms are “one of the top pollinator attractants,” and that bergamot is one of the best plant choices for bumble bees.

Black-eyed susan

Rudbeckia hirta

Life facts: This annual is a forgiving flower to beginner gardeners. The 2- to 4-foot-high plant blooms later in the season, from June to September.

How it comes: Usually, black-eyed Susans are available in pots at nurseries and garden centers.

Care: These flowers prefer full sun, six to eight hours a day, and are very durable.

Who likes it: Because of their late-season blooms, Stoughton said, black-eyed susans are popular with many different pollinators.

“It’s a nice late bloomer, which is good at that time of the year,” she said. “There’s not a lot blooming [then] and it really catches your eyes and must catch pollinators’ eyes, too.”

Blazing star

Liatris

Life facts: This perennial flowering plant grows in clustered groupings and can be 2 to 5 feet tall. It needs full sun to thrive.

How it comes: While there are a few nurseries that sell it as a potted plant, Stoughton said she hasn’t come across many that way.
“It’s easy to order online,” Stoughton said. “Liatris is [received] more often that way, and you plant it as a bulb.”

Care: Like other drought-friendly plants, blazing stars need to be watered well until they are established in the garden. After it’s healthy and thriving, it can survive on very little water and maintenance.

Who likes it: Stoughton said blazing stars are enjoyed by a variety of pollinators, including different types of bees, hummingbirds and butterflies.

Common buttonbush

Cephalanthus occidentalis

Life facts: Deciduous shrub, can grow anywhere from 6 to 12 feet tall, with multiple stems

How it comes: Available as a potted shrub at local nurseries and garden centers, likely in a 1-gallon or slightly larger pot

Care: Papineau said the common buttonbush blooms from early to mid-summer, and thrives best when placed on a garden’s woodland border.

“It’s not something you’d put in the middle of a landscape, but it does really well kind of on the edge,” she said. “It really likes rich, moist soil. It can take shade but really needs some good soil to do well.”

Who likes it: The common buttonbush is characterized by its ball-shaped white flowers, resembling little pincushions.

“They’re a little bit smaller than a ping pong ball,” Papineau said. “Bees really love them, so lots of native bees, honey bees and also butterflies will all just cover this plant when it’s blooming.”

Coneflowers

Echinacea

Life facts: These perennial flowers are part of the daisy family and can grow up to 4 feet tall. They do best in full sunlight.
“[It’s] a good reliable garden plant,” Stoughton said. “They make a nice cut flower, too.”

How it comes: These plants are most often bought at nurseries and should be planted while still small.

Care: These flowers are remarkably sturdy and don’t need much attending once they’re established. The stems do need to be cut back in the late fall, after they wither or at the first frost. These flowers are also self-seeding, so once planted, it’s possible for them to grow into a large patch.

Who likes it: Coneflowers are extremely popular with bees and butterflies because of the bright colors, and birds, especially finches, are known to use the wide seed heads as a resting spot.

Golden alexander

Zizia aurea

Life facts: This perennial “brings a ray of sunshine to your garden in early summer,” Miller said. A member of the carrot family, it will grow to about 2 feet tall, with a 3- to 4-inch-wide bright yellow umbel-shaped flower that will bloom in May and June.

How it comes: Well-established potted plants, available where plants are sold, or by seed, which can be ordered online.

“Seeds are easy to collect at the end of the season for propagating more plants,” Miller said.

Care: Miller said this “very low-maintenance and deer-resistant” plant prefers to live in average soil in part sun to part shade.

Who likes it: Black swallowtail butterflies find this one hard to resist, Miller said.

Goldenrod

Solidago

Life facts: This perennial flowering plant can grow up to 3 feet tall. It’s an aggressive spreader, but not considered an invasive species, Stoughton said, because it is native to New Hampshire.

How it comes: It can come in seeds or as a plant at nurseries.

Care: This plant needs very little watering, as it is drought-tolerant, and does best in full sunlight.

Who likes it: The plant is native and is good for all pollinators and local wildlife. Stoughton did say that it grows incredibly quickly and might need to be cut back.

Highbush blueberry

Vaccinium corymbosum

Life facts: Deciduous shrub, grows about 6 to 12 feet high but can be pruned to a manageable 3 to 5 feet high

How it comes: Available as a potted shrub at local nurseries and garden centers, likely in a 1-gallon or slightly larger pot

Care: According to Papineau, this is the native blueberry you’ll find growing in the woods, especially around lakes and ponds, and in local pick-your-own blueberry farms.

“Lots of people like to have a blueberry plant or several in their yard,” she said. “The flowers on blueberries … are like a bell-shaped flower that comes out in the late spring, early summer.”

Who likes it: The highbush blueberry, Papineau said, is a particularly valuable plant to our native bumble bees.

“You’ll see lots of very small native bees on the blueberry, but also bumble bees. It’s one of their favorite plants,” she said.

Hydrangea

Hydrangea paniculata

Life facts: Deciduous shrub that grows anywhere from 3 to 14 feet tall.

How it comes: The shrub is sold in 1- or 3-gallon planters.

Care: Stoughton said hydrangeas are easy to care for and do best in a full-sun environment.

Who likes it: What people think of as each hydrangea flower is actually made of dozens of individual blooms. This gives bees and other pollinators the perfect place to swarm and eat.

“It will be filled with several hundred pollinators when in bloom. It’s amazing,” Stoughton said of the shrub in her own garden.

Mountain mint

Pycnanthemum muticum

Life facts: The distinctive silver and green foliage of this perennial “makes it a very worthy choice for a meadow or perennial border,” Miller said. It grows 3 to 5 feet tall, and its button-like white and light purple flowers bloom in July and August.

How it comes: Well-established potted plants, available where plants are sold, or by seed, which can be ordered online.

“As with all mints, it will spread, but not as quickly as peppermint or spearmint,” Miller said. “Pick a few stems to add interesting texture and color to a flower bouquet, but leave the rest for the pollinators.”

Care: Mountain mint prefers full to part sun and succeeds in most soil types, Miller said.

Who likes it: A wide range of bees and pollinators are attracted to mountain mint, according to Miller.

New England aster 

Aster novae-angliae, also known as Symphyotrichum novae-angliae

Life facts: This perennial is “perhaps the best-known aster,” Miller said. It will grow 3 to 6 feet tall and sprout bright purple flowers.

“When you see these blooming, it’s a sure sign of fall,” Miller said.

How it comes: Well-established potted plants, available where plants are sold, or by seed, which can be ordered online.

Care: According to Miller, New England asters prefer full sun to light shade and do well in loamy soils but will tolerate most other soil types, except for dry soils. If you want to avoid having to stake them, cut the plants back by mid-July to keep them at a more manageable height.

Who likes it:New England aster is the host plant for the pearl crescent butterfly, and is an important nectar source for bees and other pollinators as well.

“You’ll likely find monarch butterflies feeding from it, fueling up for their migration to Mexico,” Miller said.

New Jersey tea

Ceanothus americanus

Life facts: Deciduous shrub, grows fairly low to about 3 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet wide

How it comes: Available as a potted shrub at local nurseries and garden centers, likely in a 1-gallon or slightly larger pot

Care: The New Jersey tea, Papineau said, is adaptable to lots of different situations, whether it’s moist or dry soil or full sun to part shade.

“It blooms early in the season, so kind of like late spring, early summer, and it’s just a really easy plant to grow,” Papineau said.

Who likes it: New Jersey teas feature clusters of delicate white flowers, making them very attractive to all kinds of species of native bees.

“Hummingbirds will even take some nectar from these,” Papineau said. “It’s not the hummingbirds’ favorite plant, but they will eat from it. But mostly, lots of different bees, butterflies and moths all really like this plant.”

Pussy willow

Salix discolor

Life facts: Deciduous shrub, can grow up to 20 to 25 feet high with multiple stems, but can also be cut back all the way to the ground every two to three years to keep smaller

How it comes: Available as a potted shrub at local nurseries and garden centers, likely in a 1-gallon or slightly larger pot

Care: According to Papineau, pussy willows prefer moist soil and overall sunny conditions.

“This is one that doesn’t tolerate very dry soil,” she said. “Typically how it’s grown in a landscape is you let it grow for a few years and then chop it down to the ground and let it re-grow, and you can do that over and over.”

Who likes it: Pussy willows, Papineau said, grow small oval-shaped clusters of flowers with silky soft hairs on them called catkins.

“The ones with the male flowers, those catkins are bigger, and as they open up the stamens … get covered in pollen,” she said. “They open in very early spring. So this is a plant that the bees are out foraging pollen [from] right now to get their spring protein.”

Raspberry and blackberry shrubs

Rubus idaeus

Life facts: These fruit-bearing shrubs grow between 5 and 8 feet tall, with flowers showing in the late spring and fruit coming in the summer and early fall.

How it comes: They are sold as seedlings at garden centers.

Care: These bushes need to be pruned twice a year, need six to eight hours of sunlight, and need regular watering.

Who likes it: Any pollinator will use the flowers from raspberry and blackberry shrubs, Stoughton said.

“Pollinators are necessary to get the parts we like,” Stoughton added about the bushes. “There’s a nice symbiotic relationship, because we don’t get the berries unless they pollinate the flowers.”

Swamp milkweed

Asclepias incarnata

Life facts: This perennial tends to get a bad rap as it’s often associated with common milkweed, also known as asclepias syriaca.

“[Common milkweed] is often seen growing aggressively in old fields and along roadsides, and if it has found its way into your yard, it has likely spread by vigorous underground rhizomes,” Miller said.

The difference, she said, is that swamp milkweed has a fibrous root system and won’t spread like the common variety, making it “a better-behaved alternative.”

Growing 4 to 5 feet tall, swamp milkweed is “a great back border plant,” Miller said, and will sprout pink and white blossoms in July and August.

How it comes: Well-established potted plants, available where plants are sold, or by seed, which can be ordered online.

Care: You don’t need a swamp to grow this plant, Miller said, but it does prefer moist soil, so keep it well-watered in dry spells. Plant it in full sun for best results.

Who likes it:Milkweed is best known as the monarch butterfly’s host plant — you can expect its leaves to be covered with monarch caterpillars — but its blooms will also attract all kinds of bees and other pollinators, Miller said.

White wood aster

Aster divaricatus, also known as eurybia divaricata

Life facts: This perennial grows about 1 to 2 feet in height and “is a good candidate for ground cover under trees,” Miller said.

“Covered with white daisy-like flowers with yellow to purple centers, it will offer a nice pop of color in the early fall,” she said.

How it comes: Well-established potted plants, available where plants are sold, or by seed, which can be ordered online. After its first season, it can spread by seed and rhizomes, without being “overly aggressive,” Miller said.

Care: This particular aster is very easy to grow, according to Miller, and is adaptable to most soil types and part shade.

Who likes it: Asters, along with goldenrods, make up the largest food source for pollinators in the fall, according to Miller.

“Bees will depend on it for food when fewer flowers are available, and birds will eat the seeds in the winter,” she said.

Wild cherry tree

Prunus avium

Life facts: This deciduous tree can grow to be 105 feet tall, with a trunk 5 feet in diameter.

How it comes: Unlike most of the plants on this list, the easiest way to get access to the wild cherry tree is through the New Hampshire State Forest Nursery, Stoughton said.
“Every year, in January and February, they take orders for plants and master gardeners take cuttings and divisions and prep them to be provided to the people that want them,” Stoughton said, adding that she’ll be bringing a sapling to a garden sale soon.

Care: Stoughton said wild cherry trees are some of the easiest to care for. She said that, since planting hers, she’s done practically nothing for it and it’s still thriving.

Who likes it: Stoughton said that, because the tree blooms so early in the year (hers are getting ready to bloom now), almost all pollinators like the flowers. Wild cherry trees give the pollinators a good source of food for the beginning of the season.

Wild columbine

Aquilegia canadensis

Life facts: This perennial woodland flower, with a red bell shape and yellow center, will bloom in May and June and is “a great choice for the early season,” Miller said.

“The 12- to 18-inch flower stems come up out of the center of a beautiful mound of green foliage,” she said.

How it comes: Well-established potted plants, available where plants are sold, or by seed, which can be ordered online. After the plant’s first season in your garden, let the flowers dry on the stem after blooming.

“You will be able to hear the seeds rattle inside by the end of the summer,” Miller said. “They can self-sow near the mother plant, or you can cut the stem and sprinkle the seeds where you would like them to grow. This is a fun activity to do with kids.”

Care: Easy to grow, wild columbine will thrive in part sun and part shade in well-drained soils, Miller said.

Who likes it: This nectar-rich flower is a favorite among hummingbirds and long-tongued bees, according to Miller.

Deer-resistant plants
While considering which pollinator-friendly plants to add to your garden, you may also be thinking about what can possibly keep the deer away. Deer-resistant plants are those that deer are known for being much less likely to eat.
“The key word is ‘resistant,’ but not ‘deer-proof,’” said Stephanie Sosinski, program manager for home horticulture at the UNH Cooperative Extension’s Education Center in Goffstown. “Deer will eat just about anything if they’re hungry enough.”
Despite this, Sosinski said there are several plants deer are less likely to gravitate toward, whether it’s because of their unattractive taste, texture or smell. Joe Pye weed (eutrochium purpureum), beebalm (monarda didyma) and common milkweed (asclepias syriaca), she said, are a few examples of well-known deer-resistant plants for these reasons, as is lamb’s-ear (stachys byzantina).
“If you’re familiar with lamb’s-ear, it’s a very fuzzy leaf and the deer don’t really want to eat that,” Sosinski said, “but it is a pretty addition to your garden’s aesthetic. … Part of it, I would say, is all about observing what’s in your own backyard and seeing what’s growing there already and creating a balance. You can certainly plant things that they won’t go after and put those around what they would go after.”

Featured photo: courtesy photo.

How to hook in to solar power and other renewable energy sources

Plus Where to check out electric cars

By Mya Blanchard
[email protected]

Tyler Costa hasn’t had regular electric billssince 2021. Instead, he has lease payments of less than $150 a monththanks to solar panels installed on the roof of his Nashua home.

“I decided to get solar panels as I believe in renewable energy sources and wanted to reduce my carbon footprint,” Costa said.

While production is reduced during the winter months, any accumulated snow on the roof comes off fairly easily due to the dark, slippery surface of the panels, which warm up faster than shingles.
“Lucky for me, I produce more than I consume, and the money I make comes back to me to make up [for] the small differences during the winter months,” Costa said.

This past year, utility costs skyrocketed to all-time highs in New Hampshire. This increase was in part due to our reliance on natural gas.

“In New England we rely heavily on natural gas to generate electricity,” said William Hinkle, media relations manager for Eversource, New Hampshire’s largest utility. “When the price of natural gas changes, we also see significant impacts to electric supply prices through New England, and that’s what we saw last year.”

One way to combat this is through the use of renewable energy sources.

What is renewable energy?

According to Rebecca Beaulieu, communications director and an organizer of 350 New Hampshire, renewable energy is defined as energy that is able to be harnessed continuously.

“Specifically, we mean clean renewable energy,” she said. “Ones where they’re not generating large amounts of waste or putting carbon dioxide, methane or other harmful chemicals into the air.”

Examples of such sources include solar and hydropower, and wind, biomass and geothermal energy.

“New Hampshire … is really far behind on renewable energy production,” Beaulieu said of New Hampshire compared to other New England states.

According to the New Hampshire Department of Energy, more than half of the energy generated in the state comes from nuclear power. In 2021, renewable energy sources accounted for 16 percent of our in-state electricity generation, compared to Maine at 72 percent, and Vermont at nearly 100 percent, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. (More than half of Vermont’s power comes from out of state, with the largest share coming from hydroelectric power, much of which is generated in Canada, according to the EIA.)

One of the most accessible forms of renewable energy for homeowners is solar power.

Around the sun

Solar power is sunlight converted by technology such as solar panels into electricity, as explained by the U.S. Department of Energy.

While it may have only accounted for 1 percent of the state’s total net generation, according to the EIA, Beaulieu points out that “most of New Hampshire’s solar energy production right now comes from households having solar panels on their roofs.”

Getting solar panels installed on your house is a three- to four-month process with dozens of steps, only four of which the customer is involved in. The first step is contacting a solar installation company and working out a house’s needs and space for solar panels.

“We very specifically design a system to that customer’s usage and that customer’s house and the angles on the roof and the position it sits facing the sun,” said Mark Robichaud, founder of Merrimack Solar, a solar panel installation company that services New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

Next is a site survey. Trained engineers come to your home and assess whether or not your house can support a solar system by looking at the condition of the roof, the structure and the electrical system to see if it is susceptible to damage.

The third step is getting approval from your town. Not only are towns usually happy to approve of solar panel installation, but having solar panels installed on your house can increase your home’s value.

“The data bears out that houses with solar installed on them are making 4.1 percent more in sale and selling 16 percent faster than houses that do not have solar,” Robichaud said.

Lastly, before the installation process can begin, the customer needs to obtain permission from their utility company. This involves the company installing the solar panels writing up details along with a computer-aided design drawing to send over to the utility company.

“The utility makes that final determination of whether or not we can move forward,” Robichaud said.

Overall pricing, Robichaud said, comes down to the size and power of the system. He said a general rule of thumb is about $4 per watt, meaning a 5-kilowatt system runs about $20,000.

When going through Merrimack Solar, you can finance your solar system or agree to a power purchase agreement, where the customer doesn’t pay for installation, but for the electricity, at a lower price.

“If you go … ownership overall, you’re saving upward of $40,000 over your lifetime by going solar, because once a solar system is paid for, you don’t pay for electricity anymore in most cases,” Robichaud said. “We effectively become your power company.”

According to Robichaud, 95 percent of Merrimack Solar’s panels are made from recyclable material and are designed to last 40 years.

“Instead of using gas, coal and oil and falling victim to whatever they’re charging for those, you’re taking something that’s free, the sun, and converting it into electricity onsite and using it at your house,” Robichaud said. “You go from having no control over what you’re paying for your electricity to having complete control.”

Other renewable energy sources

Besides solar, other common forms of renewable energy include hydropower, wind power, biomass and geothermal energy.

Hydropower takes the energy from falling water and converts it into electricity via a generator. This energy source was responsible for 7 percent of New Hampshire’s total net generation in 2021, according to the EIA.

The Boscawen-based Granite State Hydropower Association has 50 small power plants across 35 towns in New Hampshire.

“If you look at some of the states with a high percentage of hydropower … they have some of the cheapest rates in the nation,” Association president Bob King said. “Hydropower … has no fuel cost, so it is not susceptible to the incredible increase in natural gas prices that is felt in the wallets of every ratepayer in New Hampshire.”

Not only is hydropower emissions-free, but it also helps clean out bodies of water in the process by sifting out debris and trash as the water flows through a screen.

A turbine converts the kinetic energy of falling water into mechanical energy, which is then converted into electricity by a generator. For every 100 units of falling water kinetic energy, King said this produces about 80 to 90 units of electricity.

“It’s clean, it’s simple, it’s efficient,” he said.

When it comes to wind energy, EIA data shows that it made up 3 percent of New Hampshire’s in-state electricity generation. That could rise in the future with the Gulf of Maine wind farm, a project that New Hampshire is part of a task force for. According to the Gulf of Maine Association, this “sea within a sea” covers 36,000 square miles of ocean and has 7,500 miles of coastlines, bordering New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine and parts of Canada.

“There are areas that have been designated in the Gulf of Maine and will continue to be refined for renewable energy and for offshore wind,” said Rob Werner, the state director for the League of Conservation Voters.

The Gulf of Maine receives some of the most powerful and consistent winds in the world, according to the Natural Resources Council of Maine. To best capture this power, the wind turbines, which would be positioned on floating platforms, will likely be positioned 25 to 50 miles from the coast. Harnessing the wind energy from the Gulf of Maine has the potential to serve not only Maine but New Hampshire and Massachusetts, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Biomass is defined as fuel that comes from organic materials like wood and wood processing waste, agricultural crops and waste, sewage and animal manure. Converting such materials into energy prevents greenhouse gasses from entering the atmosphere during decomposition, according to the U.S. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

Wood seems to account for most of New Hampshire’s biomass, according to the EIA, which reports that it accounted for 6 percent of the state’s total net electricity generation in 2021. Eighty-six percent of this came from the forest industry. The use of biomass is important to the forest industry as well as to landowners, said Jasen Stock, the director of the New Hampshire Timberland Owners Association, as it gives another purpose to trees that are unsuitable for lumber.

“We have trees and we have a need to do forest management and so biomass is a great fit for managing land and at the same time making some renewable power,” Stock said. “You don’t get much more homegrown than that.”

Geothermal energy uses the heat flowing from the interior to the surface of the Earth. Wells are drilled into the earth to capture steam and hot water that can be used for electricity as well as heating and cooling.

In New Hampshire, the most commonly used type of geothermal system is referred to as an “open-loop” system, according to the state Department of Environmental Services. Groundwater is pumped out of the well and circulated through the building’s heat pump, where heat is extracted from or transferred into the water. That water is then re-injected either into the same well or a separate well dedicated to re-injection.

Used less frequently, according to the department, is what’s called a “closed-loop” system, by which an antifreeze solution or refrigerant is circulated through an installed pipe in the drilled well.

The carbon dioxide emissions from geothermal energy are just one-sixth the amount from natural gas power plants, according to the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy. Despite the high upfront costs, this energy source is cost-effective, can operate in high capacity and is not affected by or dependent on weather.

Closer to a renewable future

While New Hampshire may be behind its New England neighbors, the state is taking steps to catch up. The state’s Renewable Energy fund projects that by 2025, 25.3 percent of the state’s electricity will come from renewable energy sources.

“We do have the technology that we need to move to renewable energy and prioritize our communities over [the] fossil fuel industry,” Beaulieu said.

One recent example Beaulieu mentioned is a 3.3-megawatt solar array in Manchester, unveiled last year at a former Dunbarton Road landfill. According to a press release from Boston-based Kearsarge Energy, which has partnered with the City of Manchester to complete the project, the electricity produced by the more than 8,000 solar modules is enough to power hundreds of homes annually across the Queen City.

In December, Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig announced that the city exceeded its initial projections for electricity produced from the array by 15 percent, generating about 4.37 million kilowatt hours of energy.

Beaulieu says that with solar and wind energy getting cheaper, the transition to renewable energy is becoming more feasible economically.

The environment has the ability to restore itself, she said, if we begin to take better care of it.

“There are a lot of individual people and businesses and legislatures moving this work forward,” Beaulieu said.

Local solar installation companies
Here’s a list of southern New Hampshire-based companies that work to install solar panels on residential and commercial buildings.

• 603 Solar (24 Charter St., Exeter, 570-2607, 603solar.com)
• Granite State Solar (15 Ryan Road, Bow, 369-4318, granitestatesolar.com)
• Merrimack Solar (12 Madison Lane, Merrimack, 978-645-1261, merrimacksolar.com)
• New England Solar Pros (60 Blossom St., Nashua, 318-3232, nesolarllc.com)
• Seventh Gen Solar (814 Route 3A, Bow, 731-4777, seventhgensolar.com)
• Sundial Solar (78 Mountain Road, Concord, 961-0045, sundialsolarnh.com)
• Sunenergy Solutions (75 Gilcreast Road, Londonderry, 844-427-6527, sunenergysolutionsllc.com)
• Sunup Solar (Auburn, 860-2509, sunupsolarnh.com)

Plug-in rides

Electric vehicle showcases for Earth Day and beyond

By Matt Ingersoll
[email protected]

Jon Gundersen grew tired of making constant trips to the gas station during his long commutes to and from work. In 2011, he purchased his first electric car — a plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt — and he hasn’t looked back.

“I’ve been driving electric vehicles ever since,” he said. “My wife has a gas vehicle, so I’ve still pumped gas, but sometimes I’ll go several months before I visit a gas station now.”

Today, Gundersen is a member of the New England Electric Auto Association and volunteers with Drive Electric NH, a coalition promoting the adoption of electric vehicles in the Granite State. He has been involved in several EV showcases across southern New Hampshire, which offer opportunities for attendees to meet owners and ask questions about their cars.

One such showcase is happening at the Nashua Public Library on Saturday, April 22, as part of the city’s inaugural Sustainability Fair and Earth Day Celebration.

Electric vehicles are on the rise in New Hampshire and nationally. According to a June 2022 report from the Edison Electric Institute, more than 26 million EVs are expected to be on U.S. roads by the year 2030 — that’s up from the projected 18.7 million in its 2018 report. More than 65 different EV models are on the market today, and the EEI projects that number will grow to nearly 140 by 2024.

In the Granite State, there are more than 180 public EV charging stations statewide, according to Drive Electric NH, from the Massachusetts border stretching all the way up to the Great North Woods town of Colebrook.

The obvious perk to driving an electric vehicle, Gundersen said, is not having to pump gas. Instead, he has his own 220-volt charger in his home that, when plugged into the car’s port overnight, fills its energy to capacity. Most EVs on the market, he said, can last anywhere between 250 and 350 miles on a full battery.

“Although electricity has gone up over the years, it’s still not too bad. For me, at least, it’s been pretty consistent,” Gundersen said. “When I first got an EV, it was costing me $30 a month in electricity, but at that time I was spending $300 a month on gas. So that was a huge difference … and even today it’s still a little over a third of the cost of driving with gas, for my car anyways. It would be like buying a car that’s like 80 miles to a gallon.”

Another one of Gundersen’s favorite things about EVs is their ability to generate instant torque.

“In an EV, the acceleration from zero to 60 [miles per hour], or even from 30 to 60, is incredibly quick,” he said. “You touch the gas [pedal] and you can feel yourself push back in the seat, it takes off that fast. There’s no waiting for a transmission to shift. It’s instantaneous. … I like being able to step on the gas and instantly pass a truck on the highway or whatever.”

Then there’s a featured mechanism called regenerative braking, which feeds energy back into the car’s battery simply by using its brakes.

“What happens is that when you take your foot off the gas, the electric motor acts sort of like a generator,” Gundersen said. “It’s generating power in a different way, creating a force that helps slow down the car … [and] while you’re slowing down the car is gaining energy in its battery.”

Gundersen will be at the Nashua Sustainability Fair on April 22 with the EV he currently drives, a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt. His will be among at least eight registered models that will be on display in the library parking lot during the event, which will also feature local vendors, an electric yard equipment showcase, games, crafts, food trucks, raffle prizes, a bike repair clinic and a fashion show at noon.

“Some of the EV owners have owned one for years, and some of them are brand new to owning one, even maybe just within the last few months,” Gundersen said. “Some of them will offer test drives, so they can take you around the block or just on a short little trip so that you can get a feel for what driving an electric car is like.”

Where to go check out electric vehicles

Source: driveelectricearthday.org

Nashua Sustainability Fair & Earth Day Celebration
When: Saturday, April 22, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Where: Nashua Public Library parking lot, 6 Hartshorn Ave., Nashua
Cost: Free admission
Visit: nashualibrary.org/attend/sustainability-fair
Co-sponsored by the City of Nashua Division of Public Health and Community Services and the Nashua Public Library, this free community event will bring together dozens of local exhibitors to celebrate Earth Day, including nonprofits working in different areas of sustainability like clean energy, farming and environmental justice. There will also be an electric vehicle showcase with more than half a dozen makes and models, whose owners may offer test drives or rides at their discretion, plus an electric yard equipment showcase, games, crafts, food trucks, raffle prizes, a bike repair clinic and a thrift fashion show at noon.

Gilmanton Earth Day Celebration
When: Saturday, April 22, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Where: Gilmanton Year Round Library, 1385 Route 140, Gilmanton
Cost: Free admission
Visit: gyrla.org
In partnership with the Gilmanton Energy Committee, the Gilmanton Year Round Library, New Hampshire Sierra Club, Univix Power Solutions and the New Hampshire Electric Co-op, this free event will feature an electric vehicle showcase, solar panel and energy storage tours at the library, and a 2 p.m. all-ages hike on the nearby trails.

Durham Earth Day Celebration and EV Showcase
When: Saturday, April 22, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Where: 66 Main St., Durham
Cost: Free admission
Visit: ci.durham.nh.us
The town of Durham’s annual Earth Day celebration will feature a showcase of more than 15 electric vehicles by local owners, including some of the latest models. Some may even offer test drives or rides to attendees. There will also be displays supporting sustainable agriculture, plus information on home energy improvements and rebates, and details promoting composting as a means to reduce landfill waste.

Drive Electric Expo at the Monadnock Earth Day Festival
When: Saturday, April 22, noon to 4 p.m.
Where: Whitney Brothers parking area (adjacent to the Monadnock Food Co-op), 93 Railroad St., Keene
Cost: Free admission
Visit: monadnockfood.coop
The Drive Electric Expo is happening as part of the Earth Day festival hosted by the Monadnock Food Co-op, the future site of southwestern New Hampshire’s first public electric vehicle fast chargers. Attendees will have the chance to see more than a dozen EVs, representing several different automakers and ranging from sub-compact cars to sedans, SUVs and trucks. Vehicle owners will be on hand to share their knowledge and enthusiasm and answer questions. Many also offer test drives and rides. A series of five-minute mini-talks is scheduled throughout the afternoon, covering everything from home and public charging to long road trips with an EV, electric police vehicles and financial incentives to reduce EV costs. There will also be informational literature to pick up and a free drawing for a chance to win prizes.

Lowell Drives Electric
When: Saturday, April 29, noon to 4 p.m.
Where: Heritage Farm Ice Cream, 163 Pawtucket Blvd., Lowell, Mass.
Cost: Free admission
Visit: facebook.com/lowelldriveselectric
Just over the state line in Lowell, Mass., Heritage Farm Ice Cream on Pawtucket Boulevard will be the site of an electric vehicle showcase with more than two dozen makes and models to check out. Vehicle owners will be on hand to answer questions from attendees about their experiences, and some may offer to take their cars for test drives.

Featured photo: Photo courtesy of Merrimack Solar.

Great spots for hiking – as picked by Hippo readers

We asked, you voted, and now it’s time to hit the trails.

Among the more than 100 other “Bests” in this year’s Readers’ Poll, we asked you to name the best hiking spot in southern New Hampshire. The answers we received were diverse and included everywhere from moderately challenging mountain hikes to flatter, nature walk-type experiences.

What follows are key details from the top 10 highest voted hiking spots, in order, as shared by city and town planners, state and town park personnel, trail guidebook authors and local hiking aficionados. Trail terrain, interesting features and points of interest are all included. We even threw in the closest local ice cream shop to each, for afterward when you make that next trip outdoors.

For those trails listed within New Hampshire’s state parks system, reservations are highly recommended, especially during peak season, as visitors will be turned away if the parks are full.

Looking for your next new favorite hiking spot? Read on for some ideas as voted by readers.

1. Mount Monadnock

169 Poole Road, Jaffrey, 532-8862, nhstateparks.org/visit/state-parks/monadnock-state-park

Scaling 3,165 feet at its summit, Mount Monadnock is one of the most frequently hiked mountains in the Northeast. The mountain, located within Mount Monadnock State Park in the towns of Jaffrey and Dublin, was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1987.

Kimball Rexford of Goffstown, a freelance web developer and avid hiker who runs TrailsNH.com, said he finds Mount Monadnock to almost always be “neck and neck” with Mount Washington in terms of the most frequently searched trails. Mount Monadnock State Park is also a popular camping destination, especially during peak season.

About the trails: The park’s main headquarters are accessed at the end of Poole Road in Jaffrey, which is also where the two most commonly hiked trails to the summit start — the White Dot trail and the White Cross trail. Rexford said he recommends ascending the mountain using the White Dot trail and descending using the White Cross trail. The loop is about 4 miles long round-trip, or roughly three to four hours of steady hiking.

“It’s kind of classic New England hiking,” Rexford said. “I think going up the White Dot is a little easier, because it’s a little bit steeper in some spots. So when you get to those little steep sections, it’s easier to use your hands, whereas going downhill you’ve got to sit on your butt.”

Closest ice cream: Station 16 Ice Cream (31 Peterborough St., Jaffrey, find them on Facebook) is about 4 miles away from Mount Monadnock State Park’s headquarters and is scheduled to open for the season on April 14, offering multiple flavors of hard ice cream and soft serve.

Points of interest: Mount Monadnock is known for its barren, isolated summit, which features stunning panoramic views on clear days.

“You can see the skyline of Boston, and on really, really clear days, mainly in the wintertime, you can see Mount Washington from the summit,” said Tara Blaney, South Regional Supervisor for New Hampshire State Parks.

Off another popular access point called the Old Toll Road is the site of the Halfway House, where Blaney said a hotel once stood dating back to the 1800s.

“There’s no longer a building up there, but there is a sign of some kind … and people carve their initials in rocks, but at that location and all over the summit,” she said.

2. Mount Major

875 Mt. Major Hwy. (Route 11), Alton Bay, forestsociety.org/mtmajor

Mount Major reaches an elevation of 1,786 feet. It’s located on the far eastern edge of the Belknap Range and is known for its panoramic views of Lake Winnipesaukee.

“It’s a destination that seems to get a lot of new users every year,” said Matt Scaccia, recreation and community relations manager for the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, which has conserved several parcels of land on the mountain. “While Mount Major is a consistent favorite among more experienced hikers, it is also a common gateway for people looking to try their hand at exploring the outdoors. For some hikers we hear it is the first time they have climbed a mountain.”

About the trails: There are several trails that lead to the summit, and the main access point is the signed parking lot on Route 11 in Alton.

Trailheads include the Main trail and the Boulder Loop trail, with round-trip hike options ranging between 3 and 3.4 miles, depending on which routes you choose.

“Personally, I typically take the Main trail, then follow the Brook trail, which is a somewhat gentler approach, but it’s slightly longer,” Scaccia said. “The Main trail is pretty steep in some sections near the summit, especially if you’re hiking down from the top.”

Closest ice cream: Drive for just 4 miles south down Route 11 and you’ll come across Stillwells Ice Cream of Alton Bay (18 Mt. Major Hwy., 875-0200, stillwellsicecream.com), open seasonally and serving multiple flavors of Richardson’s Ice Cream, of Middleton, Mass.

Points of interest: Mount Major’s primary attraction is its view of the southern end of Lake Winnipesaukee from the summit. But another interesting feature is the remains of a stone hut known as “Phippen’s Hut,” named after the late former owner, George Phippen.

“It was originally a resting shelter, and there’s a stone outline of where it was,” Scaccia said. “Evidently, the roof blew off in the 1920s, but visitors still enjoy exploring its remains when they are at the summit. In terms of man-made features, that’s the main one hikers associate with the mountain.”

3. Mine Falls Park

Whipple Street, Nashua, 589-3370, nashuanh.gov

Located in the heart of Nashua, this 325-acre park is bordered on the north by the Nashua River and on the south by the city’s Mill Pond and canal system. It’s filled with forests, wetlands and open fields, and includes a total of seven access points, one of which also features a boat launch.

“Where Nashua is a city, it’s like a hidden gem where you can leave the city and go into the woods,” said Pam Anderson, a member of the volunteer-run Mine Falls Park Advisory Committee. “You’re right in the woods, but you’re only a few steps away from being in the city. Even if you’re at work and you want to take a break for lunch, you can go and take a little walk, or you could be there for a long time.”

About the trails: All seven access points lead to interconnecting trails of varying distance and terrain within the park that are color-coded. Some are paved, while others are dirt paths.

“All of them intertwine,” Anderson said. “We have a couple of Boy Scout troops that have even made the markers so that you can follow them. … You can take some that are only a mile [to] a mile and a half. Some go a little bit farther. You can do the whole entire trip [across the park] and it would be about 5 miles, or you could take two routes that connect.”

Closest ice cream: Roughly 4 miles to the north and east of Mine Falls Park is The Big 1 Ice Cream Stand (185 Concord St., Nashua, thebig1icecream.com), which opened for the season on Feb. 25 and serves dozens of flavors of Richardson’s Ice Cream, of Middleton, Mass.

Points of interest: Mine Falls Park features a variety of amenities. In addition to the boat launch off Riverside Street, there is a sports complex that can be easily accessed from the Whipple Street entrance, which has six soccer fields and a softball field.

There is also a historic gatehouse by the Riverside Street entrance, which was constructed in 1886 as part of the park’s canal system, a brochure from the city’s Parks & Recreation Department shows. In 2009 it received the New Hampshire Preservation Achievement award.

4. Uncanoonuc Mountains

300 Mountain Road, Goffstown, goffstowntrails.com/pdf/Uncanoonuc-Trails-2017.pdf

The Uncanoonucs are a pair of small peaks in Goffstown — the North peak, at an elevation of 1,324 feet, is the highest point in the town, while the South peak rises to 1,321 feet.

About the trails: Both peaks have a series of interconnecting trails with multiple access points that reach the summits. Among the most popular routes on either of the Uncanoonucs, Rexford said, is the White Dot trail on the North peak.

“A lot of people will just go up and back White Dot,” he said. “[The trail] is steep … but the view from the top is just fantastic. … It’s a pretty straightforward hike that gives you a great view of Manchester down into the valley, and it won’t take you all day. For me, it’s the perfect after-work hike.”

Of the two, Rexford said the North peak offers more of a natural, outdoor experience. The South peak, meanwhile, is known for having several radio and television broadcasting towers, and was also once home to a ski lift in the middle part of the 20th century.

Both peaks share some trailheads in common, while others are devoted to either one or the other.

“If you’re coming from Goffstown Village, you’ll take a left onto Mountain Road and the White Dot trail is the first one that you come to,” Rexford said.

Closest ice cream: Less than 3 miles to the north of the Uncanoonucs is Devriendt Farm (178 S. Mast Road, Goffstown, 497-2793, devriendtfarm.com), which is due to open sometime later this month or in early May, serving more than two dozen flavors of ice cream.

Points of interest: A few minutes up the White Dot trail is a unique cave-like structure.

“A granite slab slid and created a big overhanging,” Rexford said. “You can look underneath it, and it kind of looks like a little cave, which is interesting.”

The Incline trail, on the South peak, is accessed from Mountain Base Road.

“On the east side of the South peak, there is a foundation from an old hotel, a small hotel that was built in the early ’30s,” said Rick Silverberg, leadership training coordinator and past chair of the Appalachian Mountain Club’s New Hampshire chapter. “In that area, there’s a rather unique view over toward the river and the Mill buildings in downtown Manchester. … Some of the folks that I went up there with originally, 40 years ago, told me that when you look from that position, it doesn’t look a whole lot different now than it did back when the Mills were still operating.”

5. Pulpit Rock Conservation Area

New Boston Road, Bedford, plcnh.org/pulpit-rock-trails

Owned by the Town of Bedford, the 338-acre Pulpit Rock Conservation Area features 10 marked trails totalling more than 3 miles. The main access point and parking lot are on New Boston Road.

About the trails: Rexford said the Kennard trail is a mostly flat, easy-going route that is among the Pulpit Rock Conservation Area’s most frequently used trails.

“The trail starts out across a swamp. It’s quite pretty,” he said. “It’s kind of an elevated, wooden trail for a little bit through the swamp, and it’s just a flat, very pretty hike.”

Travel south on the Kennard trail for just over half a mile before it branches off into several other trails. One of those, the Pulpit Brook Trail, eventually connects at the other end through Amherst to the Joppa Hill Conservation Area. The eponymous Pulpit Rock is near the center of where several of the trails interconnect.

Closest ice cream: The Inside Scoop (260 Wallace Road, Bedford, 471-7009, theinsidescoopnh.com) is roughly 6 miles east of the conservation area and serves more than 30 flavors of Richardson’s Ice Cream, of Middleton, Mass.

Points of interest: Other than Pulpit Rock itself, there is a small ravine just off to the south.

“It’s a little rugged to get down to, but it’s neat to see,” said Ken MacGray of Concord, an avid hiker and Appalachian Mountain Club guidebook author. “This time of year, it’s actually probably pretty neat with all the snow melt, because there’s a little waterfall that flows down to the ravine.”

The best way to view the Pulpit is from its base, accessed from the Ravine Trail. The Ravine Trail, which is damp most of the year, also follows Pulpit Brook through other interesting rock formations, according to Kathleen Ports, associate planner for the Town of Bedford.

6. Pack Monadnock

Miller State Park, 13 Miller Park Road, Peterborough, 924-3672, nhstateparks.org/visit/state-parks/miller-state-park

Established in 1891, Miller State Park is the oldest state park in New Hampshire, according to Blaney — it was dedicated in memory of Gen. James Miller, a Peterborough native who fought in the Battle of Lundy’s Lane in the War of 1812. The park is also home to Pack Monadnock, the highest point in Hillsborough County at 2,290 feet.

A paved 1.3-mile-long auto road leading to Pack Monadnock’s summit, accessed from Route 101 in Peterborough, is open to cars. Reservations are available online and are especially recommended during peak season.

About the trails: Three main hiking trails all lead to the summit of Pack Monadnock, Blaney said — two of them start right at the base of the auto road.

“The trail on the east side of the mountain is the Marion Davis trail, and then the trail on the west side is the Wapack trail,” she said. “The Wapack trail is a 21.5-mile long-distance trail. It starts down at Mount Watatic in Ashburnham, [Mass.], and then it stops at North Pack Monadnock, which is in Greenfield, so it goes over lots of little small mountains.”

Closest ice cream: Drive west of Pack Monadnock on Route 101 for about 5 miles to reach Ava Marie Handmade Chocolates & Ice Cream (43 Grove St., Peterborough, 924-5993, avamariechocolates.com), which scoops around 20 flavors of ice cream year-round and up to 40 flavors during peak season in the summer months.

Points of interest: Like from Mount Monadnock, Blaney said Boston’s skyline is visible from Pack Monadnock’s summit. On crystal clear days you can even climb to the top of the fire tower on the summit for a 360-degree view of Mount Washington.
There is also the Pack Monadnock Raptor Observatory, part of a joint effort with New Hampshire Audubon and the Harris Center for Conservation Education, which is staffed daily from Sept. 1 through mid-November.

“It’s really just a platform and an area where people can go and observe different raptors, because in the fall they are migrating and always flying over this area,” Blaney said. “The Harris Center and Audubon folks come out and they do raptor counts, just to keep monitoring the populations of the birds. Lots of people come out to that, and you can learn to identify the different birds and ask questions, so that’s kind of a cool thing.”

7. Marjory Swope Park Trails

Long Pond Road, Concord, concordnh.gov

Marjory Swope Park is dedicated to the memory of the late Concord environmentalist Marjory Mason Swope — her husband, John Swope, gifted the land for the 77-acre park for the city. It’s open year-round for activities like hiking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.

About the trails: The trail system within Marjory Swope Park consists of a 1.5-mile-long loop trail that is accessed from Long Pond Road.

“This is one of our more popular trails,” Concord assistant city planner Beth Fenstermacher said of the park’s main loop trail. “It’s got a little bit of terrain, but it’s pretty easy for most people. There are some sections that are a little steep, but they are short, so we find that most people can navigate it pretty easily.”

While the loop is a popular route by itself, there are also a few other connecting trails throughout. One connects to the Winant Park trail system to the east, while a connecting trail in the other direction eventually brings you to the area of Carter Hill Orchard. Two trails also lead to the summit of the 712-foot Jerry Hill.

Closest ice cream: Just under 5 miles to the north of Marjory Swope Park is Frekey’s Dairy Freeze (74 Fisherville Road, Concord, 228-5443, frekeysdairyfreeze.com), which recently celebrated the grand opening of its 40th season in business on April 1. The stand serves more than two dozen flavors of Gifford’s ice cream.

Points of interest: Marjory Swope Park’s main loop trail has several vista points, including of the southwestern part of the state from the summit of Jerry Hill. One of the other most notable vista points features views of Penacook Lake, the city’s drinking water reservoir.

“We maintain it so that that view remains open all the time. … You can get off the path and look out over the water,” Fenstermacher said. “It’s a really nice spot. We’ve done yoga hikes and book club meetings up there.”

8. Oak Hill Trails

Shaker Road, Concord, concordnh.gov

The Oak Hill trail network features several interconnecting routes — Fenstermacher said its main access point is on Shaker Road, but there are other small parking areas on Oak Hill and Hot Hole Pond roads.

About the trails: Unlike at Marjory Swope Park, where the trails are only identified by color, Fenstermacher said the trails within the Oak Hill network are all named. Most of them are under 1 mile long by themselves, but many pick up at the ends of other connecting trails.

“A lot of people pick their favorite loop and that seems to be the one that they always do, so you can make a series of 2-mile loops or 3-mile loops and it’s all within the same trail system,” she said. “You could do 7 miles out there easily if you start at the main parking lot.”

Closest ice cream: Head to Arnie’s Place (164 Loudon Road, Concord, 228-3225, arniesplace.com), which is roughly 5 miles to the south of the Oak Hill trail network. The shop reopened for the season on April 1 and offers dozens of flavors of homemade ice cream.

Points of interest: The longest standalone trail in the Oak Hill network is the 2-mile-long Tower trail, which runs east just over the town line into Loudon and features a fire tower at the end.

“It’s a straight shot and then you can go and climb up the fire tower,” Fenstermacher said. “It’s nice if you want to be out there for a couple of hours. It’s kind of like a destination point for people.”

Silverberg said he especially likes to hike the 0.8-mile-long Luti trail, which can be accessed from the parking lot on Oak Hill Road.

“It goes up pretty quickly through several old homestead sites that are on the side of the hill,” he said, “and you can see the old stone walls and the foundations from the old cellar holes from where the houses were. They are all houses that were built in the 1700s, originally, long since gone.”

9. Pawtuckaway State Park

7 Pawtuckaway Road, Nottingham, 895-3031, nhstateparks.org/visit/state-parks/pawtuckaway-state-park

At right around 5,500 acres, this is one of the largest state parks in New Hampshire. There are lots of opportunities for hiking on Pawtuckaway’s many trails, and there is also an onsite campground, a boat launch and a large family beach on the park’s lake.

About the trails: Blaney said Pawtuckaway State Park is home to a series of three peaks — the north mountain is the tallest, at about 1,011 feet, while the south mountain comes in at 908 feet and the middle mountain at 800 feet.

“The trails to get to these summits are relatively short, and I would consider them very easy,” she said. “The south mountain has a fire tower on it, which is cool. So again, that has a couple of view points and then if you climb up the fire tower you can see all around you. … [The] middle mountain has a nice outlook in one direction looking north, and then the north mountain actually has the least views.”

The park’s Mountain trail, she said, begins at a sign to the left just past Mountain Pond. Another popular trail is called the Fundy trail, which begins across the road from the entrance to the group picnic and camping areas and borders Burnham’s Marsh.

“It goes along a really large marsh area, so there’s a good chance to see lots of wildlife that you might encounter in a marsh,” Blaney said.

Closest ice cream: Head south of Pawtuckaway State Park for about 3 to 4 miles to reach Stillwells One Stop Ice Cream Shop (63 Route 27, Raymond, 895-1100, stillwellsicecream.com), open year round and serving multiple flavors of Richardson’s Ice Cream, of Middleton, Mass.

Points of interest: One of the best-known features at Pawtuckaway State Park is its large boulder field.

“It’s a pretty big area full of glacial erratics, which are big boulders dropped from when the glaciers retreated [during] the Ice Age,” Blaney said. “There’s little caves that have formed from the moving rocks, so that’s a super-popular location as well.”

10. Welch-Dickey Loop Trail

Orris Road, Thornton, fs.usda.gov/recarea/whitemountain/recarea/?recid=74773

On the southern edge of the White Mountain National Forest, in the town of Thornton, the Welch-Dickey trail is a single ledgy 4.4-mile-long loop around the twin peaks of Mount Welch and Mount Dickey.

“It’s kind of one of the best half-day hikes in the Whites, and it’s definitely one of the best bang-for-your-buck type hikes, because you’re out on open ledges for a lot of the hike, and they’ve got fantastic views,” MacGray said. “It’s all kind of one mountain mass, but there are two named summits. … It’s also a great place for a sunrise or a sunset hike.”

About the trail: The trailhead and main parking area for Welch-Dickey are at Orris Road in Thornton. Rexford said it’s common for most hikers to complete the loop counterclockwise.

“It will be very gradual until you get to your first ledge, which is kind of a big, flat ledge, and then you’ll come up from the back side and look down into the ravine to the road, going into Waterville [Valley],” he said. “It basically feels like you’re going from ledge to ledge, and they are maybe five to 10 minutes apart. It’s an absolutely beautiful hike.”

Although it won’t take you all day to complete, MaccGray said he does consider Welch-Dickey to be a moderately challenging hike.

“There are some potentially difficult sections where there are steep granite slabs,” he said, “but they usually aren’t an issue unless things are wet or icy. That’s the only time you’d really need to use any caution.”

Closest ice cream: Roughly 15 miles southwest of the Welch-Dickey trailhead is M ’n M Scoops (67 Main St., Plymouth, 536-4850, mnmscoops.com), offering a variety of flavors of ice cream, frozen yogurt, sorbet, sherbet and more.

Points of interest: While the summit of Mount Dickey is wooded, one of the most dominant vista points is from the summit of Mount Welch, MacGray said, where you can see many of the peaks in the White Mountains, including the 4,802-foot Mount Moosilauke to the northwest.

Featured photo: A sunrise hike on Mount Major. Photo by Emily Lord and courtesy of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests

Performers hit the stage at the newly opened Nashua Center for the Arts

After two years of building, 10 years of planning and more than 20 years of dreaming, the Nashua Center for the Arts has finally opened its doors.

“This is going to make a huge difference for our community, for Nashua, for many, many years to come,” said Mayor Jim Donchess at the ribbon cutting ceremony on Saturday, April 1. “Over the decades, people will become very appreciative of everything that was done by all the people here that made this project possible.”

Donors, board members, patrons of the arts, politicians and their families and friends attended the ribbon cutting ceremony. The front rows of the theater held people who had helped organize and plan the theater over the decades, all of whom got recognition from either Richard Lannan, the president of Nashua Community Arts, Mayor Donchess, Sarah Stewart, the commissioner for the department of natural and cultural resources, or Pete Lally, the president of Spectacle Live, the venue management company for the center.

Donchess read letters written by Sens. Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen and Rep. Annie Kuster. Stewart applauded the ability to have a place like the center built, and described how it would change the scene of arts in the Gate City and the state as a whole.

“I love that you’re so excited about the impact this place will make in Nashua, but I’m here to tell you you’re impacting the entire state,” Stewart said. She said that the center will be held in the same regard as the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, the New Hampshire Poetry Out Loud competition, and the New Hampshire Film Festival in Portsmouth, which was recently named an Academy Award qualifying event. “What you’re doing here is going to be amazing for the state of art in New Hampshire and beyond. You’re going to be the shining star of what the future looks like for arts in Nashua.”

The private ribbon cutting ceremony was followed by a sold-out show featuring a variety of local talent. New Hampshire performers from the ActorSingers, Safe Haven Ballet, Akwabba Ensemble, Peacock Players, Symphony NH and more graced the stage for the first time, but not the last.

“One of the things we’re trying to establish early on is that this isn’t a venue where you just expect one type of genre or show,” Lally said. “Lots of places get pigeonholed with the type of shows they do. We worked very hard to make sure we’re doing a little bit of everything.”

In addition to national touring acts, like Boz Scaggs, Steve Hofstetter and Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken, Spectacle has put an emphasis on making sure that the theater is going to be home to local performers. Safe Haven Ballet’s “Beauty and the Beast” is performing one of its three shows at the theater, and Symphony NH will have its 100-year anniversary show there.

“[Nashua Center for the Arts] isn’t replacing anything in Nashua; it’s adding to it,” Lally said. “It’s also adding to an arts infrastructure and scene downtown.”

Decades in the making

While the steering committee first started holding meetings, public hearings and workshops for this project in 2016, the idea for a citywide theater had already been around for years. The initial proposal for a performing arts center was in the 2000 city’s master plan.

More proposals followed in 2003, 2010 and 2014 before the committee brought in Webb Management Services to see how viable a theater would be for the downtown area and if it would be well-received by other local business owners.

Typically, Webb will determine that cities contacting them don’t have the demand needed to support a theater. Lannan and the rest of the steering committee had hoped the organization would find them in the small percentage of cities in which a theater would thrive.

“The original study from Webb design, I asked the same question, ‘What … percentage of the studies you do actually end up happening?’” Lannan said. “They said that the vast majority of theaters don’t happen. When ours came back, they told us, ‘You’re not going to do a Verizon center or SNHU Arena, but Nashua is clamoring for this.’”

The study suggested a 750-seat theater would be optimal for the area. Instead of settling for just a traditional theater, the steering committee decided to make the orchestra seats fully removable. After folding down the chairs, an operator can push a button and create an empty area in a matter of minutes.

The theater also has two sets of stairs and an elevator, multiple bathrooms on all four stories, and two lobbies that double as concession stands. There is a set-up and prep area for caterers, an outdoor balcony overlooking Main Street, and an art gallery.

Lannan said the board wanted to do something special, something that would be completely unique to the center. Having the ability to turn a theater into a standing-room-only venue or into a 50-table banquet hall would bring variety for theater-goers and performers.

Judith Carlson, a key member of the Nashua Arts Commission and Nashua Community Arts and a member of the center’s steering committee, said that for every meeting, Spectacle Live sent either a representative or its president, Pete Lally, to attend.

“One of the most beautiful things about this, Pete Lally or one of his staff were at every one of the planning committee meetings, not only selecting architect and construction,” Carlson said. “We had goals from Day 1 to make this a place … where both audiences and performers would want to come back to again and again.”

Lannan and Carlson both said that having Lally or one of his people present was a game-changer when it came to planning out the design of the theater. Lannan said that having a person who knows the performance industry helped them come up with having all the amenities performers were looking for. Carlson said that it showed, to her, the devotion Spectacle Live put into the project.

Lally said he had been involved with planning the theater for approximately five or six years, and that it was exciting to work from the ground up. His company runs the Colonial Theatre in Laconia and The Flying Monkey Movie House & Performance Center in Plymouth, both of which opened early in the 20th century.

“The Colonial Theatre … opened in 1914, other buildings [we operate] have long history and chapters, but to be at the design phase has been unique,” Lally said. “From meeting the architects and engineers and designers, it’s been nice to be able to talk to those who were designing [the center]. It resulted in a unique building, one that the area will be happy with.”

More than theater

While the theater’s main draw will be live performances, there will be much more for people to enjoy when it comes to the arts.

“Nashua wanted to serve all kinds of art needs, including performance, and the gallery is part of that,” said Carol Robey, the chairwoman of the gallery. “To have community gallery space … people can see what kind of work artists are doing and give [the artists] an opportunity to sell.”

One major part of the new center will be the Sandy Cleary Gallery, a space for up to a dozen two-dimensional art pieces. The art shows will be staged in three-month rotations after an annual call for art.

April through June will usually be a slot for the students of Nashua’s public schools. This year the schools will begin their shows in May. The April show will be honoring the life of Meri Goyette, a longtime patron of Nashua’s, and New Hampshire’s, art scene.

“She was the queen of arts,” said Carlson. She said that, in addition to organizing art events and supporting local artists, Goyette was a founder of the International Sculpture Symposium, and on the board of directors for the Hunt Memorial Building. “For more than 50 years, she was the inspiration and facilitator for arts in Nashua.”

Carlson said it only felt right to have someone like Goyette, who advocated for years for an artistic home base in Nashua, be the subject of the first arts show in the gallery.

Because of Goyette’s friendship with artists, many painted or photographed her portrait. Robey said those paintings were in storage until now. She added that the portraits were less traditional pieces, some having bright colors and unique compositions that made them more exciting. Goyette’s vibrant personality is skillfully captured in the portraits and photographs hanging on the burnt orange walls. Glimpses of the joyful woman can be seen in the photograph of her dressed as Mrs. Claus. The side of her that was an avid art lover is shown in abstract artworks, including an impressionist-style portrait and a mirrored portrait in a graphic pointillism style.

All of the artwork is facing a window overlooking West Pearl Street, a strategic design to show the artwork more than just during operational hours, Robey said. In addition to having artist plaques with information inside the center, on the window outside the gallery there will be a QR code for passersby so they can read the information during off hours.

The gallery isn’t the only space where visual art will be appreciated, Robey said. She and other members of the art selection committee hope to have artists teach classes in part of the older building.

Carlson said that, with the gallery added in, the Nashua Center for the Arts isn’t just a destination for live music and performances; it’s a place where all art can find a home within the city.

While the center took years to be completed, Lally said it will be a part of Nashua for years to come. He said that having a space like the Center for the Arts will bring new opportunities for artists and arts lovers in Nashua.

“So many cities and towns we’re in touch with have the dream of a space like this; 99 percent never get there,” Lally said. “For Nashua to have pulled this off, it’s a real testament to all the work that’s made it happen, and it’s just about time to open the doors.”

Nashua Center for the Arts
Where: 201 Main St. in Nashua
Contact: 800-657-8874, nashuacenterforthearts.com
Parking: See the website for a map and listing of area parking lots. There are also two-hour-limit and no-time-limit street parking spaces within walking distance of the center.

First on stage

Q&A with Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken

The two American Idol alums are touring the country together in honor of the 20th anniversary of their appearances on the show. Studdard was declared the winner during Season 2 of the singing competition in 2003, with Aiken coming in second place by just 134,000 votes out of more than 24 million cast, the closest winning vote margin in American Idol history. Their second stop on their tour, Ruben and Clay: Twenty Years, One Night, is the Nashua Center for the Arts on Thursday, April 13. When they talked to The Hippo, neither had realized that their show was the first non-ceremonial performance scheduled to take place at the new venue.

You guys are the first touring act performing at the Nashua Center of the Arts.

CA (Clay Aiken): That’s cool. Wow. We are going to inaugurate that hell out of that thing.

So now that you guys know that, how does that feel knowing that you’re going to be the first people to really christen that stage?

RS (Ruben Studdard): After such a long, illustrious career, [he laughs] I have inaugurated several theaters.

CA: Have you?

RS: No. [still laughing]

CA: Well, I was about to say, I don’t think I’ve ever done that. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a theater for the first time. Well, you know what, if you’re going to do it, you do it right, Nashua, and you’ve done it right.

What’s it like going on tour together again 20 years after American Idol?

RS: It’s great. I mean, I’m excited to just spend time with my friend. I had such a great time when we were together planning and putting together the show. It’s so funny to see people’s reaction when they see us together, like at a restaurant. ’Cause of course, I mean like, what’s the odds of you walking into your local Italian restaurant and Clay and Ruben are just sitting there chumming it up?

CA: It’s kinda like Ben Affleck and Matt Damon hanging out together, right?

RS: Absolutely. That’s what it’s like.

Going off that, how did you become friends on [Idol] in the middle of a competition like that?

CA: It was a competition, but I think there were plenty of times throughout the show when I forgot it was a competition. Idol is not like Survivor, where you have to get someone else kicked off in order to be successful. I wanted to make sure I made it till Week 6 when my mom told me she was coming. I certainly never saw myself as being competitive. We both were on the same number of episodes; we both made it all the way to the end and I just never felt competitive against Ruben.

What can attendees expect for the performance at the Nashua Center for the Arts?

RS: To have a good time. You know, at the end of the day, everybody knows we can sing. The question is, can we entertain people for an hour and a half, two hours? And I think the thing that we’re putting together, the stories that we have, the music that we’re going to share, is going to be fun.

CA: It’s going to be an incredible opportunity to reminisce. You know, just the way we’re talking about the show ourselves, Idol was to our great fortune…. Nostalgia is big right now or has been big for a minute or two. People love the Roseanne reboot and the Will & Grace reboot and the Night Court reboot. I think we as a country are looking for things that are safe and fun that we know make us happy, and Idol made a lot of people happy in 2003.

For the performers

The creators of the center wanted to make the venue as luxurious for performers as it’s set to be for patrons.

“We’re really good about taking feedback,” said Jake Crumb, the facilities manager set up by Spectacle Live to run Nashua Center for the Arts. “When [performers and crew] arrive…they’re looking for a place that is somewhat comfortable and gives them amenities. We’ve taken [that] to heart and given them all the amenities they’d expect to have.”

The center worked with ICON Architecture and OTJ Architects for theater design, Fisher Dachs Associates for theater planning and equipment, Acentech for audiovisual and acoustic design, and Rist Frost Shumway for mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, civil engineering and lighting design.

The state-of-the-art light system has LED theatrical lighting and 28 linesight rigging systems. The sound system is by Meyer Sound Laboratories and will have headset and handheld microphones. The center also houses audiovisual equipment for movies, film festivals and presentations, and a Yamaha C6X grand piano for performances.

The stage is approximately 30 feet deep from downstage to upstage and is 60 feet across from wing to wing.

There are many perks for performers and their crews off the stage, as well. The loading dock leads directly to the main stage area for easy access for setting up and taking down shows. There are two dressing rooms designed for stars, community dressing rooms, a lounge room, and a separate room for the crew. There are showers, a kitchenette with a refrigerator and microwave, and a washer and dryer.

See a show

Here are some of the shows on the schedule for the Nashua Center for the Arts. Buy tickets and get updates at nashuacenterforthearts.com.

• Ruben and Clay: Twenty Years, One Night (Thursday, April 13, 8 p.m.; Ticket price range: $49 to $89)

• Suzanne Vega – An Intimate Evening of Songs and Stories (Saturday, April 15, 8 p.m.; $49 to $195)

• Dopapod (Thursday, April 20, 8 p.m.; $24)

• Girl Named Tom (Friday, April 21, 8 p.m.; $29 to $69)

• Safe Haven Ballet Presents: Beauty and the Beast (Saturday, April 22, 4:30 p.m.; $40 to $45)

• Symphony NH: Momentum! 100 Year Anniversary Concert (Saturday, April 29, 4 p.m.; $12 to $52)

• Champions of Magic (Thursday, May 4, 7:30 p.m.; $39 to $69)

• Gimme Gimme Disco (Friday, May 5, 8:30 p.m.; $19 to $24)

• Broadway Rave (Saturday, May 6, 8:30 p.m.; $19 to $24)

• Boz Scaggs (Thursday, May 11, 8 p.m.; $79 to $279)

• BoDeans (Friday, May 12, 8 p.m.; $29 to $49)

• Recycled Percussion (Saturday, May 13, 3 and 7 p.m.; $39.50 to $49.50)

• Emo Night Brooklyn (Saturday, May 20, 8:30 p.m.; $19 to $24)

• Celebrating Billy Joel: America’s Piano Man (Thursday, June 8, 8 p.m.; $29 to $59)

• Pat Metheny Side-Eye (Friday, June 9, 8 p.m.; $59 to $99)

• Menopause the Musical (Saturday, June 10; 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; $31.30 to $69)

• Grace Kelly (Saturday, June 17, 8 p.m.; $25 to $60)

• Toad the Wet Sprocket (Sunday, June 18, 7 p.m.; $49 to $179)

• Kashmir (Led Zeppelin tribute) (Friday, June 23, 8 p.m.; $29 to $59)

• Tab Benoit (Thursday, July 13, 8 p.m.; $29 to $69)

• An Evening with Tom Rush accompanied by Matt Nakoa (Friday, July 14, 8 p.m.; $29 to $69)

• Jake Shimabukuro (Saturday, July 15, 8 p.m.; $29 to $69)

• The High Kings (Sunday, July 30, 7 p.m.; $39 to $69)

• Jesse Cook (Saturday, Aug. 5, 8 p.m.; $39 to $69)

• Mary Chapin Carpenter (Sunday, Aug. 20, 7:30 p.m.; $49 to $89)

• Ace Frehley (Saturday, Aug. 26, 8 p.m.; $49 to $79)

• Tusk (Fleetwood Mac tribute) (Friday, Oct. 6, 8 p.m.; $29 to $49)

• Steve Hofstetter (Saturday, Oct. 7, 8 p.m.; $29 to $104)

• The Sixties Show (Sunday, Oct. 15, 7 p.m.; $29 to $59)