Category: Cover Stories

Events and spots for a night out with longtime sweethearts, first dates and friends!

By John Fladd

jfladd@hippopress.com

Lenny Demers is frustrated at how a lot of people see martial arts.

“I hear a lot of, ‘This is going to take me a couple of months,’” he said. “They’ll say, ‘I’m going to be a black belt in a couple of months. And I’m going to be able to fight 20 guys with knives and guns coming at me.’ And I try to tell them, ‘That’s not self-defense. That’s a movie. That’s not practical. Self-defense is when you’re minding your business, someone sneaks up and grabs you by your neck, and you react really quickly, and you get out of it.’”

Demers, the owner/operator of Kenpo Academy of Self Defense in Londonderry, is a master of Shaolin kenpo karate but also teaches classes in taekwondo, kickboxing, Brazilian jiu jitsu and several martial arts weapons. Many of Kenpo Academy’s classes are geared toward children, but some of Demers’ most rewarding experiences over the years have been with adult students.

“I have a lot of adult students that I’m very proud of,” he said. “I have one kid that started with me when he was 5 years old — him and his twin sister. They became like part of my family. They’ve been with me for 25 years. He just got his sixth degree [black belt in karate]. His sister is a fourth degree. ”

Adults, he said — most adults, anyway — have an easier time wrapping their heads around the emotional aspects of karate.

“Everyone thinks karate’s all just about the anger,” he said, “punching and hitting. I say karate’s mostly about your mind, calming your mind down, keeping cool, keeping calm instead of freaking out. We talk about that a lot. Adults will take a step back a little bit, once in a while, I think, but kids don’t.”

Andrew Jefferson, owner (and instructor) of Bulsajo Kaekwondo in Goffstown, agrees that the martial arts are as much about emotional development as they are about shouting, kicking and throwing. He teaches taekwondo to students from 4 years old to 70.

“There’s a lot of character development,” Jefferson said. “You see it a lot in kids because we are giving kids extra structure and teaching them discipline and about being respectful, but you do see it just as much in teens and adults. For them it’s [rooted in] how they work really hard and overcome an obstacle and that helps them improve their self-confidence and their determination.”

“Character-building has always been part of martial arts because being a warrior or a soldier, you have to have a certain level of confidence and belief in yourself. And I think that that just carries over from old and ancient times, if you will, to modern times. And so martial arts are a great way to help people build character.”

Jefferson said adults come to taekwondo for many reasons, some philosophical and character-driven, but most come for practical reasons.

“Depending on the time of the year,” he said, “their reasoning for coming in is, ‘Well, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do and now I’m getting around to doing it.’ Or sometimes, like around the new year, they’ll … want to lose some weight, or gain flexibility, or get in shape, and martial arts seems like a fun way to do it.”

“Kids are also very fun to teach,” Jefferson said, “but there’s something about adults overcoming obstacles or gaining abilities that they never thought they would that feels even better.”

Linda Murphy, the owner of Bare Knuckle Murphy’s Boxing Gymnasium and Go Ninja Circus Arts in Manchester, is something of an outlier among martial artists; she teaches mostly adults. “This studio is primarily focused on competitive fighting arts, like kickboxing and boxing — USAB-style boxing,” she said. “We have a lot of people in their 20s and 30s, but we do have older people. We have right now a man who’s in his 50s and he wants to compete in boxing. There is a Master’s Division [for older competitors] and he’s doing really well. There is a kind of a team sort of atmosphere here. It’s not like the traditional bowing, black belt; it’s more military style.”

Murphy has been involved in a variety of styles of martial arts for many years.

“I started in a Japanese style and went into a Korean style,” she said. “I got black belts in those. And then shodokan and then taekwondo. But I’ve studied a lot of different things. I taught self-defense at Dartmouth College and took wing chun, like a kung fu style, up there. I’ve studied some sabbat, some tai chi, like just different things.”

Over the years, Murphy said, the approach to martial arts in her gym has changed.

“This place started out in 1978,” she said. “It was like a lot of very traditional martial arts out in that time period; people wouldn’t hit each other.” Gradually Murphy shifted to a more full-contact approach, centered on actually winning fights, in the ring or on the street. Now her gym attracts students from many walks of life.

“We get a lot of people who have a background in sports,” she said. “They take an interest in boxing or kickboxing before and want to come in and try it. I usually know they’re going to love it because they already have an understanding of what it is like to train for a sport activity. Boxing has a lot of detail on balance, footwork, head movement, positioning of how your body needs to be, and then all the strategy and the conditioning that go with it. We also get people who have done nothing. One of our coaches, who’s so much fun, he did art and ate potato chips all through high school and then finally dared to come into boxing. He was about 26 and now he’s one of the top [boxers] in New England in the 165-pound class.”

In addition to full-contact martial arts, Murphy teaches gymnastics-based circus skills tumbling, trapeze and silks. While the students in the ring tend to be men, her circus students are generally women, she said. “That tends to be more women,” she said, “but guys are always asking if they can do it. So I’ll include them if they want. Usually the easiest sell is the guys that want to compete because they want to do whatever it takes to get better at their activity. Plus they might be a little more confident to cross over that line.”

“People find that interesting. I find it interesting.”

Jason Bryant is the owner and head instructor at Leverage Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Concord. He said that while Brazilian jiu jitsu (or BJJ) is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country it is also a very effective form of self-defense. [BJJ is] a martial art or a sport that’s grappling-based,” he explained, “so it’s very similar to wrestling. However, instead of pins we use submissions to win a match, if we’re talking competition. It’s a very hands-on physical sport that uses a lot of leverage, which is why I named my gym that. [Jiu jitsu] uses leverage techniques to overcome someone who might be able to beat you with, let’s say, strength. Classically, it would allow a smaller person to beat a larger, stronger person in a self-defense situation. So it’s a very effective self-defense.“

Bryant said one of the reasons he loves BJJ is that it is built around community values.

“I have people who come in that will never compete but they get in great shape through training here,” he said. “BJJ is great for law enforcement and first responders, which is something I’m passionate about. With law enforcement, they have to get hands-on a lot. And first responders too, which I hadn’t thought of until I opened the gym. [They might have to deal with] someone who may have overdosed or did something on some substance and they have to get hands-on with them and you’re an EMT, so you may have to know how to kind of handle a person. So it gives you the tools to handle another person physically while doing it with compassion so you don’t have to hurt someone. We don’t have strikes, so it’s not like we’re kicking and punching each other. So it’s very effective when it comes to being hands-on and controlling another person’s body and keeping both people safe.”

There is not really any one type of person who studies BJJ, Bryant said. “It’s a broad mix of people. We have a handful of police officers. We have firefighters that train here, nurses that train here; it’s a very family-oriented group in here. We have a lot of kids whose parents train here. My wife trains here. Both of my kids train here. They want an activity that can help them feel safer, gain some confidence, get in better shape, and have a lot of fun, and building this community of people.”

The prices martial arts studios charge their students varies widely, depending on the style of martial art they teach, and the intensity with which students want to train. Most will offer one or two free classes for new students to get a feel for the experience.

“We offer a two-class pass,” Lenny Demers said, “so students can come in and it costs nothing. I show them what we teach. I don’t expect them to remember everything that I’m teaching them, but I teach them about basic self-defense, defense against somebody grabbing you, defense against somebody pushing you, defense against somebody punching you. They’re not going to master it in the two classes, but in those two classes they’ll get an idea of how I teach and what I teach. I don’t change. If you don’t like me Day 1, you’re not going to like me Day 2. If you love the class Day 1, you’ll love the class Day 2, because it doesn’t change. All they need to do is wear some baggy clothes and come in with an ‘I can” attitude and have fun.”

Depending on what they want to learn and who they want to study from, many martial arts studio owners say adults should expect to pay about $150 per month for wice-weekly classes.

Andrew Jefferson agrees.

“I would say you’re going to be paying over $100 a month for at least two or three days a week,” he said. “Some schools will cost more if their overhead is greater or they have more instructors they have to pay. I would like to help be on the end of the spectrum where I’m a little cheaper for people who need that and don’t have the funds for a bigger full-time school. I’m filling a niche.”

“It’s pretty basic, a monthly, kind of monthly plan, like most fitness gyms would be,” Jason Bryant said. “I offer different tiers based on training frequency, unlimited plans so someone could come in here every single day with a class as much as they want. We mostly charge month-to-month. Some people will have a seat during a sports season and then maybe they’ll pause the membership for a couple months so they can go play or watch a sport. I don’t want finances to be a speed bump for why someone couldn’t come train in jiu jitsu.”

Ultimately, the instructors of martial arts studios say they teach for the love of their particular style and to have a chance to do it full-time. Andrew Jefferson put it like this: “This is pretty great. It’s amazing because it’s such a positive environment and we’re helping people make positive changes. Even on your most trying days you still go home with a smile because you’re doing good work. It’s a rewarding job that I really, really like and honestly I can’t imagine doing anything but teach martial arts.”

Returning to the practice

Roland Cere and Bill Big study taekwondo at Bulsajo Taekwondo in Goffstown.

They are both in their mid-60s and have come back from fairly stark physical challenges in recent years.

“I have a lot of injuries,” Big said. “I’ve got seven fused vertebrae in my neck and two more fused down below. And because of my injuries and some other things, my flexibility has been diminishing to the point where I feel like my body has been atrophied. I felt like, well, I remember I used to do tai chi as well and that helped, helped that a lot. So I decided to go back and just go easy and see if that would help with my flexibility and my pain and so on and so forth. And I have found that it has helped with those things.”

Big said that making real progress in taekwondo has meant a combination of gaining flexibility and learning to work around his physical limitations.

“I’ve been able to pick up some of those flexibility and skills and then I know that I cannot do certain other things because of all the metal in me and I find that I have to dismiss one technique, but I can focus in on a different one instead.”

Cere faced similar challenges.

“I have a steel rod with screws in my back,” he said, grimacing, “also, fusion and four back surgeries. I was told I could never walk again. This was eight years ago, and here I am walking.”

Both men studied martial arts in their youth and came back to it in the past few years. Both of them worked their way, belt by belt, to earn second degree black belts in taekwondo last fall. This came at the cost of constant, relentless practice, which has been a source of pride to both men.

“Martial arts have helped me get my self-confidence back,” Big said. “Because I was told if I moved the wrong way or fell down or this or that, I could easily be paralyzed for life, but I loved [martial arts] 20 years ago, so I said, ‘You know what? I’m just going to do it, and test it out.’ I was really scared to do anything, but slowly but surely, It has been wonderfully helpful.” He said his improvements have been as much psychological as physical. “This really gave me something to focus on and think about and it’s really helped my attitude. It’s improved my outlook in life and given me that confidence to be able to get back in there and do things.”

“And to surround yourself with wonderful people,” Cere added. “I mean, there isn’t a jerk in this whole place. Everybody is very helpful and courteous. For me, taekwondo has been a fountain of youth.”

Big added that in his experience martial arts has been a team effort. “You’ve got to get up,” he said. “You have to do the kicks, you have to do the punches, but it’s also a bit of a team player thing. Learning from others, working with them, getting feedback — I think that that really makes a great difference.” —John Fladd

What are some of the styles of martial arts that are taught in our area?

American Kenpo Karate

“Our system is based on the principles of situational awareness, stability, balance, coordination, power, flow, and timing, all teaching the maximum application of motion through following natural geometry in a ‘Universal Pattern’ and mathematics. Adults that are looking for a system that can be adapted to fit individual ability and energy levels would find our art to their liking.” —Jason Cote, Studio Operations Director, Concord Karate Studio and Academy, 89 Fort Eddy Road, 224-5425, cks-nh.com

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

“Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) is a grappling sport where the mat serves as your ally, and having trustworthy training partners is essential for a safe and effective training environment. BJJ draws a wide range of individuals, such as fitness aficionados, martial arts enthusiasts, those interested in self-defense, trauma survivors, veterans, and people who appreciate the social environment of training and the camaraderie found in a dojo. Ultimately, BJJ is an inclusive sport that welcomes people of all ages, backgrounds and fitness levels.” —Tony McBee, owner and Head Instructor, New England BJJ Academy, 30 Henniker St., Concord, 369-4764, nebjj.com

Enshu Do

“Enshudo is a straightforward traditional self-defense art. There are few forms, and memorization is not a priority, but the techniques have been tested over the last half century. The class is perfectly suited for a busy person who is interested in learning self-defense but doesn’t have the time for an extensive curriculum. The atmosphere is relaxed, and training is as gentle or as intense as you and your classmates want it to be.” —Chris Marsh, owner, Independent Martial Arts School, 138 Lake St., Nashua, 882-6917, imasnh.com

Jiu Jitsu (as opposed to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu)

“Jiu jitsu as applied for self-defense is going to be more conducive regardless of your weight or your size. You’re using leverage, advantage positions against a stronger, more powerful opponent. You don’t have to be physically gifted or athletic or in any type of condition or shape to apply the skills that are highly effective for self-defense. If you’re willing to learn and put in a little bit of effort , then it becomes effective. Nothing is an overnight success.” —Christopher Koneles, owner/instructor of Martial Arts Zone, Manchester, 31 Auburn St., Manchester, 206-5716, themartialartszone.com

Judo

“[Competition] judo is the ability to off-balance your opponent and throw them to the ground with sufficient force to score a full point, and if that’s not possible, throw them to the ground and score half point and finish with a submission. Typically the people that do well [in judo] are folks who are physical and have kept themselves in relatively good shape through the years. It is not something I would recommend for somebody looking to get in shape.” —Lee Rossi, owner and Chief Instructor, Checkmate Martial Arts, 200 Elm St., Manchester, 666-5836, checkmateselfdefense.com

Krav Maga

“Krav Maga, it’s not a martial art. It’s sometimes categorized into that, but it’s more of a combat science or system of self-defense. It was formulated by a gentleman named Yimi Lichtenfeld in Israel for the Israeli military. We don’t do things like sparring or gameplay. We don’t have a gamification of violence because we don’t engage in any activity that does not lead to the immediate resolution of a situation, whether that be to have physical violence or to de-escalate or to run away. The people who come [to us] are people who are looking to defend themselves, people who are looking to not get into fights, people who want to feel a little bit more safe walking around.” —Joe Estee, IMI Krav Maga, 150 Nashua Road, Londonderry, 617-774-7188, dotokushin.com

Muay Thai

Muay Thai is an art, a martial art from Thailand, and it’s known as the art of eight limbs, so your punches, your elbows, your knees and your kicks. It originated as their military weapons and how they would defend their borders and such. And then it has eventually evolved into a sport, and it’s the national sport of Thailand. It’s an art that can be modified if you have injuries or limitations, but it’s great for physical fitness, stress relief, coordination, confidence and empowerment. It’s just a sport that everybody can do. —Laura Barchard, instructor, Professional Martial Arts Academy, 15 E. Broadway, Derry, 301-4252, pmaderry.com

Shaolin Kenpo Karate

To me, Shaolin kenpo is the most practical form of self-defense. It’s very practical, it’s very fast. You defend yourself and you get out of there. It’s not very flashy, it’s not very flowery. It’s basic self-defense. Somebody’s trying to hurt you, you defend yourself and you get out of there. Everybody works with their own ability; we have a wide variety of age range and levels. I have a lot of students that come in from other styles that they’ve stopped — ‘I made it to brown belt 10 years ago; I would love to get my black belt’ — and we help them. —Lenny Demers, owner, Kenpo Academy of Self Defense, Crossroads Mall, 123 Nashua Road, Londonderry, 437-9900, kenpo-academy.com

Shotokan Karate

Shotokan is a very traditional style of Japanese martial arts. The focus is on strong stances. We do katas, which are forms or memorized steps that have self-defense within them. Our focus is on spiritual growth as far as trying to perfect techniques, trying to build a strong body [and] a strong mind. Some of our adults started in a different style and chose shotokan because, even though it’s a strong style, we’re not full-contact, trying to beat each other up all day, so you can do it as you get older as well. —Sarah Beth Gosselin, Chief Instructor, Phoenix Fire Martial Arts, 79 Plaistow Road, Plaistow, 234-8665, phnixfire.com

Taekwondo

Taekwondo is a mixture of karate and Korean martial arts like taekyeon, modernized. It emphasizes simple techniques and is easy to learn. It is very popular in the Olympics and for its dramatic kicking techniques. Taekwondo would suit any adult, especially one who is wanting to not just improve like maybe not just learn self-defense but also be able to learn how to make improvements to their well-being or to their like self-improvement. —Andrew Jefferson, Bulsajo Kaekwondo, 703-1914, bulsajotkd.com

Tai Chi Chuan

“Tai chi chuan is a low-impact training method that helps to develop one’s internal energy and external strength. Based on self-defense movements, the tai chi chuan forms are practiced as a series of movements connected in a flowing pattern and performed slowly to gain precision and deep body awareness. Adult students of any age who want a holistic approach to wellness should consider tai chi chuan as a means to remain active, promote balance control and improve their health.” —Laoshi Michael Coulon (Yang YaHua), NH Yang Chengfu Tai Chi Chuan Center, 107 Alsace St., Manchester, 623-2371, nhyangtaichi.com

Martial arts for self-defense

Many martial arts studios teach classes in self-defense geared toward women.

Maddie Pratte is in charge of the Women Empowered Program (WEP) at Manchester Karate Studio (371 S. Willow St., Manchester, 625-5835, manchesterkarate.com). She said her program is designed to provide practical solutions to common dangers many women face.

“Our classes are for women only,” Pratte said. “The program addresses 20 physical threat scenarios and 20 possible solutions to them. Because typically in most physical conflicts men are generally physically bigger and stronger, we provide women with strategies that don’t depend on physical strength.”

As with other areas of martial arts, Pratte said much of the WEP training is psychological.

“Self-defense for women isn’t just about punching and kicking,” she said. “It has just as much to do with risk assessment and setting boundaries.” Because many women are socialized to please other people, she said, it can be hard for them to be assertive in the face of aggression.

Linda Murphy, the owner and operator of Bare Knuckle Murphy’s Boxing Gym (163 Lake Ave, Manchester, 623-6066, bareknucklemurphy.com) agrees.

“When I teach women self-defense,” Murphy said, “I like to do a variety of things. We talk a lot about boundary-setting, knowing about how to set boundaries, and verbal assertiveness, which is the midpoint between being aggressive and being passive. I like to give set words and have people practice them.”

“I think culturally we might be either too aggressive or maybe passive altogether,” Murphy said. “I coach a lot of guys, so I see it in both, but women have some different issues — self-defense when it comes to, like, dating violence or sexual assault. Women have to set a boundary in that regard, which can be hard if you want to be liked or, you know, it’s just like a difficult thing to navigate. So I think having words to help with that. And then also I like to do educating on the type of people that might be more likely to not listen to a boundary when you set it and realize that those people [are people you] can be more aware of, or keep a distance from, or maybe realize that’s not a person to date.” —John Fladd

Find a studio

Many martial arts studios offer classes or workshops in self-defense for women, but they don’t always display information about them clearly on their websites or social media.

If you have children who study at a particular school or you are looking for classes near where you live, call any studio and ask if they have any programs specifically for women.

If you find yourself in a dangerous relationship, the NH Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence has a 24/7 statewide helpline to get in touch with a caring and trained advocate at 866-644-3574.

Featured Image: Lenny Demers of Kenpo Academy of Self Defense in Londonderry (courtesy photo).

Events and spots for a night out with longtime sweethearts, first dates and friends!

Compiled by Amy Diaz
adiaz@hippopress.com

Planning a first date, a date night with a longtime sweetheart or just a “let’s do something different” outing with a friend? Here are some ideas for places to spend time together. (Most information comes from the locations’ websites or social media pages. Call or otherwise get in touch to check on specific days before heading out.)

Dinner and a movie

Dinner and a movie is a classic outing but there are ways to give it a little extra oomph.

At Red River Theatres (11 S. Main St. in Concord; redrivertheatres.org) offers a dinner-and-a-movie package: $40 gets you two regular movie passes plus a $25 gift card to Concord restaurants Revival Kitchen & Bar, Hermanos or Dos Amigos.

At Chunky’s Cinema Pub (707 Huse Road in Manchester; chunkys.com) and Smitty’s Cinema (630 W. Main St. in Tilton; smittyscinema.com) you can order dinner while you watch your movie. Both theaters also offer non-movie-based events. Smitty’s GameLab offers arcade games and axe-throwing and the cinema hosts comedy nights — next up is a Boston Comedy Festival show on Friday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m. (tickets cost $20). At Chunky’s, offerings include Thursday night trivia weekly at 7:30 p.m.; scratch ticket (Friday, Feb. 21, at 7 p.m.) and theater candy (Sunday, Feb. 23, at 1 p.m.) bingo; Feud Gone Wild (Friday, Feb. 21, at 8:30 p.m.); Paint Night (next up is Valentine’s Day paint night on Friday, Feb. 14, at 7 p.m.) and regular comedy shows (catch Frank Santorelli on Friday, Feb. 14, and Saturday, Feb. 15, at 8 p.m.).

The Flying Monkey (38 S. Main St. in Plymouth; flyingmonkeynh.com) has two movies most weeks on the February and March schedule including a G or PG movie on Wednesdays and a movie on Thursdays. On Thursday, Feb. 13, catch 2024’s Wicked at 6 p.m.; on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at 6 p.m. catch The Lego Batman Movie. The Flying Monkey has a movie night dinner menu as well as a selection of beer, wine and cocktails.

At O’neil Cinemas Brickyard Square (24 Calef Highway in Epping; oneilcinemas.com) you can get a glass of chardonnay with your bucket of popcorn and enjoy a production from The Metropolitan Opera, which are broadcast live and in encore screenings to theaters including O’neil. Next up is Fidelio, Beethoven’s only opera, which is broadcast live on Saturday, March 15, at 1 p.m. (with an encore screening on Wednesday, March 19, at 1 p.m.).

Find other theaters screening the Met Opera as well as other theatrical productions, anniversary screenings of older films, concerts and more via Fathom Events. Starting with 2001’sHarry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone on Thursday, Feb. 13, Fathom has upcoming screenings of the first four Harry Potter films Thursday, Feb. 13, through Sunday, Feb. 16, and Thursday, Feb. 20, through Sunday, Feb. 23.

Like a movie, but live

A theatrical production checks that same box of a shared experience and a story you can discuss over drinks afterward. Some shows on the schedule in the next few weeks:

• The Community Players of Concord (communityplayersofconcord.org) will present The Gods of Comedy Friday, Feb. 14, through Sunday, Feb. 16, at the Concord City Auditorium (2 Prince St. in Concord). Tickets cost $20, $18 for 65+.

• The Majestic Studio Theatre (880 Page St. in Manchester; majestictheatre.net) presents the Neil Simon comedy The Last of the Red Hot Lovers Friday, Feb. 14, through Sunday, Feb. 16. Tickets cost $15 to $20.

• The Nashua Theatre Guild (nashuatheatreguild.org) will present An Evening of One-Acts at the Court Street Theatre (14 Court St. in Nashua) Friday, Feb. 21, through Sunday, Feb. 23. Tickets cost $20; $18 for 65+.

• Theatre Kapow’s Every Brilliant Thing spent a weekend at the BNH Stage in Concord and is now headed for the Winnipesaukee Playhouse in Meredith Friday, Feb. 21, through Sunday. Feb. 23, where tickets cost $25 to $30. See Michael Witthaus’ story about the production on page 14 of the Feb. 6 issue of the Hippo (which you can find in the digital library at hippopress.com).

• Cue Zero Theatre (cztheatre.com) will present The Wild Party, a musical set in the 1920s, Friday, Feb. 28, through Sunday, March 2, at the Arts Academy of New Hampshire (19 Keewaydin Drive in Salem). Tickets cost $20.

• Escape to Margaritaville, a musical comedy featuring Jimmy Buffett classics, is the next multi-week theatrical production at the Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org), running Friday, Feb. 28, through Sunday, March 23. Tickets cost $39 through $53.

• Bedford Off Broadway (bedfordoffbroadway.com) will present the comedy Boeing Boeing on the weekends Friday, March 7, through Sunday, March 16, at the Bedford Town Hall (70 Bedford Center Road in Bedford). Tickets cost $15, $12 for seniors.

Go dancing

Whether you have been dancing together for years or you are looking to try out something new, there are several dance-related events, many of which will teach you the basics before you hit the floor in earnest.

Looking to learn how to swing dance? Henniker Brewing Co. (173 Centervale Road in Henniker; hennikerbrewing.com) will hold a Valentine’s Sip and Swing on Friday, Feb. 14, at 6 p.m. Tickets cost $30 per couple, which includes two beverages and a lesson in dancing from The Hidden Door Studio, according to a post on Henniker Brewing’s website. (Other fun at Henniker Brewing? Thursday night trivia weekly at 6 p.m. and Wednesday night weekly disc golf putting in their factory at 5:30 p.m., through March 26, as well as live music and more.)

Rockingham Ballroom (22 Ash Swamp Road in Newmarket; rockinballroom.club) will host a Valentine’s Day Dance Party with the New Legacy Swing Band on Friday, Feb. 14, at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $25 in advance, $30 on the day. The evening will start with a dance lesson at 7:15 p.m. followed by the band at 8 p.m. The event is BYOB with a light menu and beverages available for purchase.

The New Hampshire Jazz Orchestra will play the Valentine’s Swing Dance on Saturday, Feb. 15, at 6 p.m. at Murphy’s Taproom & Carriage House in Bedford. Get the dance lesson at 6:30 p.m. and be ready when the band plays starting at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $33.85. See nhjazzorchestra.com/upcoming.

In March, you can head to the BNH Stage (16 S. Main St. in Concord; ccanh.com) for Swing Dance Night featuring New Hampshire Jazz Orchestra on Saturday, March 22, at 6:30 p.m. (for a dance lesson; the band starts at 7 p.m.). Tickets cost $30.75.

Paper Moon Dance Studio (33 Depot St. in Merrimack; papermoondance.com) will hold a Mardi Gras Social Dance on Saturday, March 8, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Call 943-1106 for details on this event and the studio’s other offerings.

For something a little spicier, check out the It Takes Two To Tango Workshop from Royal Palace Dance Studio (5 N. Main St. in Concord; royalpalacedance.com) on Saturday, Feb. 15, at 7 p.m. The cost is $45 per person and no experience is required. Royal Palace Dance Studio, which also has a Manchester location, offers private lessons and group classes in a variety of dance styles including swing, ballroom, salsa and more.

Or heat things up with salsa dancing. Bella Vita Dance Academy (Eastside Plaza, 859 Hanover St. in Manchester; bellavitadance.com) will hold its 603 Salsa & Bachata Social: Valentine’s Day Edition on Friday, Feb. 14, with a lesson at 8 p.m. and a dance from 9 p.m. to midnight. Tickets cost $20 for solo admission and $35 for a couple, plus fees.

Feeling a little bit country? Most Sunday nights from 6 to 8 p.m. 603 Line Dance (603linedance.com) brings country line dancing, with a lesson, to Bonfire (950 Elm St. in Manchester; bonfiremanch.com).

603 Line Dance also brings line dancing to The Goat (50 Old Granite St. in Manchester; goatnh.com/manchester/calendar) on Mondays and Wednesdays from 7 to 10 p.m.

603 Line Dance will also bring country to the Lakeport Opera House (781 Union Ave. in Laconia; lakeportopera.com) for Cozy & Country Line Dance Night on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $15.

Line Dance with Ginger has Saturday socials slated for Feb. 22, March 1 and March 22 at the Old Town Hall in Bedford at 7 p.m. The cost is $10 and includes a quick lesson. See linedancemax.com.

Country fans can also head to the Freddie and the Freeloaders Country Band and 603 Line Dance on Saturday, March 8, at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $15 and include line dance lessons, which will kick off the evening with Kim Carpentino from 603 Line Dance, followed by guided line dancing during band breaks, according to the Rockingham Ballroom website, where you can find other upcoming country line dance events.

Or check out one of the many DJed dance parties on a theme on the schedule at area venues. Nashua Center for the Arts (201 Main St. in Nashua; nashuacenterforthearts.com) will host a Gimme Gimme Disco ABBA-themed disco dance party on Friday, Feb. 28, at 8 p.m.; tickets cost $21 to $24, plus fees. The Lakeport Opera House in Laconia will host a Taylor Swift Inspired Dance Party on Saturday, March 1, at 7:30 p.m.; tickets cost $20.

Get physical

Dance isn’t the only active outing idea.

Remix Skate & Event Center (725 Huse Road in Manchester; skateremix.com) offers another way to enjoy music and movement. The all-ages Friday Night Roller Remix runs from 8 to 11 p.m.; the cost is $20 for a two-hour skate, $30 for a three-hour skate. On Saturday, Feb. 15, from 9 to 11:30 p.m. it’s Heartbreak Night: Music of Taylor & Friends for 18+; tickets cost $20. On Saturday, Feb. 22, from 9 to 11:30 p.m. it’s Laraland Roller Disco Presents: Millennial Mixtape with DJ Diedre Dagata; event is $20, 18+. On Saturday, March 1, from 9 to 11: 30 p.m., it’s March into the ’90s with Shawn Caliber & DJ Myth; the event costs $20 per person and is 18+.

More fun on skates? The Everett Arena in Concord (15 Loudon Road) has public ice skating Sundays from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and Monday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. with $6 admission, $6 skate rentals. See concordnh.gov or find the arena on Facebook. Public ice skating at the JFK Memorial Coliseum (303 Beech St. in Manchester) is available most Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., as well as some Monday and Wednesday mornings, and on Saturdays and Sundays from 2 to 4 p.m., all through the end of March. See the schedule at manchesternh.gov. Skate rentals cost $5.

Another new challenge you could try together: Indoor climbing. NH Climbing & Fitness (10 Langdon Ave. in Concord; nhclimbinggym.com) offers a trial package for beginners for $50 which includes an introduction to climbing class, rentals and more. Vertical Dreams (250 Commercial St., Manchester, 625-6919, 25 E. Otterson St., Nashua, 943-7571; verticaldreams. com) offers a beginner lesson package for $40. See the websites for hours and additional information.

SkyVenture New Hampshire (100 Adventure Way in Nashua; skyventurenh.com) also offers rock climbing ($20 per person) as well as indoor skydiving, surfing and fishpipe. The “Surf, Pipe, Fly & Climb” package costs $130, and you can inquire about individual activities.

Or, just break stuff together. Rage Cage NH (37 E. Hollis St. in Nashua; ragecagenh.com) offers a two-person smash room for one hour for $120 ($60 per person). Or book a Glow Paint Splatter Experience (with a canvas that’s yours to keep) for $25 per person. Or do both for $80 per person.

The Break Room (843 Hanover St. in Manchester; thebreakroomnh.com) offers 10-minute (Lunch Break, $25 per person), 20-minute (Case of the Mondays, $40 per person) and 30-minute (Rage Quit, $50 per person) breaking sessions.

Fun and games

Enjoy a challenge together with dates that focus on a game or puzzle.

At a brewery, bar or restaurant somewhere there is trivia most nights of the week. Make it a multi-couple date (teams seem to consist of between four and eight players), join another team or compete as a team of two, depending on the rules of each location. Find a listing of trivia nights most weeks in our Nite section.

Or play a game with just your partner. Escape rooms provide puzzles usually based on a theme — Heist of the Moon Diamond, for example, at 102 Escape in Londonderry — and are booked usually for about an hour. Check the websites of the escape rooms for booking procedures. Area escape rooms include:

• 102 Escape 123 Nashua Road, Unit 32, in Londonderry; 102escape.com

• Break Free Escape Games 10 Main St. in Nashua; breakfreeescapegames.com

• Escape Room Concord 240 Airport Road in Concord; escaperoomconcordnh.com

• Granite State Escape 795 Elm St. in Manchester; escapenh.com

• Key To Escape 3 Bud Way, Unit 21, in Nashua; keytoescape.com

• LOK’d! Room Escape 1500 S. Willow St. in Manchester; lokdrocks.com

Compete one-on-one at Boards & Brews (941 Elm St. in Manchester; boardsandbrewsnh.com), where you can choose from their more than 2,000 games (reserve a table for $5 per person) and order from their menu, which includes starters, salads and sandwiches, entrees and desserts.

Or try bowling. Boutwell’s Bowling Center (152 N. State St., Concord; boutwellsbowl.com) is open Sundays from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Mondays 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Tuesday and Wednesday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursdays 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.

King Bowling Lanes (751 Mast Road, Manchester; kinglanes.com) is open for public bowling Sunday, 1 to 6 p.m.; Monday, 3 to 9 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday, 1 to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 1 to 10 p.m.

Lakeside Lanes (2171 Candia Road in Manchester; lakesidelanes.com) has open bowling Sunday, noon to 9 p.m.; Monday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Thursday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Saturday, noon to 10 p.m.

Leda Lanes (340 Amherst St., Nashua, ledalanes.com) is open Monday, noon to 10 p.m.; Tuesday and Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Thursday, noon to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Merrimack Ten Pin (698 DW Highway in Merrimack, merrimacktenpin.com), which also has an arcade, opens every day at 10 a.m. See the website for the breakdown of hours, cost and lane availability.

Strikers East Bowling Center & Function Room (4 Essex Drive in Raymond, strikerseast.com), which also has an arcade with 20+ games, is open to public bowling Tuesdays 5 to 9 p.m.; Wednesdays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursdays 5 to 9 p.m.; Friday, 2 to 11 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Yankee Lanes (216 Maple St. in Manchester; yankeelanesentertainment.com) is open Sundays from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Mondays through Saturdays from 9 a.m. to midnight.

Or throw an axe. These area axe-throwing locations, as well as Block Party Social, whose offerings include axe-throwing, offer food and drinks so you can make a night of it. Axe Play (142 Lowell Road in Nashua; axe-play.com) is open Monday from 4 to 9 p.m.; Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m.; Friday from 4 to 10 p.m.; Saturday from noon to 10 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 9 p.m.

Axl’s Throw House (4 Bud Way in Nashua; axelsthrowhouse.com) is open Wednesday and Thursday at 5 p.m. (until 9 and 9:30 p.m., respectively); Friday from 4 to 11 p.m.; Saturday from noon to 11 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 7 p.m. Axl’s also hosts Thursday night karaoke and occasional comedy shows.

Block Party Social (51 Zapora Drive in Hooksett; blockpartysocial.com) offers axe-throwing as one of its attractions, which include arcade games, laser tag, rope course and zip line, cornhole and billiards, Krazy Darts and climbing walls.

Par 28 (23 South Broadway in Salem; par28.com) offers axe-throwing as well as indoor golf simulators and is open Monday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to midnight and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

RelAxe Throwing (157 Gay St. in Manchester, relaxethrowing.com), which also offers splatter paint, is offering Valentine’s specials for prebooked axe-throwing time (one hour for two people is $40) or splatter paint time (one hour of splatter paint for two people is $35 or $45, depending on the paint) or both ($75 to $85 for two people) or axe-throwing and knife throwing (two people, one hour, $65).

The Rugged Axe (377 S. Willow St. in Manchester, theruggedaxe.com) offers 20 percent off for February Thursday theme nights booked in advance including for Galentine’s Day (Feb. 13), Date Night (Feb. 20) and National Kahlua Day (Feb. 27).

Cheap dates

You can have a good time without breaking the bank. Here are a few date ideas that are free (or, you know, with transportation and perhaps a pre- or post-date meal, have a free element).

The Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St. in Manchester; currier.org) offers free admission for New Hampshire residents on the second Saturday of each month. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. Extend the date by using that money you’ve saved to eat at the museum’s Winter Garden Cafe, which is open Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The museum is also kicking off a new “Art off the Walls” evening event series on the third Thursday of each month, starting with Thursday, Feb. 20, from 5 to 8 p.m. when admission is free, the band Pickleback Jack will perform and gallerist Bill Stelling will discuss the 1980s New York City art world, inspired by the Jean-Michel Basquiat and Ouattara Watts exhibit, according to the museum’s Facebook page.

First Fridays also offer a good walk-around outing without a specific admission charge. The Center for the Arts in New London hosts that town’s First Friday Gallery Stroll — the next event is slated for Friday, March 7, which will feature a program at the Tracy Memorial Library from 6:30 to 8 p.m. called “Fierce Females: Women in Art.” See centerfortheartsnh.org.

When the warm weather returns so will Intown Concord’s “First Fridays” events, which usually feature a seasonal theme, stores open until 8 p.m. and food trucks. The first First Friday is slated for Friday, May 2. See intownconcord.org.

Get classical music concerts for free via local community music schools that offer regular programming open to the public.

At the Manchester Community Music School (2291 Elm St. in Manchester; mcmusicschool.org), you can attend faculty performances for free with preregistration. On Thursday, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m., see “The Flute: At Play.”

Concord Community Music School (23 Wall St. in Concord; ccmusicschool.org) offers a Bach’s Lunch series on some Thursdays from 12:10 to 12:50 p.m. Next up, “Love Heals” on Thursday, Feb. 13, at 12:10 with the Hodes Family and Kent Allyn, and “Making Magic with Ken Burns” on Thursday, Feb. 20, featuring pianist Jaqueline Schwab, who has played in Burns’ documentaries.

Walker Lectures, some of which include musical performances, are free at the Concord City Auditorium (2 Prince St. in Concord; theaudi.org). Up next is “A Walk for Sunshine: Lessons from the Appalachian Trail with Jeff Alt” on Wednesday, March 12, at 7:30 p.m. The NH Ukeladies will perform at a Walker Lecture on Wednesday, April 2, at 7:30 p.m. See walkerlecture.org.

The William H. Gile Community Concert Series presents free musical performances via the Capitol Center for the Arts (44 S. Main St. in Concord; ccanh.com). Next up is Yes Indeed! featuring Metta Quintet plus special guests “celebrating the great American blues tradition,” according to the website, where you can reserve seats for the event.

Make stuff

In addition to looking at art together, you can also make art together.

You’re Fired, which has locations in Bedford (25 S. River Road), Concord (133 London Road) and Salem (264 North Broadway; all at yourefirednh.com), is a walk-in studio where you can pick from a wide selection of ceramic items to paint.

At The Canvas Roadshow (25 S. River Road in Bedford; thecanvasroadshow.com), pick a project from the calendar — upcoming events with openings as of last week include Resin Art Ocean Wave on Saturday, Feb. 15, 6 p.m. and 3D Liquid Glass Art on Friday, Feb. 21, at 6:30 p.m. with prices varying based on project. (For example, a Cozy Knit Blanket project on Tuesday, March 4, at 6:30 p.m. costs $85.)

Studio 550 Art Center (550 Elm St. in Manchester; 550arts.com) offers one-day workshops including Date Night in the Pottery Studio, a “one-hour crash course on the pottery wheel” where each person gets a pottery wheel and can make a creation. The cost is $35 per person. About one date night is offered per month; the next one up is Saturday, March 29, at 6 p.m.

Art Alley Cats (46 N. Main St. in Concord; artalleycats.com) offers a variety of weekly and month events and workshops, including its own First Friday Art Market (at DIY Craft and Thrift, also at 46 N. Main St. from 4 to 8 p.m.). Weekly events include Let’s Get Sketchy Fridays from 6 to 8 p.m., when you can drop in and learn basic drawing skills, and Watercolor Wednesdays from 6 to 8 p.m. that include guided watercolor tutorials. Both have a suggested donation of $15 per person.

Creative Ventures Gallery (411 Nashua St. in Milford; creativeventuresfineart.com) offers one-day workshops such as “Springtime Quilling Workshop” on Saturday, March 8, from 1 to 3:30 p.m. ($35 per person).

Make food

Or make and explore food together.

LaBelle Winery offers craft-, art- and food-related events at both its Amherst (345 Route 101) and Derry (14 Route 111) locations (see labellewinery.com). Upcoming food events that aren’t yet labeled as sold out include Decorate Focaccia Bread in Amherst on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at 6 p.m. ($50 per person) and Wine Blending in Derry on Wednesday, March 5, at 6 p.m. ($40 per person).

Vine 32 Wine & Graze Bar (25 S. River Road in Bedford; vinethirtytwo.com) offers wine and also charcuterie board workshops. On Thursday, Feb. 13, for example, a Galentine’s Day Charcuterie Workshop will allow you to construct a board of meats and cheeses and more (with a wooden board to take home) and let you build your own bouquet at a flower bar; the cost is $103.22.

The Culinary Playground (16 Manning St. in Derry; culinary-playground.com) has a line-up of Date Night Couples Cooking classes for $165 per couple, BYOB. Upcoming classes include Vegetarian Dining with classes at 6:30 p.m. on April 4 & 5 and April 11 & 12 and Cinco De Mayo with classes at 6:30 p.m. on May 2 & 3 and May 9 & 10. See the menus on the website.

At Dancing Lion Chocolate (917 Elm St. in Manchester; dancinglion.us), classes focus on chocolate and croissants. A Thursday, May 8, hands-on class teaching croissant-making costs $135 per person and you can take home what you make. The “Down & Dirty Truffles” class on Thursday, June 12, will include making chocolate ganache, tempering chocolate and making truffles, according to the website ($135 per person).

Enjoy music together

Though you probably won’t be heading to a big concert for a first date, ticketed shows — which we list every week in our Concert listings — make a good treat for a friend or longtime significant other whose musical taste you are acquainted with. For example, Ladysmith Black Mambazo will play the Dana Center at Saint Anselm College in Manchester (tickets.anselm.edu) on Friday, Feb. 14, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $45.

At the Tupelo Music Hall (10 A St. in Derry; tupelomusichall.com) you’ll find a menu of flatbreads, sandwiches, snacks, desserts and more as well as the line up of music and comedy. On Thursday, Feb. 13, at 8 p.m. catch Dueling Pianos (tickets cost $22). Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Catch an up-and-comer in the local and regional music scene at the smaller venues in the area. Michael Witthaus looked at a few in the Jan. 16 issue of the Hippo (which you can find in our digital library at hippopress.com; see page 10). For example, catch Low Lily, a Vermont-based American roots band, on Sunday, March 2, at 6 p.m. at the Andres Institute of Art in Brookline (andresinstitute.org).

Enjoy music and a local beer or music and a meal with the gigs listed in our Music This Week, which runs each week in our Nite section. Here you can find performances at area bars, breweries and restaurants — as well as upcoming karaoke nights, another date idea for the musically inclined.

Laugh

As with music, comedy offers you the opportunity to go big, keep it casual or fall somewhere in between with your outing.

Get weekly laughs at spots like Strange Brew Tavern (88 Market St. in Manchester; strangebrewtavern.net), which holds its weekly Laugh Attic comedy open mic every Thursday at 9 p.m., and at Shaskeen (909 Elm St. in Manchester), which hosts Ruby Room Comedy every Wednesday at 9 p.m. — next up is Alex Giampapa with Casey Watson and Avery Quinn on Feb. 19.

Or check out Headliners’ line-up of comedy most weekends at Chunky’s in Manchester (chunkys.com) as well as at Headliners Comedy Club at DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown, where next up is Kyle Crawford on Friday, Feb. 14, and Saturday, Feb. 15, at 8:30 p.m. (tickets cost $20 plus fees), and other locations around the state. See headlinersnh.com for the schedule and to purchase tickets.

Many Fridays you can also find comedy at the Rex Theatre (23 Amherst St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org). The upcoming schedule includes New York Comedy Night on Friday, March 7, at 7:30 p.m. with Tom Daddario and Chris Roach (tickets cost $39).

The Tupelo Music Hall in Derry (tupelomusichall.com) also offers a monthly Tupelo Night of Comedy — next up on Friday, Feb. 14, at 8 p.m. featuring Harrison Stebbins, JJ Jones and Andrea Henry (tickets cost $25).

Find these and other comedy shows, including nationally touring comedians like Nikki Glaser (Wednesday, March 26, at 7 p.m. at the Cap Center in Concord) and Sebastian Maniscalco (Thursday, March 6, at 7:30 p.m. at the SNHU Arena, 555 Elm St. in Manchester; snhuarena.com) in our Comedy This Week listings, which run each week in the Nite section.

Featured Image: Courtesy photo.

Make tasty things tastier with a chocolate coating

By John Fladd

jfladd@hippopress.com

There is something you need to understand about chocolate-covered strawberries.

They are ephemeral. They need to be eaten immediately.

They are also very romantic, so it’s tempting to hold on to them, and savor the gesture, but Paige Quish says don’t do it. Quish is the manager of Van Otis Chocolates in Manchester, and she knows and understands chocolate-covered strawberries on a bone-deep, almost spiritual level.

Van Otis goes through a lot of strawberries around Valentine’s Day. “Hundreds of pounds of strawberries,” Quish said. “Hundreds. Of. Pounds. Every pound is about nine to 12 berries, so I mean we’re talking a lot of strawberries.”

She said the clock starts ticking as soon as a berry is coated with chocolate.

“Freshness is definitely really important,” she said. “Chocolate-covered strawberries are best enjoyed within 24 hours. Some people don’t know that, but chocolate is dry, believe it or not — there’s no water involved with it — and then once it touches any kind of strawberry or fruit that has a watery base with a lot of moisture to it, the shelf life immediately starts to expire on it.” That’s why a two-day-old chocolate strawberry in your refrigerator might start looking sad and tired, she said. The fruit dries quickly in contact with the chocolate, and shrinks, so its chocolate coat doesn’t fit it anymore and it looks dejected.

There are many chocolate-giving holidays throughout the year, Quish said, but Valentine’s Day is one of the biggest.

“We do a lot of molding for our Christmas season and Easter,” she said, “you know, the bunnies and all that. But dipped fruit specifically? I’d say that strawberries are definitely the top seller for Valentine’s.”

A large portion of everything Van Otis makes is covered with chocolate.

“We cover almost everything in chocolate,” Quish said. “Anything that you see that has the chocolate coating on it goes through our enrobing system. All of our creams, our jellies — anything that you see like that — our liquor cordials, those are all fully enrobed. Orange peels and dipped cherries, just about everything.” All the chocolate enrobing is done on-site, she said. “A lot of people refer to it like the I Love Lucy episode, when they’re putting stuff on [the conveyer belt], but it’s basically a chocolate waterfall. There’s one part of the machine that coats the bottom of everything, and then there’s the top part that gets fully drenched and enrobed, and then it goes through the drying tunnel.”

One trend that began several years ago and is still gaining momentum, Quish said, is covering something salty with chocolate, for a salty/sweet contrast.

Chocolate-covered pretzels and potato chips have become increasingly popular.

“We try to think outside the box of things that would be delicious in chocolate,” she said. Chocolate-covered bacon has become a go-to gift for men. “Super Bowl, Father’s Day — those things are usually really popular for the chocolate-covered bacon.”

A good rule of thumb, she said, is that if something is delicious on its own, it will probably be even better coated in chocolate. “We have our Oreos. We take those and we’ll enrobe them, and animal crackers are something new that we started last year. We have gummy worms and gummy bears [that we cover with chocolate].”

Surprisingly, Quish said, chewy gummy candies actually hold onto a chocolate coating pretty well. It seems as if it would crumble and fall off while it’s being eaten, but she said that’s not the case.

“As soon as that chocolate dries and sets, it’s on there,” she said. “It’s fully coated. And it’s so good! We have people who say they’ve tried chocolate-covered gummy bears elsewhere and they’re obsessed with ours. They always say that it doesn’t compare. We have a really skilled production team so they definitely have their magic that they apply to all the goodies. Swedish Fish is another one of them.”

Jeffrey Bart’s family has owned and run the Granite State Candy Shoppes, which has shops in Concord and Manchester, for almost 100 years. He said the most popular candy his stores sell is also one of the simplest.

“Our most popular item that we make and sell are dark chocolate nonpareils,” he said. “Some people might call them snow caps; it’s a small round of chocolate with white nonpareil seeds on them.” But after that, he said, customers will go for anything coated in chocolate.

“Peanut butter cups,” Bart said. “We make a lot of peanut butter cups. And our third is our butter crunch — a toffee dipped in chocolate and then sprinkled with roasted chopped nuts, almonds. They are very, very popular. We make those constantly, all the time.”

He said that his staff too, struggles to keep up with the demand for chocolate-covered strawberries at this time of the year.

“People still come to us and they want to buy a traditional heart-shaped box with assorted chocolates, but we advise ordering strawberries in advance if at all possible. We make them available on the 13th and the 14th, only. We [make] a huge variety of different berries. We make straight-dipped [berries] in dark, milk, and white chocolate. And then we have a huge array of what we call “Fancy Dipped Berries”; they’re dipped in chocolate, and then we’ll roll them in decoratifs, and then we’ll hand decorate them with chocolate drizzle and do another large assortment of other types of fancy decorations for the berries, too.”

Bart, too, advises customers not to wait too long to consume the berries.

“It’s best if you can consume them within 24 hours,” he said. “If you’re going to keep them for a little bit, we recommend refrigerating them, but when you want to enjoy them we recommend taking them out and letting them sit on the counter or sit out for a short period of time — 20 minutes, a half an hour, maybe an hour — so they warm up a little bit, and they’ll taste better that way.”

Another classic and popular item at Granite State Candy are chocolate-covered cherries.

“We use cordial cherries,” Bart said. “It’s a whole cherry with a liquid center. We have those available in milk and dark chocolate.” But some of the treats are less traditional. “We sell a lot of chocolate-dipped Twinkies,” he said. “That’s a fun, crazy little item that we do that is very popular. We’ve been doing it for a number of years now, so that’s a great item. We also coat orange peel, ginger — candied ginger — in chocolate, and that’s very popular. And another unique … item is something called the Jordan Cracker. It’s an oblong-shaped baked, sugarless cracker that we coat in chocolate and people love them.”

Jim Pasquill is the store manager for Sweetz & More in the Mall of New Hampshire in Manchester. He says there is a strong, consistent demand for any type of gummy candy covered in chocolate.

“Anything like Haribo gummy bears, even something like Juju cinnamon bears, we have those covered in chocolate,” he said. “The chocolate-covered cinnamon bears don’t always sell as well. I think it might be because the mixture of chocolate and cinnamon isn’t a favorite mix. However, we pretty much have the same brands on our theater box wall. It’s called Money Bears. It’s the same thing. It’s just packaged differently and it’s cheaper. And that also tends to be as hot as the chocolate-covered gummy bears on our pouch wall. It’s the same thing. Customers keep on coming in here asking us if we have them. Unfortunately, we don’t because they sell too fast.”

Pasquill said it is hard to keep this type of candy in stock.

“We try to get at least get 16 to 24 pouches in at a time,” he said, “because that can usually only last us a couple days — maybe a week. It’s a steady pace on the milk chocolate covered gummy bears but we do try and make sure we have a large quantity on our shelves.” He said he tries to keep just enough in stock, so that there is a constant turnover and the candy stays fresh.

Pasquill himself doesn’t necessarily go for outrageous combinations of chocolate and candies. “Me, I’m like a traditional guy,” he said. “I like nuts — cashews, almonds, peanuts — something with a solid crunch. I’m not really for the crazy Swedish fish, the gummy bears, but I can see why it sells. Now, I won’t necessarily say that they are healthy, but we do have chocolate-covered raisins, and we do have chocolate-covered cranberries. That can be somewhat healthy because we do have dark chocolate, and I know dark chocolate is more healthy than milk.”

In Salem, a lot of The Chocolate Moose’s customers would agree with Pasquill’s preference for chocolate-covered nuts. According to owner Nancy Cornell, “what we have to make every day is the turtles.” She pointed to a long display case filled with different varieties of turtles, in all sizes, and with all different types of nuts. “This whole line all the way down is all turtles. We have mini turtles, in milk and dark chocolate, pecans and cashews, and then the larger ones, the same thing, and then there’s almonds, macadamia, and then there are Oreo turtles. The Oreo turtles have no nuts in them.”

Chocolate-covered candy apples are another big seller for Cornell.

“Today,” she said, “we’ve been selling apples. It’s mid-morning and we’ve only got one left. But at Christmas we usually start at 2:30 in the morning making the candy apples. Even now, my husband is up at 3 o’clock at night and he does apples galore. Another thing that’s popular is our peanut butter cups. People come from Boston and so on to come up and get our peanut butter cups.”

Cornell said fruit works really well dipped in chocolate. “This” she said, pointing, “is candied orange peel, and I have grapefruit peels too, but we’re sold out of them right now. To get that bitter taste away, you have to boil them three or four times, then dry them out for days, with sugar. And then we dip them. Same with the ginger. Ginger is hot, so when you put it in chocolate it doesn’t quite have that hotness to it. Orange peels, we mostly cover in dark [chocolate]; that seems to be what most people want. And we have dried apricots, too.”

She said that an old-fashioned favorite has been coming back into fashion recently. “Marzipan went through a period of time where people didn’t want it,” Cornell said, “and I would have it, and then I’d have to throw it away. But now it’s back again. People go in cycles, and they actually ask for it now.”

Some things never go out of style, though. “Oreos dipped in chocolate and graham crackers dipped are big,” she said. “They’ve been that way for years.I don’t think that’s ever going to change.”

DIY a chocolate coating

Buying chocolate-covered delicious things is an excellent way to express your affection, but there is always the homemade approach. Coating snacks in chocolate yourself (a) might impress the type of person that is impressed by this sort of thing, and (b) allows for a level of customization.

Making a chocolate-covered snack isn’t complicated — at least in theory. You only need two ingredients: a snack and some chocolate. It’s the details that can get a little finicky, such as what type of chocolate you use.

Richard Tango-Lowy is a master chocolatier and the owner of Dancing Lion Chocolate in Manchester. He said it’s not enough that a chocolate is delicious; if you’re going to coat something with it, you need to read the label.

“There are a lot of chocolates,” he said, “especially chocolate chips, that have ingredients that don’t lend themselves to [coating things]. You’re looking for three ingredients: cocoa solids, cocoa butter and sugar. Plus milk powder if it’s a milk chocolate.”

He said to stay away from anything labeled as “chocolate-style baking chips.”

Laura Wither, the chocolate maker for Loon Chocolate in Manchester, agrees. “There are additives in many [chocolates] that might or might not help you coat things — palm oil, and coconut oil, and things like that,” she said. She pointed out that Loon Chocolate doesn’t use them.

She also pointed out that it helps to be thoughtful about what kind of snack you’re covering with chocolate.

“I would say that you want to look for complementary flavors,” she said. “For example, we have a chocolate that leans towards the fruity side and I love it with pineapple. Contrasting can also be good. A lot of it is just taste testing, which is the fun part of the job here.”

If you want to coat a piece of fruit with chocolate, she said, it has to be patted as dry as possible.

“Chocolate and water are generally not good friends,” she said. “There are some exceptions but for the most part if we were covering fruit it would be dried fruit. I know people do chocolate-dipped strawberries, but generally when you do that, a lot of times, you’re using a coating chocolate.”

One fiddly part of melting chocolate at home is something called tempering. This is a process to make a chocolate shiny and give it a good snap when you break it or bite into it. It doesn’t change the flavor of a chocolate; it is a way of aligning the crystal structure of a batch of chocolate to bring out its best characteristics. On baking competition shows, judges will call out a contestant about how well or poorly tempered their chocolate is.

The accepted procedure that many home confectioners use to temper their chocolate involves manipulating its temperature:

Step 1 – Heat the chocolate in a double boiler, or in your microwave a few seconds at a time, until it reaches a temperature of 115°F.

Step 2 – Remove it from heat, and stir it until the temperature drops to 81°F. Most home chocolate-temperers will hurry the process by stirring unmelted chocolate into it. (I’ve used frozen chocolate to do this and have been reasonably pleased with the results.)

Step 3 – Raise the temperature of the chocolate again, to 92°F.

Step 4 – Start dipping.

If you think this seems like a difficult way to spend a morning, Richard Tango-Lowy agrees with you.

“You’re not going to do it at home unless you know what you’re doing,” he said. “Tempering is just one of those things that’s inherently complicated. You’ll never learn how to temper by watching videos. Most of them are just dead wrong.” To learn to temper chocolate at a professional level, he said, takes years of practice, and specialized techniques. Fortunately, there is a work-around, he said.

“If you don’t know how to temper, use chocolate that you like, one that is already tempered. Melt it extremely gently in the microwave — just mostly melt it, you’ll end up with a reasonably passable temper to put on your strawberries and things.” He advised melting the chocolate, a little at a time, until only a third or so of the chocolate remains solid, then to stir it until the chunks melt away.

Once you have your chocolate melted, and delicious snack food standing by, it’s time to start covering things with chocolate. You can use chopsticks, tweezers or a fork to dip your snack and roll it around to cover it, or use a spoon to gently blanket it with melted chocolate. Coat the snacks, and put them on a piece of parchment paper or a silicone mat to cool and harden. In the photo below, I have coated Flamin’ Hot Cheetos with a 53 percent dark chocolate. I learned the hard way that they are delicious coated in white chocolate but can’t be swished around in it. The white chocolate will turn pink and look like peppermint, which it emphatically is not. I had the best luck laying each Cheeto on the surface of the melted white chocolate, then spooning it over the Cheeto. — John Fladdk trails.

Things to cover with chocolate

Easily made and stored for a week or so:
Pretzels — especially peanut butter-filled ones
Crystalized ginger
Dried blueberries, spooned into clusters
Candied orange slices
Banana chips
Any nuts — perhaps something unusual, like pistachios or shelled sunflower seeds
Other candies like licorice bites or gummies
Corn chips
Spicy snacks — Flamin’ Hot Cheetos work very well
Cookies — especially store-bought crunchy ones like Oreos or Vienna fingers
Animal crackers
Marzipan
Espresso beans, especially dusted with lemon or lime zest

Easily made but must be eaten immediately:
Strawberries
Mango cubes
Fresh mint leaves
Avocado slices
Jalapeno slices
Cream cheese and lemon zest, or goat cheese

Featured Image: Courtesy photo.

Advice on hiking during the coldest season
PLUS Winter birds and where to find them

By Zachary Lewis

zlewis@hippopress.com

Outdoor enthusiasts don’t let snow or single-digit temperatures stop them from getting out there. Looking to hike (or take a woodland walk) in the winter? Here is some advice from the experts.

Hitting the snowy trail

Matt Larson has hiked all 48 and wrote a book about it called 4000s by 40, which came out in September.

“I had this mission before I turned 40 to climb all the 4,000-footers,” he said. His book can be found on wanderingmattlarson.com. These mountains loomed before Larson.

“I grew up in Massachusetts and I always loved it when we came over to New Hampshire and went skiing in the North Country or were in the Lakes region. I was always very aware of the mountains. They earned a spot in my heart from a very young age,” he said.

As a Granite Stater Larson had the perfect opportunity to accomplish his goal.

“I live in the southern part of the state now. I was so excited when that happened because I finally got to be close to all these mountains that I always loved as a kid. When I was coming close to turning 40, I realized that I really hadn’t explored all of the mountains that I wanted to. I climbed a few of them, but I just felt like this deep connection with the 4,000-footers. It just felt a shame to me that I hadn’t really fully explored them yet. That was my first call to arms, so to speak, for getting out on the trail,” he said. He started in the winter because his birthday is in February and gave himself a timeline for the year.

“I started off hiking in the snow and quickly learned that I needed microspikes the first time I went climbing in the winter. I did not have them and had to learn about the proper gear that was really necessary to take on the mountains during the wintertime and learned a lot fast. I’ve been doing it for quite a while now,” Larson said.

Larson was persistent even as his dream met with reality.

“I had big visions when I first started off, and so I thought I was going to be able to climb two mountains in one day in the middle of winter without microspikes. I went up East Osceola and I was hoping to climb over what’s called the chimney from there to Mount Osceola. About halfway up, I thought I had something called Yaktrax in my bag so I thought I had something to help me with the ice. I didn’t have spikes yet, but I at least thought I had my Yaktrax with me. I went into my bag to take them out and realized I had left them in the car. So without anything to help me, I really was contemplating turning around. I ended up actually finding a way through. Along the sides of the trail, there’s a bunch of thickets and narrowly spaced pines that you can grab onto so I was able to actually get to the top of East Osceola by navigating my way through the trees off the side of the trail, but I wasn’t going to shoot for the other peak of Mount Osceola, because it just was way too treacherous-looking.”

This close call led Larson to gear up.

“Shortly after that climb I went right out to my local EMS store … and I grabbed myself some microspikes,” he said

Most of his journeys were solo missions.

“That’s not to say I was alone out there. I mean, I was always really surprised. Even that first day in Osceola, I think I got to the parking lot at 6 in the morning and started climbing, and there was already somebody there who beat me to the lot,” he recalled. “It’s really amazing. I think as time has gone on more and more people are getting into this and getting outdoors. When I completed the 4,000-footers, I think it was sort of a banner year for the AMC in terms of people that were submitting a claim for having finished the 4,000-footers.”

Larson is excited that more people are embracing hiking in the cold.

“It’s been really nice to see how many people are taking on the adventure but being sensible about it too. The most impressive climbers to me are the ones that are doing it in the winter because they really are a much more thoughtful bunch about how to prepare for it and be safe. There’s plenty of stories of people who have taken on unnecessary risk during the winter, but it’s all very doable if people take the sensible approach and mitigate the risk through proper gear and awareness of the terrain and the weather. You do see a lot of people out there, which is great,” he said.

As with a river, no hiker steps onto the same mountain twice.

“It definitely changes week to week too. Even this winter. We went up around the Mount Tom and Mount Willey area and there was a little bit of snow on the ground. Then the next week I went out with a buddy to Cannon and it felt like a blizzard had hit the place. Very quickly it went from not needing any spikes or anything really on our feet, or just needing spikes for like a little portion of the trail up Mount Willey, to needing spikes the entire time up Mount Cannon and us contemplating if we even needed snowshoes,” Larson said.

The snowy terrain has the possibility for change after change and it is important to be cautious while enjoying the spectacular beauty of nature.

“There’ll be times that you’re out there and you’re using snowshoes for 50 percent of the climb up and then you have to switch back and forth between spikes and snowshoes because it gets really icy in some sections and then it can get really deep in others,” he said. “Then there’s other times where it doesn’t look like it’s that icy or that snowy but the rock is so slick. There’s sort of a form of black ice on some of the granite. People slip. I slipped a couple of times even with spikes on. You can have some moments where your feet can get pulled out from under you. It’s definitely important not to rush, especially on the descent. It’s always more dangerous on the descent.”

One perk of winter hiking is the chance encounter with wildlife.

“When I’m in the 4,000-footers … I’ve seen some minks. I’ve seen plenty of gray jays out of Mount Tom, Mount Willey and Mount Field in particular. … and of course everything from chipmunks to squirrels, all the usual suspects.”

There’s always a chance some critter will dart right out toward you. “I think the funniest encounter I had with any animals was one time I was on the trail and it was super quiet. It was kind of spooky how quiet it was. I was kind of thinking there might be a bear around, and I started inching my way up the trail, looking every single direction I could. Just as I started getting comfortable, all of a sudden, all of these pheasants just emerged out of this bush in front of me. There were probably 30 or 40 of them, or quail, I guess. You’ll see them out there too. Then there’s some turkeys along the way and mostly birds, birds and squirrels,” he said.

Regardless of the locale, hiking a mountain trail in the winter is a joy that Larson hopes others in the Granite State can experience for themselves.

“I love winter hiking. I love hiking at any time … but winter hiking is very peaceful. There really is a serenity to winter hiking that I think is unique. I definitely encourage people to try it if they’re thinking about it. One of the reasons why I wanted to write 4,000s by 40 was because I feel like there’s a lot of stories out there about the dangers of the mountains. I think there is inherent risk in climbing, but I do think that it’s something that’s a venture that everybody can enjoy if they just take sensible steps, there’s no reason they shouldn’t be able to enjoy winter hiking, too,” Larson said.

Snowshoes and postholing

Sometimes using snowshoes is not just for your own benefit but for keeping the trail in good shape. They’re mainly used for traversing powdery or deep snow, to keep you from sinking.

The City of Concord’s online guide to local trails (concordnh.gov/1033/Trails) includes this note: “On fresh snow, please use showshoes. Bare-booting can cause post-holing, which is a potential hazard for trail users.” Post-holing is trail-speak for when your boot sinks deep into the snow and leaves a hole. Not only is post-holing no fun, but later, someone else’s boot, ski or snowshoe can get tripped up by that hole.

Even with snowshoes, you shouldn’t hike on top of ski tracks. In a Feb. 28, 2022, blog post on Sharing Winter Trails (nhrtc.org/sharing-winter-trails), Ellen Kolb wrote, “Where cross-country ski tracks are present, showshoers and hikers will walk next to rather than on top of them. Slower traffic always stays to the right.”

On gearing up

Renee Robertie works at REI in Bedford. She is a committee member of the New Boston Rail Trail and an avid hiker. She gives quarterly free talks on all things hiking-related, such as waterproofing and the 10 essentials to bring on every hike (her next talk will be on Saturday, April 26; email nbrailtrail@gmail.com for more information).

According to Robertie, rail trails are a great introduction to the world of winter hiking.

“It gives people an opportunity to get outside, get some exercise, do some hiking, ride the trail maybe, and these are folks that may or may not necessarily be in a physical condition or have the desire to do something more strenuous such as something in the White Mountains. So it’s a glade in between. It’s a beautiful path that’s an old railroad bed of course, and there are benches along the way and you can sit and just kind of watch the river because it follows the flow of the river. It’s just a nice time to be out in the woods,” she said.

Robertie laid out the basics of hitting the trail in winter.

“The first area [is] the clothing. Layering your clothing so that you can have flexibility to regulate your heat and any moisture if you’re aggressively walking or even running the trail,” she said.

Wool is an excellent choice for the first layer. “A typical base layer would be something that is wool or a wool blend or a synthetic type of clothing. There are pros and cons to either one, wool being a little bit more expensive than synthetic but it’s a really good insulator so even when it gets wet it still insulates and can keep you warm. Wool comes in various densities. It might be a light, a medium or a heavy type of wool,” Robertie said.

“The next layer is an insulating layer. Typically that’s fleece or it could be even like a down jacket or something thicker that’s going to insulate your heat and keep it in because you’re the one that’s generating the heat,” she said. Layering allows you to adjust the thermostat of your own body.

“Then the third layer is a shell layer and that keeps out moisture. So say if it’s raining or snowing or even if snow is dropping from the tree branches or something like that. You keep your base layer and then you can regulate your heat by adding or removing the other two layers or even just opening up, so unzipping if you’ve got a quarter zip, the zip that is from the neck down to above your chest, or even fully unzipping if you’re that warm,” she said.

The human head is like a chimney where a good amount of heat escapes. “Not having a hat can account for losing about 10 percent of your body heat, so if you’re getting too warm you can take your hat off, if you need a little more warmth you can put your hat on,” she said.

Leg gaiters are also an option to consider. “A gaiter is simply a waterproof fabric that has a strap that goes under your boot and then either zips or more typically these days Velcros around your leg. It’s made of a rugged material so if you are wearing something like microspikes and you happen to get it caught on your ankle or shin it’s not going to damage a good pair of pants.”

Foot covering is an obvious necessity in the winter too. “There are different insulation types for boots and you can get very warm … but the insulation in the boots can help keep your feet warm. Certainly things like hand warmers or toe warmers are a good idea too if you’re not quite sure what you’re going to encounter,” she said.

After clothing, Robertie will speak on staying secure in your footing.

“Traction is what keeps you from slipping. Some boots have deep lugs, so kind of the bumps on the bottom … But sometimes you need a little bit more, so I talked about things like microspikes, which are quarter-inch spikes on chains that are attached to a … rubber-type thing that you put on the toe of your boot and then draw it back and up around your heel. That holds the spikes in place underneath your foot. So the microspikes are good when there’s definitely ice and they are very grippy.”

Bigger spikes are needed for the mountains. “I didn’t go into crampons or anything like that because that’s more of a steeper mountain, mountaineering kind of traction…. That’s a big spike that’s maybe a 3- or 4-inch spike that, it’s not just one spike, it’s a series of spikes underneath your boot that provides a lot of traction and is meant for very steep and very icy trails.”

And sometimes a wide, flat surface is what is called for in the winter.

“I spoke about snowshoes as well, which typically don’t come into play too much on a rail trail because there’s so much foot traffic, but if you’re breaking ground in snow a snowshoe is going to help you stay buoyant on the snow instead of possibly falling in…. The rail trails are typically packed down, but after a snowstorm, if you’re the first one out, there’s definitely a possibility that you could be running into some deep snow.”

Trekking poles can help you stay upright. “Trekking poles are great for stability. If you’re older or even young people nowadays, it’s really great for staying stable on your trail. It helps you walk a little more briskly. And if you’re doing a water crossing, which typically you don’t do on a rail trail but you might do on one of the town trails. It’s great for descent and especially if you’ve got bad knees because it takes some of the pressure off your knees.”

Robertie also mentioned the benefits of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Hike Safe Card. “The Hike Safe, which is through the New Hampshire Fish and Game, is something that you can purchase to help support the Hampshire Fish and Game. It’s $25 for an individual, $35 for a family, and if you have that and have not been irresponsible, if it happens that you do need to be rescued, then you won’t be charged the rescue costs.”

She hopes to spread her enthusiasm about winter hiking to others.

“It’s all about getting outdoors. The fresh air, the health benefits of being in a forest are well documented and studied. We want people to do that and we want them to do it safely and more than anything to have fun and enjoy it. It’s a great resource. The more people out there, the better,” Robertie said.

Birds in winter

Grace McCulloch works for the New Hampshire Aubudon is excited to get more Granite Staters interested in a winter activity that pairs well with winter walks and hikes: birding.

“One of our favorite projects here at New Hampshire Audubon is the Backyard Winter Bird Survey, which this year is taking place on February 8th and 9th. It’s a weekend out of the year where we encourage people to report the birds that they see in their backyards to us at New Hampshire Audubon. The reporting form will be open for a few days after just so that everyone can get their results in,” McCulloch said.

The Survey has been going strong for decades. “This will be our 38th year doing the Backyard Winter Bird Survey,” she said, “and so over that time we’ve gathered a huge amount of data to really get an understanding of bird trends throughout the state. Being able to look through that kind of year-to-year variation and noise and see what bird species are increasing in number and what species might also be declining in the state.”

The process is simple. “The survey is really easy. We have a simple online survey form on our website where people report what they see over the weekend. They can watch for as little as 15 minutes, or if they’re really dedicated they can watch the entire weekend as well.”

Birders do not need to be experts.

“We know that not everyone is out there birding every day, and that’s one of the things I love about the survey, is that it really is supposed to be easy for people who maybe this is the first time that they’re taking time to notice the birds in their backyard.”

The NH Audubon has plenty of helpful information on birds.

“We have a ton of resources on our websites, including a guide to the most common winter birds that people can check out, as well as a guide to commonly confused birds. Because there are species that can look quite similar. You can know that you have a woodpecker, but which woodpecker is it?”

The landscape of birds has changed in the state over the years. “You’d be surprised how dramatically the bird communities have shifted,” McCulloch said. “One example that I like to talk about a lot are American robins and eastern bluebirds. These are species that were once thought of as signs of spring. They arrived just in time for the beginning of spring. When we first started the survey in 1987 they were almost unheard of in February in the state. But today they’re frequently seen by people on the Backyard Winter Bird Survey in February. So just in 35 years, a huge shift.”

“We’re also seeing new species appear on the survey, species that are typically found further south. And … our work is even more important as we look to understand how bird species range and how long they’re staying in the winter might shift over time. We’re … seeing new species arrive, like red-bellied woodpeckers and Carolina wrens.”

Fan favorites will be making a return as well. “Our most common bird last year was the American goldfinch. We actually had about 10,000 of those reported on the survey. Then other favorite birds like black-capped chickadees, northern cardinals, those are always very distinct birds, easy to identify. We had a lot of blue jays on the survey last year, and also things like mourning doves.”

McCulloch said residents can take steps to entice birds to their homes. “I always encourage people if they want to put up a suet feeder. It’s kind of like a block of suet that you can put up and that really will help attract the woodpeckers. You can see several different woodpeckers just within one weekend. Things like downy woodpeckers, hairy woodpeckers and red-bellied woodpeckers, you can see all three in your backyard. The amazing thing is most of our feeder birds, multiple species, are all feeding together at once, so you have a good chance of seeing more than one species at a time.”

Now is the time to make your guesses on which birds will be showing up.

“Our senior biologist, Pam Hunt, always likes to make predictions for the survey. … this year, based on some food availability up north, we’re predicting a higher number of red-breasted nuthatches. … We’re also expecting a fairly good showing of species like red-bellied woodpeckers and Carolina wrens as our winters get warmer over time,” she said.

The Carolina wren has been drawing attention here, she said. “They’re a species that 10 years ago people weren’t seeing in the state, so when you see a brand new bird at your bird feeder, you’re like, ‘What is this bird?’”

“If you’re talking about hiking the 48 4,000-footers in winter, a bird you could always mention is the Canada jay or the gray jay,” McCulloch said. “That’s a bird that you typically only find on the top of mountains in New Hampshire, and you find it in the winter, and they love peanuts and other food that hikers bring them up. They’re known to eat out of hikers’ hands on the top of the snowy mountains,” she said.

Where to hike

Here are some ideas for finding winter (and all-season) hiking spots that match your skill level and interest.

• Renee Robertie suggested checking out rail trails. See nbrailtrail.com for information on the New Boston Rail Trails, including maps and a link to the group’s social media for updates on conditions. For information about rail trails throughout the state, check out the New Hampshire Rail Trails Coalition at nhrtc.org, which offers links to rail trail groups around the state and brief descriptions of the trails.

• The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests offers a visitor’s guide that lets you filter through its properties for location, difficulty of trail and specific activity like snowshoeing or bird-watching. See forestsociety.org/visitor-guide.

• On the New Hampshire State Parks website, a specific guide to winter parks includes popular hiking parks as well as spots for snowshoeing, fat biking, ice fishing and mushing. See nhstateparks.org/things-to-do/winter-recreation.

• The New Hampshire Audubon (nhaudubon.org) will hold its annual Backyard Birding Survey Saturday, Feb. 8, and Sunday, Feb. 9. See the website for details. While you’re there, check out the information about their trails at sanctuaries near the Audubon’s centers including the Susan N. McLane Center in Concord and the Massabesic Audubon Center in Auburn as well as wildlife sanctuaries across the state. The sanctuaries page offers maps and guides to each property.

• Beaver Brook Association (117 Ridge Road in Hollis; beaverbrook.org) has 35+ miles of trails, according to the website, as well as ongoing fitness hikes that can get you started by letting you hike with a crowd.

• The state Division of Travel and Tourism Development describes 10 winter hike options including Mount Major, with its views of Lake Winnipesaukee; the ever-popular Mount Monadnock; and hiker favorite Mount Cardigan, “a very popular area for hiking and snowshoeing,” at visitnh.gov/blog/10-popular-winter-hikes.

• Picturesque local parks with trails are good places for winter strolls, usually not too hilly, such as Mine Falls Park in Nashua (nashuanh.gov/491/Mine-Falls-Park), Livingston Park and other city trails in Manchester (manchesternh.gov/Departments/Parks-and-Recreation/Parks-Trails-and-Facilities/Recreational-Trails), and several park trails in Concord (concordnh.gov/1033/Trails). According to the Concord trails website, there are three group hikes currently scheduled: On Saturday, Feb. 22, at 9:30 a.m., Bob Lyon will lead a 3-mile hike on Broken Ground trails; on Saturday, March 29, Peter Bartlett will lead a Morono Park trails hike, and on Saturday, April 26, at 9:30 a.m., Wendy Olson will lead a hike of the Winant Park trails.

Featured Image: Photo by Matt Larson.

Weddings are one of the most important and memorable events in a person’s life. From the vows to the first dance, every moment is a reflection of love, commitment, and joy. Capturing these moments is crucial, and the best way to do that is by hiring a professional wedding photographer. While smartphones and cameras are more advanced than ever, they can’t replace the expertise and experience of a skilled photographer.

A wedding day is often a blur of emotions, conversations, and moments that pass by quickly. As the day unfolds, couples can easily miss out on key moments, like the look of a groom’s face when he sees his bride for the first time or the laughter shared between family members. A wedding photographer’s job is to capture these fleeting moments, preserving them for you to relive for years to come. These photographs are not only keepsakes for the couple but also for future generations.

Wedding photographers bring a level of professionalism that ensures your photos will be high-quality. They are experienced in managing lighting, composition, and angles to create stunning, timeless images. Professionals know how to handle various lighting conditions, from bright outdoor settings to dimly lit reception halls, and use the best equipment to produce clear, sharp images that tell a story.

Choosing to hire a wedding photographer means you can focus on enjoying your day without worrying about capturing every moment. Photographers are experts at what they do, so you won’t have to ask friends or family members to take pictures, which could detract from their ability to participate in the celebration. You can rest assured that your photographer will have everything covered, so you can stay present and relaxed.

A wedding photographer’s portfolio is often a representation of their style, creativity, and technical skills. By hiring a professional, you gain access to a body of work that shows how they can capture moments in different settings, lighting conditions, and environments. You can assess whether their style aligns with your vision for your wedding album.

So maybe you realize that you need a wedding photographer but then how do you choose one?

Wedding photographers have distinct styles, from traditional and posed to candid and documentary. Before you start your search, it’s essential to define the style you want for your wedding photos. Whether you want a modern, artistic look or a more classic approach, knowing your preferences will help narrow down your options.

Start by researching local photographers and reading online reviews. Personal recommendations from friends and family who have had positive experiences can also be valuable. Look through their portfolios to assess the quality of their work and the variety of images they capture. Keep an eye out for consistency and whether their style aligns with your preferences.

Once you’ve narrowed down a list of potential photographers, meet them either in person or virtually to get a sense of their personality and approach. It’s crucial to feel comfortable with your photographer, as they will be a constant presence throughout your wedding day. Make sure they are friendly, approachable, and able to communicate clearly about your needs.

Wedding photography requires specific skills, so it’s important to choose someone who specializes in weddings rather than someone who primarily shoots portraits or events. Inquire about their experience, particularly with weddings of a similar size and style to yours. A photographer with ample experience will know how to handle unexpected situations and will be more adept at capturing all the details that make your day unique.

Wedding photography can be a significant investment, so it’s important to understand the pricing structure. Ensure that you are clear about what is included in the package, such as the number of hours, the number of photographers, and any post-production work like editing and album creation. Discuss the photographer’s policy for overtime or additional costs for travel, prints, or extra services.

Finally, trust your gut. Your wedding photographer will be with you on one of the most important days of your life, so it’s vital that you feel confident in your choice. If you feel at ease with the photographer and confident in their ability to deliver high-quality images, it’s a good sign that you’ve found the right fit.

This is your special day, make those memories and record them.

Featured Image: Courtesy photo.