Category: Featured Content

So Much Holiday Fun: ’Tis the season

Downtown holiday parades, light displays and more

From downtown parades to spectacular multi-day light displays, here’s a list of festive happenings to get you into the holiday spirit this season.

• LaBelle Lights continues at LaBelle Winery’s Derry location (14 Route 111) now through Feb. 26. This festive outdoor light show features displays that are being changed periodically throughout its run, taking place on the facility’s golf course along a paved walking path. The display includes a 15-foot-tall selfie station made of wine barrels, designed and installed by LaBelle vineyard manager and professional woodworker Josh Boisvert. A number of themed events are also being planned in coordination with LaBelle Lights, including a “Crazy Christmas Hat Night” on Dec. 3 and an “Ugly Holiday Sweater Night” on Dec. 17. Hours of operation are from 4:30 to 9 p.m. on select days throughout the season. Tickets are $15. Visit labellewinery.com/lights to view the full calendar schedule.

• The Gift of Lights returns to New Hampshire Motor Speedway (1122 Route 106 North, Loudon), opening on Thursday, Nov. 25, and continuing through Sunday, Jan. 2. The 2½-mile drive-thru light show features a variety of scenes making up more than 500 different light displays along the track. It’s open from 4:30 to 9 p.m. every Sunday through Thursday, and 4:30 to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, depending on weather conditions. The cost ranges from $30 to $35 per carload, and is $60 per limo or bus. Visit nhms.com/events/giftoflights.

• Downtown Nashua is once again hosting Plaid Friday, a shopping event alternative to Black Friday, on Friday, Nov. 26. Participants who wear plaid are eligible for giveaways, discounts and more at participating businesses. Go to 110 Main St. in Nashua to pick up a swag bag and a map of participating venues, along with coupons, discounts and other offers. Tickets are free, but a donation of $5 or $10 is suggested. Visit downtownnashua.org/shop-2/plaid-friday.

• The Town of Pelham and Pelham Community Spirit will present the second annual Festival of Lights on the town’s Village Green, beginning Friday, Nov. 26, and lasting through the end of the year. Visit pelhamcommunityspirit.org.

• The 35th annual Nutfield Holiday Parade is happening on Saturday, Nov. 27, kicking off at 1 p.m. in Derry. This year’s theme is “Unsung Heroes,” with the parade featuring more than 80 festive floats, marching units, performers and costumed characters. It will step off in front of the Adams Memorial Building before continuing down Broadway, making a left on Crystal Avenue and finishing at Hood Commons. The parade is part of the annual Very Derry Holiday Celebration, which will have multiple holiday-themed festivities around town, like live music at The Wandering Stage (Benson’s Lawn, 1 W. Broadway) and holiday crafts and photos with Santa from 2 to 5 p.m. at Veterans Hall (31 W. Broadway). Visit gdlchamber.org.

• The Wolfeboro Area Chamber of Commerce will host the Christmas in Wolfeboro Parade, scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 27, at 3 p.m. A view of the entire parade will be available from either side of Main Street in Wolfeboro, from in front of Carpenter Elementary School heading north to Mill Street. Visit wolfeborochamber.com/events/christmas-in-wolfeboro-parade.

• The Salem Holiday Parade returns for its 50th year on Sunday, Nov. 28, at 1 p.m. This year’s theme is “Golden Anniversary,” with the parade beginning at the intersection of Main and Policy streets in Salem. It will then continue down Main Street and turn right onto Geremonty Drive, ending at Salem High School. Visit salemnhparade.org.

Turkey trots and Santa Shuffle
Work up an appetite for Thanksgiving pie at area Turkey Trot race events happening Thanksgiving day (and a few later that weekend). December also has some other holiday-themed races. Find some final opportunities to run a 5K (and score some cool swag) in our Nov. 11 cover story, where Meghan Siegler talks about how these runs are put together and why runners enjoy taking part. See the e-edition of the issue at hippopress.com; the story starts on page 10.

• The Celebrate Laconia Lights Festival returns to the city of Laconia, featuring several ongoing events throughout the holiday season. It kicks off on Sunday, Nov. 28, with a downtown holiday parade beginning at 4:30 p.m. Also starting that day will be the Lights Festival coloring contest, with submissions accepted through Friday, Dec. 10, and the Light-Up Laconia Holiday Decorating Competition, which will run through Friday, Dec. 17. Visit celebratelaconia.org.

• Intown Concord’s annual Midnight Merriment event returns for the 28th year on Friday, Dec. 3, from 5 p.m. to midnight in downtown Concord. Activities will include holiday shopping at participating local businesses, strolling carolers, Nazzy’s holiday dance party, hot cocoa and S’mores, and meet-and-greets with Santa Claus from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. in front of the New Hampshire Federal Credit Union building. Visit intownconcord.org.

• Join Fright Kingdom (12 Simon St., Nashua) for its annual Krampus-themed holiday event, “The Fright Before Christmas,” Friday, Dec. 3, through Sunday, Dec. 5, 7 to 10 p.m. each night, featuring a costume contest, a scary winter wonderland and more. Tickets are $29 and must be purchased in advance. Visit frightkingdom.com or call 809-1173.

• Vintage Christmas, an ongoing citywide celebration of the holidays, returns to Portsmouth with happenings that include the Candlelight Stroll Under the Stars during the weekends from Dec. 4 to Dec. 19 at Strawbery Banke Museum (14 Hancock St., 433-1100, strawberybanke.org); Labrie Family Skate at Strawbery Banke’s Puddle Dock Pond; the 31st annual Gingerbread House Contest and Exhibit at the Portsmouth Historical Society (10 Middle St., 436-8433, portsmouthhistory.org) now through Dec. 22, and more throughout the season, including various shows at The Music Hall (28 Chestnut St., 436-2400, themusichall.org). Visit vintagechristmasnh.org.

• Experience Hampton will present its annual Hampton Holiday Parade on Saturday, Dec. 4, at 1 p.m., which will kick off at the Hampton-North Hampton town line and end at Winnacunnet Road. This year’s theme is “Holiday Memories.” Visit experiencehampton.org.

• The Exeter Holiday Parade returns on Saturday, Dec. 4, beginning on Portsmouth Ave. at 5:30 p.m. and ending at Swasey Parkway. Visit exeterholidayparade.org.

• Manchester’s annual holiday parade is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 4, kicking off at 4 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Park (889 Elm St.). The celebration will include snacks, letter carriers collecting letters to Santa Claus, and a variety of decorated floats, with several local organizations participating from the city Fire and Police departments to the Palace Theatre, the New Hampshire Roller Derby, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats and more. The parade is expected to begin immediately following the BASC Santa Claus Shuffle, a three-mile road race presented by Millennium Running. Visit manchesternh.gov.

• The Town of Nottingham’s Parks & Recreation Department is hosting a holiday parade Saturday, Dec. 4, at 10 a.m. at the community center (Stage Road). Visit nottingham-nh.gov.

• The Hampstead Christmas Parade returns for its 57th year on Sunday, Dec. 5, at 1 p.m. This year’s parade is Hawaiian-themed. Visit hampstead.nhlions.org.

• Bethany Church’s Greenland campus (500 Breakfast Hill Road) is hosting a drive-thru Christmas celebration Friday, Dec. 10, and Saturday, Dec. 11, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. each day. Experience a landscape bursting with Christmas lights and decorations, a live Nativity, holiday music and a 30-foot Christmas tree. Visit bethanychurch.com to register.

• The Southern New Hampshire Tour of Lights will run from Dec. 11 through Dec. 27, with multiple town parks and recreation departments participating, including Amherst, Milford, Jaffrey, Antrim, Fitzwilliam, Keene, Merrimack, Peterborough, Rindge and Troy. Contact your local recreation department by Dec. 6 to enter for a chance to win a gift certificate to a local area business.

• The Canterbury Shaker Village (288 Shaker Road) presents Merry Merry Canterbury, a holiday-themed celebration during the weekends of Saturday, Dec. 11, and Sunday, Dec. 12, and Saturday, Dec. 18, and Sunday, Dec. 19. Activities will include opportunities to ascend the “Stairway to the Clouds” in the horse barn, plus caroling, dance and theater performances, a magic show and more. Admission is $20 for adults and free for kids. Masks required. Visit shakers.org.

• Light Up New Boston will take place on Saturday, Dec. 11, from 6 to 8 p.m., directly following the town’s s’mores with Santa event on the gazebo. If you live in and around New Boston and have a light display to show off, contact the town’s Recreation Department at 487-2880 or at [email protected] with your address by Dec. 8. Maps will be available for families beginning Dec. 9 at newbostonnh.gov.

• Join the Beaver Brook Association (117 Ridge Road, Hollis) for its annual Winter Solstice Family Event on Sunday, Dec. 19, with time slots from 2 to 4 p.m. There will be a self-guided trail with a nature story about the origins of the Winter Solstice, plus facts about New England wildlife and the tradition of the Yule log. The cost is $12. Visit beaverbrook.org.

Craft fair season
Do some shopping for artisan-made items at local craft fairs. Find listings for the coming weekend’s craft fairs most weeks on the This Week page (page 9 in this and most issues). Know of an upcoming craft fair? Let us know at [email protected].

Featured photo: Santa Shuffle. Courtesy photo.

So Much Holiday Fun: Jumping off

Pre-game the holiday

The night before Thanksgiving is known as Friendsgiving or Drinksgiving, depending on intent. Whatever it’s called, bar and restaurant owners far and wide consider it the second busiest day of the year, after New Year’s Eve, as old friends meet up and family members regroup ahead of the long weekend. Here are some area options to consider for the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 24.

• 603 Brewery (42 Main St., Londonderry, 404-6123) Seacoast funk and soul band Clandestine performs popular tunes and originals.

• Alamo Texas Barbecue & Tequila Bar (99 Route 13, Brookline,721-5000) Music from independent folk rock singer-songwriter Brother Seamus.

• Amphora (55 Crystal Ave., Derry, 537-0111) Singer, guitarist and 2013 NHCMA New Country Entertainer of the Year Eddie Sands plays favorites.

• Area 23 (State Street, Concord, 881-9060) The regular open mic Wednesday is often anything but at this music-friendly taproom and restaurant.

• Auburn Pitts (167 Rockingham Road, Auburn, 622-6564) Ronnie B & Sarah B Duo, together for 13 years and playing covers with food and drink specials

• Boston Billiard Club & Casino (55 Northeastern Blvd., Nashua, 943-5630) Dave Ayotte Duo & DJ Spindler perform.

• Bridgewater Inn (367 Mayhew Turnpike, Bridgewater, 744-3518) Rebecca Turmel plays classic rock and contemporary covers ranging from Fleetwood Mac and CCR to Kelly Clarkson, Ed Sheeran and Sara Bareilles.

• Copper Door (15 Leavy Dr., Bedford, 488-2677) Area favorite Chad LaMarsh performs.

• Copper Door (41 S. Broadway, Salem, 458-2033) A Seacoast mainstay with a solid following across the rest of New Hampshire, Pete Peterson plays and sings.

• Crow’s Nest (181 Plaistow Road, Plaistow, 974-1686) DJ SOB spins dance music.

• Derryfield (625 Mammoth Road, Manchester, 623-2880) D-Comp Band, the acoustic duo of Nate Comp and Demetri Papanicolau, play covers.

• Fody’s (9 Clinton St., Nashua, 577-9015) Bill Meech performs.

• Fody’s (187 Rockingham Road, Derry, 404-6946) DJ Mark Allen spins the tunes.

• Fratello’s (155 Dow St., Manchester, 624-2022) Jeff Mrozek brings his passion for classic rock and soul, along with recent favorites like Nirvana and Kings of Leon.

• Fratello’s (194 Main St., Nashua, 889-2022) Prolific singer, songwriter, guitarist, bass player and drummer Sean Coleman performs.

• Getaway Lounge (157 Franklin St., Manchester, 627-0661) Mugshot Monday plays classic rock hits.

• Giuseppe’s (312 Daniel Webster Hwy., Meredith, 279-3313) John Stanley Shelley plays rock, country, blues, funk and folk.

• The Goat (50 Old Granite St., Manchester, 222-1677) It’s DJ music with no cover charge, and likely a little line dancing.

female performer singing into microphone
Davina and the Vagabonds. Photo by James Perovich.

• The Goat (142 Congress St., Portsmouth, 590-4628) Performing solo, Alex Anthony draws inspiration from Ray Lamontagne, James Taylor, Van Morrison, Damien Rice and City & Colour.

• Hancock Depot Cabaret (27 Depot Road, Hancock, 641-0076) Jillian Bosworth Memorial Show with Tumbletoads, Modern Fools, Kyle Webber and Andrew Szmauz.

• Hermanos (11 Hills Ave., Concord, 224-5669) Brian Booth plays favorites across the decades.

• High Octane Saloon (1072 Watson Road, Laconia, 527-8116) Dirty Looks Band rocks the Lakes Region roadhouse.

• Homestead (641 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack, 429-2022) Austin McCarthy, vocalist for Carolina Burn, Chasing Trends and Natural Order, plays and sings.

• Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club (135 Congress St., Portsmouth, 603-5299) Davina & the Vagabonds entertain at this recently opened music room.

• Lilac City Grille (103 N. Main St., Rochester, 332-3984) Tim Theriault & 75-cent wings precede the big bird day.

• Lithermans Limited (126 Hall St., Unit B, Concord, 219-0784) Up Street Food Truck offers up goodies at this Capital City microbrewery.

• Luk’s (142 Lowell Road, Hudson, 889-9900) Acoustically Speaking strips down favorite songs back to their basic bones.

• Lynn’s 102 Tavern (76 Derry Road, Hudson, 943-7832) New Hampshire rock cover band Sindicate plays hits.

• Murphy’s Taproom (494 Elm St., Manchester, 644-3535) Pulling from a catalog of over 100 songs from the ’60s to today, Blue Matter performs.

• North Beach Bar & Grill (931 Ocean Blvd., Hampton Beach, 967-4884) Rock duo Radioactive plays.

• Northwoods Brewing Co. (1334 First NH Turnpike, Northwood, 942-6400) Johnson’s hosts Friendsgiving at this microbrewery.

• Pasta Loft (220 E. Main St., Milford, 378-0092) 12th Annual Winterfest with Dezent, featuring Mariah Deluage. Bring an unwrapped toy to donate to Toys For Tots. Free beanies for the first 100 people.

• Pipe Dream Brewing (40 Harvey Road, Londonderry, 404-0751) Turn Down For Turkey event with DJ Ache spinning.

• Portsmouth Gas Light (64 Market St., Portsmouth, 430-9122) Ralph Allen performs favorites from a range of genres.

• Press Room (77 Daniel St., Portsmouth, 431-5186) Thanks 4 Giving A Sh!tmas is a funk, hip-hop and poetry concert to raise money for HAVEN featuring The Bulkheads, Adrienne Mack-Davis, DJ Chad Banks, Myles Burr and The Incredible Chuck of Notoriety. Krystal Wallbaum’s collaborative project The Artistic Thread will also be hosting a silent art auction at the event, with five local artists donating at least 50 percent of their profits to HAVEN.

• Rage Cage (10 W. Hollis St., Nashua, rawamericanhiphop.com) Fee the Evolutionist performs in advance of releasing his collaborative single “Beast Over Beats,” featuring hip-hop talent from across the Granite State.

• Red’s Kitchen & Tavern (530 Lafayette Road, Seabrook, 760-0030) Chris Lester, a guitarist who’s toured with Sully Erna and is a member of popular tribute act Dark Desert Eagles, performs.

• Rochester Opera House (32 N. Main St., Rochester, 335-1992) Comedian Bob Marley performs at 6 and 8 p.m., tickets $38 and up. It’s not a pub, but what’s better than a laugh to kick off the long weekend? The comic appears again with two shows each on Friday and Sunday.

• Sawbelly Brewing (156 Epping Road, Exeter, 583-5080) Dyer Holiday performs; the Lowell duo release an album, Together and Broken, in March.

• Stark Brewing Co. (500 Commercial St., Manchester, 625-4444) Karaoke with Cox Karaoke is a regular midweek attraction.

Senie Hunt. Courtesy photo.

• Stone Church (5 Granite St., Newmarket, 659-7700) Senie Hunt Trio, led by the percussive guitarist who divides his time between New England and Nashville, performs revved-up rock and blues — $12

• Stonecutters Pub (63 Union St., Milford, 213-5979) Swipe Left with Rick Carr and Phillip Gerekos helps the restaurant-bar celebrate its first year in business.

• Stones Social (449 Amherst St., Nashua, 943-7445) Charlie Chronopoulos performs, with sales proceeds from a seasonal drink special, Girl Dad (sesame vodka, maple cream and espresso liqueur), going to the Nashua Children’s Home.

• Strange Brew (88 Market St., Manchester, 666-4292) Jake Pardee & Friends, led by producer and Berklee alum, perform.

• Stripe Nine Brewing (8 Somersworth Place, Somersworth, 841-7175) Dancing Madly Backwards, named after a song from ’70s rockers Captain Beyond, performs.

• Stumble Inn (20 Rockingham Road, Londonderry, 432-3210) It’s a twin bill with 21st & 1st and Jodee Frawley.

• Telly’s (235 Calef Hwy., Epping, 679-8225) The Drift performs.

• Thirsty Moose (21 Congress St, Portsmouth, 427-8645) Mattson, a powerhouse hybrid pop rock trio, performs.

• To Share Brewing (720 Union St., Manchester, 836-6947) DJ Shamblez spins dance music in the taproom.

• Tower Hill Tavern (264 Lakeside Ave, Laconia, 366-9100) Thanksgiving Eve Pahty in the Lakes Region. Call for details.

• Village Trestle (25 Main St., Goffstown, 497-8230) Jordan Quinn & Clint Lapointe perform together.

• Wally’s Pub (144 Ashworth Ave., Hampton Beach, 926-6954) Beer pong, lawn games and live music from Jamsterdam.

Featured photo: Chad LaMarsh. Photo by Sid Ceaser Photography.

News & Notes 21/11/25

Covid-19 update As of Nov 15 As of Nov 19
Total cases statewide 146,834 150,813
Total current infections statewide 6,295 7,604
Total deaths statewide 1,630 1,662
New cases 5,517 (Nov. 9 to Nov. 15) 3,979 (Nov. 16 to Nov. 19)
Current infections: Hillsborough County 1,925 2,368
Current infections: Merrimack County 681 846
Current infections: Rockingham County 1,150 1,386
Information from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.

Covid-19 news

State health officials announced 896 new positive test results of Covid-19 on Nov. 19, officially surpassing the 150,000 mark in the total number of cases reported since the start of the pandemic. The state averaged 876 new cases per day over the most recent seven-day period, an increase of 14 percent compared to the previous seven-day average.

Hospitalizations in the Granite State due to the virus also continue to be on the rise. “The health care system is extremely strained treating both patients with Covid-19 and those without Covid-19 who may have delayed care or preventative screenings, resulting in much more serious medical conditions,” New Hampshire Hospital Association president Steve Ahnen said in a Nov. 19 statement. “Our hospitals are struggling to find intensive care beds and have been forced to look across state lines to transfer patients due to lack of bed capacity.” According to the statement, there were 340 active hospitalizations statewide on Nov. 19, surpassing the record for the highest number set back on Jan. 1 of this year.

Meanwhile, the state has joined nine other states in filing a lawsuit against the federal government “for imposing a vaccine mandate on all workers at health care facilities that receive Medicare or Medicaid funding,” according to a press release. New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella released a statement saying that “the new mandate … was not adopted in conformance with the law. … We are once again obligated to take action to protect the State from this illegal mandate and the burden it would place on our already strained health care workers and facilities.”

More fuel help

Granite Staters who use the New Hampshire Fuel Assistance Program will see an increase in benefit amounts, the New Hampshire Department of Energy announced last week. The increase comes due to “dramatic projected increases in heating fuels,” Interim Energy Commissioner Jared Chicoine said in a press release. Benefit amounts will increase by 60 percent over last winter for most beneficiaries and will range from $253 to $2,520, up from $158 to $1,575 last winter. The benefit amounts for qualifying households are determined based on factors like income, household size and fuel type, the release said.

Tax mandate ruling

The federal government will be barred from enforcing the ARPA Tax Mandate against New Hampshire and 12 other plaintiff states, according to a press release, after a United States District Court issued an order granting the plaintiff states’ request for a permanent injunction against the mandate last week. The lawsuit was filed on March 31 to invalidate the mandate, which would have prevented the plaintiff states from using ARPA funds to offset a reduction in net tax revenue resulting from state tax cuts. According to the release, this put the plaintiff states at risk of having ARPA money recouped by the federal government due to their enactment of state tax cuts. “The ARPA Tax Mandate was an improper and unconstitutional intrusion on the rights of New Hampshire’s elected policymakers to make decisions regarding State tax policy,” Attorney General John Formella said in the release.

Insta investigation

Attorney General John Formella has joined with attorneys general across the country to investigate Meta Platforms for providing and promoting Instagram to children and young adults despite knowing that using the social media platform is associated with increased risks of physical and mental health issues in young people, according to a press release. The release said the Meta’s own research has found that the risk of issues like depression, eating disorders and suicide have been associated with the use of Instagram. The investigation targets techniques used by Meta to increase how often and how long young users are on Instagram and the resulting harms, among other things.

Airport support

New Hampshire’s U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan and Reps. Annie Kuster and Chris Pappas announced last week that Manchester-Boston Regional Airport and Lebanon Municipal Airport will receive $9,786,943 in federal funds from Airport Rescue Grants funded under the American Rescue Plan Act to help airports adjust and maintain operations during the pandemic. Manchester-Boston Regional Airport will receive $8,735,862 and Lebanon Municipal Airport will receive $1,051,081, according to a press release. “This funding comes at a pivotal time right before the holidays, with a busy travel season on the horizon and supply chain issues impacting travel and commerce,” Shaheen said in the release.

Friends of Aine, which offers bereavement support services to children, teens and families, has opened its new location at 226 Coolidge Ave. in Manchester. The new space allows more support services, including four age-specific grief support spaces for children and teens and more peer-to-peer support groups.

Holly Stevens has joined NAMI New Hampshire as the nonprofit organization’s first public policy director. According to a press release, Stevens has been working in health policy for the past five years in Concord and said she will be working with mental health and suicide prevention advocates to effect change on the policy level in the state.

The towns of Salem, Epping and Groveton have been awarded funding totaling $500,000 to hire additional police officers, with Epping and Groveton each getting $125,000 and Salem getting $250,000, according to a press release from the Department of Justice. The grant funding comes from the Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services Hiring Program.

Support your local merchants

More than ever, it’s important to support your local merchants. The pandemic has been hardest on small independent merchants in terms of income loss and staffing shortages. As the saying goes, the big get bigger, and the pandemic only heightened that. Though that can be good for some, it’s a net loss to us and our communities.

Local independent businesses are part of what makes our communities different from other places; they are part of the fabric of the community. Imagine no local retail, no local coffee shops, no local bars or restaurants or no local bookstores. We’d all be poorer for it not only economically but also socially. These places help bind us together the same way our schools and community organizations do. It’s important to protect that.

Though it’s not always easy, please be mindful to include local shops, local producers who sell online and local services in your gift plans.

It’s better on a few levels.

For starters more of the money you spend at local merchants ends up back in your community. A 2012 economic impact study in Andersonville, Illinois, found that for every $100 spent at a local independent business $68 remained in the local economy versus just $43 for national chains. I would venture to guess that even less of your money stays in the local economy when buying from an online retailer, such as Amazon. On top of that, I’d argue online retailers are significant users of our roads, sidewalks and bridges. Are they really contributing enough back to the local economy to help pay for their use? The folks at Civic Economics and the American Booksellers Association would say no. Check out civiceconomics.com.

Local merchants give back the community in numerous additional ways. They sponsor local sports teams and service organizations, such as Rotary. They lower prices by providing competition to chains and online retailers. They provide more choices. They can pay better wages than many of the chains. They tend to have a smaller environmental footprint than online retailers. They provide a way out of poverty for their owners. They make decisions locally based on the needs of their customers and community. They provide better customer service. They pay more taxes and fees. And they, maybe most importantly, provide much of the character of our community.

Are all local businesses or their owners perfect? Of course not. Some are stinkers. But by and large the benefits far outweigh the negatives, and they need your support. So please, this holiday season take a moment and think about how you can direct more of your spending to local businesses.

Re-banding

Jamantics get down again

Being in Jamantics is like riding a bicycle; however long its five members are apart, the moment they plug in and play, their reliable groove reappears. As rehearsals began for a Nov. 19 reunion show at Bank of NH Stage in Concord, the synergy “was immediate,” guitarist Lucas Gallo said. “Beyond Jamantics, we all have experience musically with each other. … Now the whole band’s back together and it’s sounding great, in my opinion.”

“It’s like putting on a well-oiled glove,” fellow guitar player Freeland Hubbard added.

The group officially existed only from 2009 to 2011 but didn’t break up; it disbanded. Drummer Masceo headed west, and the rest — Gallo, Hubbard, bass player Eric Reingold and fiddler Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki — carried on with other projects.

Reingold worked with several bands, including NEMA winners Cold Engines, while Tirrell-Wysocki appeared on recording sessions and played solo, as did Hubbard and Gallo, who also helped promote local shows. Masceo worked for Napa, California-based Enchanted Hills Camp and served as Jamantics’ archivist.

In October 2015, Jamantics “re-banded” for a show at Concord’s Capitol Center.

When Masceo moved back to Concord in 2019, a 10th anniversary reunion show happened at the newly opened Bank of NH Stage. A planned event the following year was scrapped due to pandemic concerns, but they’re back on Nov. 19 at the same venue for what’s hoped to be a yearly JamAnnual GetDown.

In advance of the show, a new single dropped; “Immortal” began in Masceo’s home studio.

“I was bored like everybody else during the pandemic, and what happened was a ball rolling situation,” he said. “Freeland, Reingold and I had been playing together as a trio; [then] I just kind of sprung it on everybody when it was done…. I wanted everybody to be happy; when there’s five people in a band, that can be a little stressful. I guess it was taking it one person at a time.”

Called InstaJam, the trio had a live debut planned in April 2020 that didn’t happen, but later in the year they began playing around the area as The Special Guests. Masceo remembers walking on stage for the first time after months of lockdown as emotional and unexpected.

“It certainly was a reflection of nostalgia about all the times we’d felt that way… in the pocket of the crowd’s energy, feeling good about the music we’re playing,” he said.

Reingold was philosophical about the experience.

“It’s very rare that we basically as a species all experience the same thing as one people,” he said. “We all experienced lockdown, and I think it goes without saying that nobody was unhappy to get back to the world. Not only musicians, but just everybody in general. It was a breath of fresh air … enhanced by the fact that we’re the ones that get to play for the people coming out.”

When Jamantics formed, their two-part mission was making music and fostering the local music scene. Even as they hit milestones like opening for Little Feat at Casino Ballroom in Hampton, they worked to bring regional bands to Concord for shows at Penuche’s, the Barley House and other venues. Ten years on, they’re pleased with the city’s commitment to local arts, particularly the Capitol Center and its satellite 600-seat room that Reingold calls “the perfect venue.”

Beginning with transforming the Spotlight Room lobby space early in the decade, the nonprofit has long boosted area acts, Reingold observed.

“You’d be talking to the same people who just got off the phone with Willie Nelson’s booking agent, and they’re still making time in their schedule,” he said, adding the new space “fills a gap that I think has existed in Concord for quite some time. So we’re pretty excited to be able to be part of it.”

Jamantics Reunion w/ Teeba

When: Friday, Nov. 19, 8 p.m.
Where: Bank of NH Stage, 16 S. Main St., Concord
Tickets: $15 and up at ccanh.com

Featured photo: Jamantics. Courtesy photo

Clifford the Big Red Dog (PG)

Clifford the Big Red Dog (PG)

A girl having a rough time adjusting to a new school adopts a dog in Clifford the Big Red Dog, a live-action movie based on the books.

Clifford is a photorealistic CGI Labrador-ish puppy movie-magicked red. When 11-year-old Emily (Darby Camp) first meets him, he is a just nameless small weirdly red dog — so small that he sneaks into her backpack unnoticed. Her mother, Maggie (Sienna Guillory), is out of town for a few days for work and Emily’s somewhat aimless Uncle Casey (Jack Whitehall), who would like it to be known that he has only lost her twice while babysitting her, is watching her. He demands they take the dog back to the strange animal rescue where they first saw him but she turns her sad girl eyes on him and he says they can keep the dog for the night but look for the mysterious Mr. Bridwell (John Cleese), the rescue’s manager, in the morning.

But in the morning, Emily wakes to find that the tiny puppy she’s named Clifford is now very large — still a puppy but more the size of a medium elephant. Emily, who has recently started at a new private school where the kids are snotty and she is lonely, is desperate to keep the puppy. Casey is desperate to keep Maggie from learning that he’s let her daughter adopt a minivan-sized animal. So they set off to try to find someone — Mr. Bridwell, a veterinarian, the wealthy father of Emily’s friend Owen (Izaac Wang), who appears to own an animal sanctuary — who can help Clifford. And, help them before the family’s landlord (David Alan Grier), with a very strict no-pets policy, finds out that Clifford is living in their very small New York City apartment.

But Clifford quickly becomes a bit of a viral star, getting the attention of Tieran (Tony Hale), an evil tech guy from a company seeking to make bigger organisms with the goal of growing more food more quickly. So far, all they’ve managed to engineer are giant chicken eggs, a two-headed goat and a very mean sheep. But Tieran thinks that if his company captures Clifford, they might unlock the secrets to giant cows.

A neighborhood full of characters quirky enough that you feel like you’re supposed to get to know them rallies to support Emily, who learns how to stand up for herself against bullies and how to make friends. It’s all done very softly, with lessons easily learned and most people basically friendly. Even the moments of Clifford in peril are very mildly perilous — all of which made the movie perfectly palatable to my young elementary school kids. But also relatively mild were the animal hijinks — and as big-dog silliness gave away to more emotional stuff, the movie lost them somewhat. My more middle-grade-aged kid seemed more engaged in the story-telling, more entertained by the “pleasant family sitcom”-level of humor.

While Clifford is somewhat visually distracting in the uncanny-valley sense, the movie was overall inoffensive. And, sure, “inoffensive and fine, I guess, rave critics!” is not something you’re likely to see in movie trailers. But that is where this movie landed, and I don’t think that is necessarily a knock on it. Sometimes a movie just being watchable by kids of varying ages and something their parents can stomach having on without paying too much attention is exactly the kind of entertainment the whole family needs. B- Rated PG for impolite humor, thematic elements and mild action, according to the MPA on filmratings.com. Directed by Walt Becker with a screenplay by Jay Scherick & David Ronn and Blaise Hemingway (based on the books by Norman Bridwell), Clifford the Big Red Dog is an hour and 37 minutes long and distributed by Paramount Pictures via Paramount+ and in theaters.

Passing (PG-13)

Two childhood friends reconnect as married women in 1920s New York City in Passing, based on a novel by Nella Larsen with an adapted screenplay by Rebecca Hall, who also directed the movie.

When we first see Irene (Tessa Thompson), she’s out shopping on a hot summer day — being sort of quiet and deliberate in the way she walks, surveys a room and talks to people. What we realize she’s doing before every interaction is figuring out what the other person — fellow well-heeled shoppers, store clerks, hotel doormen — sees when they look at her. Irene is, as she later explains, “passing,” for the convenience of not being recognized as African-American in these predominantly white spaces in the 1920s.

Clare (Ruth Negga), also hanging out at the hotel, does give Irene a second look — and keeps looking until she comes over to reintroduce herself. Irene is rather shocked to realize that this blonde woman with a white husband — John (Alexander Skarsgard) — is her girlhood friend from the neighborhood. She is even more shocked to learn that John, whom she meets and quickly gathers is quite the racist, has no idea that Clare (or Irene) is Black.

Irene’s encounter with Clare seems to sort of shake her. She leaves with little intention of talking to Clare again; Irene’s husband, Brian (Andre Holland), even makes fun of Clare’s shallow-sounding apology letter (Irene was clearly appalled by John’s casual racism) that she sends later on. But then months later Clare shows up at Irene’s house and the women rekindle their friendship.

The movie leaves a lot ambiguous about what is happening between Clare and Irene. Both are well-off women, but living in different worlds with different levels of freedom in different circumstances because of how they present themselves to their worlds. Both seem to have tensions in their marriage — Clare’s more obvious than Irene’s but Irene also seems to have a wall between herself and her husband. We never really learn what their relationship was like in their youth and it’s never completely clear what each woman is looking for from the other now. At one point Irene tells a white writer friend, Hugh (Bill Camp), that everybody is passing in some way — one of many times when we wonder if the devoted wife and mother Irene seems to be working so hard to present herself as is her cover, of sorts, for other internal conflicts and frustrations. When she seems to push Clare and Brian to spend more time together, is she defeatedly accepting an attraction between them that she senses or is she doing it as a way to avoid thinking about her own attraction to Clare? There’s a lot that happens in the silences here, in the way Thompson and Negga look at each other, in the way the movie lights a scene, that leaves you to fill in the blanks of what you feel it all means. This even carries through to the way the movie ends. At times, I felt some frustration with this — exactly what does this movie want me to think I’m seeing? But Passing has stuck with me and, if anything, the ambiguity has left me thinking more about what’s going on with the people than strictly about the movie’s plot points.

Perhaps because it leaves so many things gray — both figuratively and literally, as this movie shot in black and white seems to most often play, beautifully, with grays — the movie is also able to touch on a lot of issues without it seeming like “Issues Related to Race: The Movie.” We see moments of Irene’s marriage, her interactions with her housekeeper, her parenting, her social life that all get to different elements of socioeconomic status and gender roles and hint at the tensions between the things she may want in her life and the things she feels she’s expected to do.

Passing is a quiet movie that leaves a bigger impression than it initially seems. Strong performances by Thompson and Negga and interesting choices in the way the movie was shot made this movie feel like a surprise masterpiece — something that had me invested and enthralled before I realized how much I liked what it was doing. A Rated PG-13 for thematic material and some racial slurs and smoking, according to the MPA on filmratings.com. Directed by Rebecca Hall with a screenplay by Rebecca Hall (from the novel by Nella Larsen), Passing is an hour and 38 minutes long and available via Netflix.

Red Notice (PG-13)

Get cops, thieves and quips in Red Notice, a broad mostly fun adventure comedy starring Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds.

A nice fast food fried chicken sandwich with pickles, a side of fries and maybe a shake or some lemonade: Is it, you know, good? No. But is it good? Yes! Yes, so delicious even though you know it has very little nutritional value and is possibly contributing to long-term health problems. Likewise, is Red Notice contributing to the decline of theatrical distribution by providing, directly to your home, widely appealing or at least widely tolerable entertainment potentially in that four-quadrant sweet spot with big-name stars? Er, possibly. But is this movie good like a hot and crispy meal that comes in a paper bag and doesn’t require any work on your part? Yes, yes it is. Greasy, a little much, but satisfying.

After some extensive exposition explaining the fabled (and fictitious) three bejeweled eggs of Cleopatra, a fancy wedding present from Marc Antony back in antiquity, we meet FBI profiler John Hartley (Johnson) on the trail of Nolan Booth (Reynolds, playing the Ryan Reynolds Character TM that has become his whole shtick), an internationally known luxury-items thief. When Hartley’s paths cross with Booth’s, Booth has just stolen one of those eggs from a museum in Rome. We learn that all of art-thiefdom is likely looking for these eggs, one of which has never been found in modern times, because a wealthy Egyptian is looking to give them to his daughter as a wedding gift and he’s willing to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to whomever can bring them to him.

After some fighting and some quipping, Hartley nearly has Booth but then Booth is able to slip away — only for Hartley to follow Booth to his fancy home in Bali and take back the egg. Too easy, thinks Interpol agent Urvashi Das (Ritu Arya), who turns around and arrests Hartley. It seems that his identity, including proof that he works at the FBI, has been erased, possibly the work of The Bishop — a rumored but never identified thief even more successful than Booth. (I’m going to spoil it right now and tell you The Bishop is Gal Gadot, which is only a spoiler if you haven’t seen any movie-related images and have never seen a movie before.) Both Hartley and Booth wind up in a Russian prison and decide that the only way out is to work together to help Hartley catch The Bishop. If he turns her in, Hartley hopes he can restore his good name and Booth hopes that there may be just enough wiggle-away room to score the three Cleopatra eggs himself.

This movie checks all the boxes for this kind of treasure-hunt-with-hot-people affair: We get a variety of international locales, cat-and-mouse scenes between thieves and cops and sometimes between thieves and thieves, and an unlikely partnership in Booth and Hartley leaving room for lots of physical comedy as well as rat-a-tat quips. This movie even has a secret art cache that blends ancient artifacts and stolen-by-Nazis loot. Does this movie underline what it’s doing by having Ryan Reynolds whistle the Indiana Jones theme music? Yes it does. But did I laugh when he and the Rock hunt for the egg and he advises to “look for a box that says ‘McGuffin’”? Yes, yes I did.

Red Notice does not exceed exceptions; it does not do any extra credit with the performances or dialogue or cleverness of the action or plot. But it delivers on the kind of National Treasure-y level (with just enough swear words that I probably wouldn’t show it to a kid younger than 13 or so) that I think it’s aiming for. Red Notice is easy watching and just fun enough to justify the low-bar effort involved in finding it on Netflix. B-

Rated PG-13 for violence and action, some sexual references and strong language, according to the MPA on filmratings.com. Written and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber, Red Notice is an hour-and-58- minute-long break from serious thought and is available on Netflix.

FILM

Venues

AMC Londonderry
16 Orchard View Dr., Londonderry
amctheatres.com

Bank of NH Stage in Concord
16 S. Main St., Concord
225-1111, banknhstage.com

Capitol Center for the Arts
44 S. Main St., Concord
225-1111, ccanh.com

Cinemark Rockingham Park 12
15 Mall Road, Salem

Chunky’s Cinema Pub
707 Huse Road, Manchester; 151 Coliseum Ave., Nashua; 150 Bridge St., Pelham, chunkys.com

Dana Center
Saint Anselm College
100 Saint Anselm Dr., Manchester, anselm.edu

Fathom Events
Fathomevents.com

The Flying Monkey
39 Main St., Plymouth
536-2551, flyingmonkeynh.com

LaBelle Winery
345 Route 101, Amherst
672-9898, labellewinery.com

The Music Hall
28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth
436-2400, themusichall.org

O’neil Cinemas
24 Calef Hwy., Epping
679-3529, oneilcinemas.com

Red River Theatres
11 S. Main St., Concord
224-4600, redrivertheatres.org

Regal Fox Run Stadium 15
45 Gosling Road, Newington
regmovies.com

Rex Theatre
23 Amherst St., Manchester
668-5588, palacetheatre.org

The Strand
20 Third St., Dover
343-1899, thestranddover.com

Wilton Town Hall Theatre
40 Main St., Wilton
wiltontownhalltheatre.com, 654-3456

Shows

• The Big Parade (1925), a silent film with live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, on Wednesday, Nov. 10, at 6:30 p.m. at the Flying Monkey. Tickets start at $10.

• The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921), a silent film with live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, on Thursday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m. at the Colonial Theatre in Keene (thecolonial.org). Tickets $15 (free for veterans).

• Spencer (R, 2021) screening at Red River Theatres in Concord Friday, Nov. 12, through Sunday, Nov. 14, at 1, 4 & 7 p.m.

• The French Dispatch (R, 2021) screening at Red River Theatres Friday, Nov. 12, through Sunday, Nov. 14, at 1:30, 4:30 & 7:30 p.m.

• Gojira (1954) the Japanese-language kaiju film introducing Godzilla, will screen with subtitles at Wilton Town Hall Theatre on Friday, Nov. 12, and Saturday, Nov. 13, at 7:30 p.m.

• Judgement at Nuremberg (1961) will screen at Wilton Town Hall Theatre on Friday, Nov. 12, and Saturday, Nov. 13, at 7:30 p.m.

• The Littlest Rebel (1935) starring Shirley Temple and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, will screen at Wilton Town Hall Theatre on Saturday, Nov. 13, at 2 p.m.

• Hot Water (1924) starring Harold Lloyd, a silent film with live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, on Sunday, Nov. 14, at 2 p.m. at Wilton Town Hall Theatre. Admission free; $10 donation suggested.

• Sunflowers (2021) screening at Red River Theatres in Concord on Wednesday, Nov. 17, at 6 p.m.

• Warren Miller’s Winter Starts Now at The Music Hall, Thursday, Nov. 18, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Nov. 19, at 6 and 9 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 20, at 4 & 7 p.m. Tickets start at $28.

Featured photo: Clifford the Big Red Dog. Courtesy photo.

Stay in the loop!

Get FREE weekly briefs on local food, music,

arts, and more across southern New Hampshire!