Granite Restaurant & Bar reopens with new menus, executive chef
After an 18-month hiatus, Concord’s Granite Restaurant & Bar at The Centennial Hotel is back. The eatery reopened to the public on Oct. 27 for the first time since the pandemic shutdown, featuring all new locally sourced dinner, dessert and brunch menu items.
Grilled Mexican street corn.
Operations at both The Centennial Hotel and the Granite Restaurant & Bar were first suspended back in late March 2020, and while the hotel did begin welcoming back guests by mid-August of that year, its in-house dining experience remained closed. With its long-awaited reopening, general manager and sales and marketing director Laura Leslie said the restaurant’s newly appointed kitchen staff hope to take it in a new direction going forward.
“Our main goal was to change from what people might have seen as a place to go for a special occasion like a birthday or an anniversary … to somewhere that you’d want to go to eat two or three times a week, because the menu is just that approachable,” Leslie said.
Charlie Lavery has been recruited to take over the helm of the kitchen as the executive chef. Lavery attended the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont and has amassed decades of experience working in restaurants across New England since then, including the Mediterranean-inspired Ebb and Flow in Portland, Maine, and The Snowvillage Inn in the Mt. Washington Valley. He also served as chef de cuisine of LaBelle Winery in Amherst for a time.
“The menu for Granite is all about plays on international comfort foods and street foods,” Lavery said. “I’m very much inspired by world cuisine, and I think it’s important to bring that to the table because there are so many great techniques out there. … We try to use local ingredients as much as possible, and fewer of them, as opposed to lots of lower-level ingredients.”
The Mexican street corn dish, for instance, features grilled local corn with a smoky ancho chili crema, while the bluefin tuna crudo, a current menu favorite of Lavery’s, is made with Thai basil and a Meyer lemon and caper vinaigrette, served with crispy house lavash bread. Another seafood starter is the moules frites, or mussels and fries — that dish features a large bowl of Bangs Island mussels, served in stone ground mustard with bacon and house cut fries.
“I’m big into seafood. All of the seafood we serve is New England sourced, for sure,” he said.
Entrees run the gamut from a certified Angus beef burger and a jerk marinated Statler chicken breast to a grilled Berkshire heritage pork and a 12-ounce New York strip steak.
Mason jar trifle.
Other menu items are uniquely fall inspired, like the pumpkin bisque and the Parisian gnocchi with foraged mushrooms, Parmesan reggiano cheese and a local squash puree. As the seasons change, Lavery hopes to continue utilizing more products that become available.
Desserts cover every palate too, from simple options like house ice creams and sorbets to a bit more elevated delicacies, like a Meyer lemon tart with lavender honey, a spiced carrot cake trifle served in a Mason jar with cream cheese frosting, and a tart cherry bread pudding.
“The chef’s tart cherry bread pudding is just to die for,” Leslie said. “Most bread puddings are really dense and heavy, but this one is really light. The flavors are also just super well-balanced, with the tartness of the cherries and the sweetness of the whipped cream.”
While it’s always been known for its selection of wines and cocktails, Leslie said, the restaurant’s new drink menu will have more emphasis on non-alcoholic mocktails.
Breakfast and lunch are no longer being served during the week, but a brunch menu will still be available on Sundays, with items like breakfast burritos, hash and eggs with house cured corned beef hash, buttermilk biscuits and gravy, Belgian waffles and more.
The eatery’s private dining room, accommodating parties of up to 10, is also back open, while four additional private function spaces are available to rent throughout the hotel.
Granite Restaurant & Bar Where: The Centennial Hotel, 96 Pleasant St., Concord Hours: Wednesday through Saturday, 5 to 9 p.m. (bar stays open until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays), and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. More info: Visit graniterestaurant.com, find them on Facebook and Instagram @centennialandgranite or call 227-9005 Reservations are strongly encouraged.
Featured photo: Parisian gnocchi. All photos by Brian Samuels Photography.
It’s not unusual for stages to go dark for a few days between performances, say, from the end of a Sunday matinee to a Friday night show. But the Palace Theatre’s production of Mamma Mia! had a significantly longer hiatus — March 13, 2020, to Oct. 15, 2021, to be exact. Now, the show is heading into the final weekend of its second run.
“We brought the show back because it was interrupted … halfway through the schedule,” David Rousseau, director of marketing and sales for the Palace, said in an email. “On March 13, 2020, the show and the Palace virtually shut down.”
Bringing Mamma Mia! back this year meant re-auditioning some of the roles, re-rehearsing and celebrating a second opening night. But for a show that’s as popular as this one, it was worth bringing back to complete its run.
“We do the Mamma Mia! show because it is a definite patron favorite,” Rousseau said. “Thousands of people come to see it whenever it is performed here at the Palace. … We wanted all those who purchased tickets for the 2020 performances to be able to experience it as soon as possible.”
Mamma Mia! Photos courtesy of Palace Theatre.
Set to ABBA’s hits, the musical takes place in Greece and tells the story of Sophie, who’s about to get married and has invited the three men who might be her father to the wedding — which of course poses some problems for her mother, Donna.
“It’s lighthearted entertainment that is extremely humorous,” Rousseau said.
Megan Quinn, who plays Rosie — one of Donna’s two best friends — was part of the original cast in 2020, and she played Rosie when the Palace put it on in 2018 too.
“It’s such a fun part,” Quinn said. “I just get to go up there and be ridiculous.”
About half the cast is from the 2020 production, but many roles were left vacant because the original actors couldn’t commit the second time around. So they reopened auditions over the summer. Most of the cast is from New York City, Quinn said, though she’s local — she also happens to be the youth theater director at the Palace.
Quinn said one of her favorite parts to perform is the bedroom scene with Donna and their other friend, Tanya. It’s where they first sing the show’s best-known song, “Dancing Queen,” after a hilarious dialogue between the three friends — one of many scenes that is “tastefully raunchy,” Quinn said.
The production isn’t quite like the 2008 movie, so even if you didn’t like that, there’s a good chance you’ll still love the show, Quinn said.
“When you’re on stage, there’s such a different vibe,” she said. “You get to be a little more over the top. There’s this live theater element [with the] energy of people around you.”
For the cast, being back on stage has been a long time coming.
“Just being able to hear people laughing in the audience again … it’s so rewarding,” Quinn said. “They can come in and forget about what’s happening right now. … To hear people laugh and clap, it’s so nice to have that normalcy again.”
Rousseau called the Palace’s hiatus “economically devastating,” and Quinn said it’s important for people to see that theater is back and that the Palace isn’t going anywhere. And Mamma Mia! might be the perfect way to forget about the past year and a half.
“If you are somebody who wants to just escape for 2½ hours, to just go somewhere and feel like you’re taken away … then this is going to be for you,” Quinn said. “You’ll leave feeling good, I promise.”
Rousseau agrees.
“It’s a wonderful diversion from the real world,” he said.
Mamma Mia!
Where: Palace Theatre, 80 Hanover St., Manchester When: Thursday, Nov. 11, and Friday, Nov. 12, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 13, at 2 and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, Nov. 14, at noon. Tickets: $25 to $46 Contact: palacetheatre.org or 668-5588
Featured Photo: Mamma Mia! courtesy of Palace Theatre.
Why races are great fundraisers and what it takes to make them succeed, plus fun runs for the end of the year
When the board of the Bow Athletic Club was brainstorming fundraising possibilities, they loved the idea of a community block party, but they needed another element that would draw people to the party. They decided on a 5K fun run and walk, and the first annual BACtoberfest 5K and Block Party was held last month.
“It was off-the-charts great,” Bow Athletic Club President Bryce Larrabee said. “It went better than our wildest expectations.”
Larrabee said that about 75 percent of the people who went to the party participated in the run first.
“The run brought people out,” he said.
Not only that, but about 80 percent of the work that went into putting on the fundraiser was for block party logistics. Putting together the 5K, Larrabee said, was “surprisingly easy.”
The club raised more than $10,000 to add to its coffers, which they draw from to support causes and needs in the community.
“We made a lot more money than we expected,” Larrabee said.
The BACtoberfest 5K and Block Party joins hundreds of other run-centric events that are raising money for charities throughout the state. Find out what makes runs good fundraisers, what it takes to make them successful and which upcoming runs you should sign up for, whether you want to support a specific charity, dress up as a turkey or get through a few miles for the post-race beer and pizza.
Money makers
“Fundraisers come in a lot of different shapes and sizes,” John Mortimer, founder of Millennium Running in Bedford, said, joking that “it’s probably easier to have a bake sale.”
But runs are profitable, as evidenced by the inaugural BAC 5K. A more established race, the Jingle Bell Run in Manchester, put on each December by the Arthritis Foundation for the past 30 years, raised well over $30,000 last year.
And then there are organizations like Millennium and Total Image Running in Manchester, which put on their own signature runs and provide services to other organizations that need support with logistics to put on a race.
“For every single one of [the signature races], we pick a nonprofit charity partner,” Mortimer said. “We’ve donated just north of $1.1 million.”
Photo courtesy of Millennium Running.
According to Christine Lewis, co-owner of Total Image Running, since it started in 2018, Total Image has donated and helped raise more than $200,000 for local charities. And Seacoast-based Loco Races has contributed more than $1 million to nonprofits and running clubs in the past decade, according to its website.
Charities like Veterans Count reap the benefits of these donations. Last weekend’s Manchester City Marathon, which Millennium owns and operates, has been supporting Veterans Count for several years and is just shy of raising $100,000 for that nonprofit alone.
“The expenses are so small compared to [the profit],” said Julia Moore, associate director for the Arthritis Foundation New England. “It’s maybe 10 percent to 15 percent of the event money that we raise.”
Raising awareness
For nonprofits like the Arthritis Foundation, an event like the Jingle Bell Run is a fun way to draw attention to a cause that affects more people than many realize — 1 in 4, with 54 million people diagnosed each year, according to Moore.
“It’s really a great way to champion those who [live with arthritis],” Moore said.
The Jingle Bell Run is also an opportunity to shine a light on some of the “amazing people” who have been touched by arthritis or helped those who have it, Moore said. Ella Souza is the youth honoree this year; she was diagnosed with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis when she was 7 and now at 14 plays at the highest levels of hockey and lacrosse (she was playing on the high school varsity hockey team when she was in 7th grade). Dr. Neil Dion, an orthopedic surgeon, is this year’s medical honoree.
“One of his patients who he performed surgery on will run with him at the event,” Moore said.
Photo courtesy of Millennium Running.
For Lewis and her Total Image Running partner, Lisa Misiaszek, helping charities is personal.
“Lisa and I are both cancer survivors, we both lost parents to cancer … [and] my brother’s fighting prostate cancer,” Lewis said.
Being able to give back to the nonprofits that have helped them during difficult times is especially meaningful, but Lewis said they support all kinds of charities, not just those that fight cancer.
“People are struggling everywhere,” she said.
Several upcoming turkey trots are asking participants to bring canned goods to donate to local pantries, bringing awareness to food insecurity.
Millennium has donated to — and promoted — nearly 100 charities, from New Horizons to the New Hampshire Food Bank.
“All of these are special in so many different ways,” Mortimer said.
How to get started
There are a couple of ways to go about organizing a fundraising race. One is to do it entirely on your own: your own marketing, finding sponsors, registrations, course setup and road closures, aid and water stations, timers, swag, volunteer recruitment. It’s a lot of preparation. Though Larrabee said the BACtoberfest 5K was easy to plan, his team has a lot of experience with fundraising, including finding sponsors and volunteers, and with marketing — plus they got a little help from Total Image Running.
That leads to the next option, which is to hire a company like Total Image or Millennium to take care of some of the logistics.
“Having a company that is so experienced in doing timing and working with you for your event, I definitely think it’s worth it,” Moore said.
The Arthritis Foundation hires Millennium to help with the Jingle Bell Run, but the cost is covered by the event’s presenting sponsor, Northeast Delta Dental, which allows more of the profits to go right to the Foundation.
“The cost [for Millennium] is less than $6,000,” Moore said. “We truly believe that it’s beneficial to hire a timing company to manage our run because they are professionals and have a lot of experience with road races.”
Moore said the Arthritis Foundation covers the cost of medals, T-shirts and swag.
“We tend to be very conservative when it comes to spending and plan to spend less,” Moore said. “Last year we raised $36,264.45 gross [and] our expenses were less than $3,000.”
“Expenses are going to be [any nonprofit’s] No. 1 concern, so getting sponsorships is always great,” Lewis said.
Larrabee also reached out to Northeast Delta Dental, specifically to CEO Tom Raffio, who is a runner himself — his first race was actually the Jingle Bell Run, according to Moore — and is part of races throughout the state. With advice from Raffio and a quick Google search of how to host a road race, Larrabee and his team moved forward with hiring Total Image Running, which handled the timing and registrations.
Mortimer noted that someone who’s never organized a run before might not think about things like portable toilets and permits for road closures.
“We have the know-how, the expertise,” Mortimer said.
For those who want to put on a race for the first time, he says to plan for several months of preparations, like doing research on the course, getting permits, marketing the event and finding volunteers.
Photo courtesy of Total Image.
“We always recommend having a confident race director, someone that understands the sport and wants to do it, first and foremost, and then surround themselves with great people [to help with things like] marketing and volunteerism,” Mortimer said.
Moore echoed the importance of having good people who are willing to help; the Arthritis Foundation has a run committee that handles the sponsorships, reaches out to businesses, schools and running clubs to encourage them to create teams, and does volunteer recruitment.
“I think having a great committee who really supports the run … really helps, [and] our ability to get new volunteers is extremely important,” Moore said.
Make it a success
If you want to raise money, you have to draw in as many people as possible, and doing that is all about providing a quality experience.
“We don’t produce races — we produce events,” Mortimer said. “We like to provide our customers, our runners, with the best possible experience.”
That experience includes everything from when and where the race takes place to swag and after-parties.
One of Millennium’s signature events is the Santa Claus Shuffle, which includes a full Santa suit with registration and has stops along the course with samples of holiday sweets.
Photo courtesy of Arthritis Foundation.
“Part of the equation on some events is, what does the runner want? Sometimes it’s the bling, or sometimes it’s the swag: the Santa suit, the kilt for our Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day [race],” Mortimer said. “Other people get that medal and it’s the most important thing — it’s their Olympic medal.”
And sometimes it’s not about the material things.
“Location and course is a big thing for people,” Lewis said. “We did a survey once and swag was actually not the No. 1 thing.”
To make these events a full experience, they usually don’t end when the runners cross the finish line, like the block party after the BACtoberfest 5K, and pretty much any signature run from Total Image or Millennium.
“Before Covid, we always had a huge after-party wherever the finish line was,” Lewis said.
Total Image’s Ugly Sweater 4-miler is a fan favorite, Lewis said, and this year she’s expecting it to be especially fun since it’ll be the first event with a real after-party since Covid started.
The last two months of the year tend to be especially festive.
“We really love to do [the Jingle Bell Run] because it’s so festive and fun,” Moore said. “People dress up and get really into the holiday spirit. … It’s such a great family-friendly event.”
Runners talk races We reached out to runners via Millennium Running Club’s Facebook page to find out what it is about a race that draws them to it. The race environment is huge, and yes, the swag matters too. Here are some of the responses we got from local runners.
“Unique courses [are] a must for me. I’m particularly drawn to races along water or with nice scenery. I love the Stonyfield Earth Day 5K because they have the best T-shirts and free yogurt. Nice shirt that I will actually wear is a big plus.” — Sarah Goodrum
“I run in races that hold some level of significance for me and that I can connect with on a personal level. I ran a 10k earlier this year because it supported building sidewalks in my daughter’s community. … Running has had such a profound impact on my life, my recovery and my mental health, so it’s usually something about the race I connect with on a personal level that draws me to it.” — Stephan Burdette
“[A] well-run event with accurately measured course and female sizing swag.” — Maureen Sproul
“As a ‘runner’ who does it for the exercise rather than the enjoyment, this is what motivates me to do certain races: 1. Motivation to exercise/meet a training goal 2. Swag! Particularly the long-sleeved quarter zips. 3. Big races that have lots of pre-race and post-race excitement and festivities! 4. Millennium’s Anytime 5k let me run in the evening when I’m at my best! There aren’t many nighttime races out there and for us night owls [so] it was awesome!” — Joy Junior
“A road race is one BIG fitness party. There’s some pretty kewl swag, medals and bib designs, too. Who doesn’t like a nice T-shirt or fleece-lined quarter zip-up with thumb holes?” — Donna Dostie
“Short answer: the environment! … There’s an energy that can’t be described! Whether you’re an elite runner or a walker completing your very first 5k, there’s an excitement and even more, there’s a community … a community where we all share a common goal, cross that finish line and celebrate!” — Krystal Bessette Jervis
“I will run any race because I love the race environment. It really is amazing to run a race with hundreds of people [of] all paces and most are people that you know who cheer each other on.” — Tracy Dunchus Lennon
“I am a back-of-the-pack runner. Races are a way of motivating myself to keep moving and the swag/rewards for mileage and completion are huge in building my confidence.” — Kathleen Olden
“My 12-year-old daughter … loves the race environment, she loves running against the adults, and yes, she loves the swag!” — Jess Janowski
Runs for the rest of the year
Pre-Thanksgiving runs
The annual Walk and Wag for Veterans 5K will be held at Mine Falls in Nashua on Saturday, Nov. 13, starting at 9 a.m. The cost is $35, or $30 for the virtual option. There will be awards for top finishers and light refreshments after the event. One hundred percent of the proceeds will benefit Operation Delta Dog. Visit walkandwagforveterans.com.
The Deerfield Community School (66 North Road, Deerfield) hosts its Turkey Trot 5K on Sunday, Nov. 14, at 9 a.m. The cost is $25 for pre-registration or $30 day of. The top three overall male and top three overall female runners will each take home a frozen turkey. Funds raised support the 8th-grade class trip to New York City. To register ahead of time, visit running4free.com and search for the race.
The Gobble Wobble 5-Miler will start at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 20, at Goffstown Parks and Recreation (155 S. Mast Road). Registration is $40 for ages 12 and up and $35 for runners under 12, with prices increasing after 9 a.m. on Nov. 19. The cost is $40 for the virtual option, with registration open through Nov. 27. The official charity of the Gobble Wobble is American Legion Auxiliary Wesley Wyman Unit 16. Visit totalimagerunning.com.
The 23rd annual Novemberfest for Nashua Children’s Home will be held Sunday, Nov. 21, at 11:33 a.m. at Mines Falls Park in Nashua, near the Pine Street Extension entrance. The 4-mile race is followed by post-race fun at Martha’s Exchange (185 Main St., Nashua). The race benefits the Nashua Children’s Home. Registration is $25 and closes on Nov. 19. Visit gatecity.org.
Thanksgiving Day runs
The Bow Turkey Trot 5K will be held at Bow High School (55 Falcon Way) starting at 8 a.m. Sign up before Nov. 13 to get an official BAC Turkey Trot Dri Fit Hoodie. Day-of registration will be available for $30. Visit runsignup.com and search for Bow Athletic Club Turkey Trot.
The Dover Turkey Trot 5K will be held at 8:30 a.m. at Shaw’s Lane in Dover to benefit the Garrison School PTA. The cost is $20, or $10 for grade 4 and under; both prices increase by $5 on race day. Visit doverturkeytrot.com.
The Free Fall 5K, hosted by the Rochester Runners of NH, will be held at the James W. Foley Memorial Community Center (150 Wakefield St., Rochester), starting at 8:30 a.m. Registration is $25 for ages 18 and up, $20 for ages 13 to 17 and $15 for ages 7 to 12, with prices increasing by $5 on race day. Kids 6 and under run free. Race proceeds benefit the Homeless Center for Strafford County, Gerry’s Food Pantry, End 68 Hours of Hunger. and SOS Recovery. Visit freefall5k.com.
The Fisher Cats Thanksgiving 5K will start at 9 a.m. at Delta Dental Stadium (1 Line Drive, Manchester). Registration for ages 12 and up is $30 until Nov. 12 at 11:59 p.m. and $35 until Nov. 24, and $30 for the virtual option. Registration is $15 for kids 11 and under, for both virtual and in-person. Race day registration is not available. Registration includes one free ticket to Fisher Cats Opening Day for the first 1,500 registrants, and a T-shirt for the first 750 adult runners. The race’s official charity is the New Hampshire Food Bank. Visit millenniumrunning.com.
Derry’s 48th annual Turkey Trot 5K Road Race starts at 9 a.m. at Gallien’s Town Beach on Beaver Lake. Shuttles will be available to the race site from the parking area at Pinkerton Academy (no parking along Route 102). Face coverings are required on the buses. Pre-registration for ages 13 and older is $25, and $10 for kids 12 and under. A non-perishable canned good or dry food item, or small cash donation, is requested for all entries, with food donations going to food pantries in the Greater Derry area. Visit runningintheusa.com and search for the Derry Turkey Trot.
The Hampstead Turkey Trot 5K starts at St. Anne’s Church (26 Emerson Ave.) at 8:30 a.m. Registration is $15 for ages 5 to 17 and for seniors 62 and up, and $20 for ages 18 to 61. Day-of registration is available between 7 and 8:15 a.m. at the Hampstead Meeting House next to the starting line. Non-perishable food for the St. Anne’s Food Bank will be collected on the day of the race. Leashed animals are welcome.
The 15th Lake Sunapee Turkey Trot at the Ben Mere Gazebo in Sunapee Harbor features a 1K Chicken Run for kids starting at 8:15 a.m. and a 5K Turkey Trot starting at 9 a.m. The cost for the Turkey Trot is $20 for ages 13 to 64, $10 for ages 65 and older and free for kids under 13. The Chicken Run is $10 for ages 13 and up and free for kids under 13. Proceeds will benefit the Sunapee Recreation Department’s new skateboard park on Route 11. The Sunapee Parent Teacher Organization will also hold a pie sale, with pies for $10 each. Visit sunapeeturkeytrot.com.
The Gilford Youth Center Turkey Trot 5K Race and Family Walk begins at 9 a.m. (8:45 a.m. for walkers) at the Gilford Youth Center (19 Potter Hill Road). Registration is $26 per person or $90 for a family of up to five. The first 100 registered participants will get a long-sleeve T-shirt. Visit gilfordyouthcenter.com.
The Rotary Club of Merrimack’s 5K Turkey Trot starts at 8 a.m. at Merrimack Middle School (31 Madeline Bennett Drive). Advance registration is $20 for adults and $15 for ages 13 and under. Online registration ends at 6 p.m. on Nov. 21. Race day registration is available (price increases to $25 for adults). The first 160 registrants receive a free T-shirt. Proceeds from this year’s event will be used to purchase coats for kids, holiday gifts for those less fortunate and for soup kitchen donations. Participants are encouraged to bring a canned good for donation. Visit merrimack5k.com.
The Seacoast Rotary Club Turkey Trot will be held at Strawbery Bank (66 Marcy St., Portsmouth) at 8:30 a.m. Registration costs $35 for ages 20 and up, $25 for ages 13 to 19 and $15 for ages 12 and younger. Online registration deadline is Nov. 23. Day-of registration is an additional $5. Visit runreg.com and search for the race. Proceeds benefit Connor’s Climb Foundation, which provides suicide prevention education, and the Seacoast Repertory Theatre.
The Thanks for Giving 5K and 10K, presented by the Exeter Run Club, starts at the Talbot Gymnasium Lot (40 Linden St., Exeter) at 8 a.m. The $30 for the 5K and $40 for the 10K. Online registration is available until Nov. 21. The race benefits Annie’s Angels Memorial Fund, Red’s Good Vibes and ERC community initiates for all ages. Visit exeterrunclub.com.
The Windham Turkey Trot features a 1-, 3-, or 5-mile walk or run. It starts at 74 Blossom Road at 9 a.m. The cost is by donation, and past donations have ranged from $10 to $1,000 (event expenses are covered by our generous sponsors). All proceeds benefit the Shepherd’s Pantry. Visit windhamturkeytrot.org.
Final runs of 2021
The Amherst Junior Women’s Club is hosting its annual Trot Off Your Turkey 5K and 1-mile Fun Run on Friday, Nov. 26, with the Fun Run starting at 9 a.m. and the 5K starting at 9:30 a.m. at the Amherst Town Green (11 Church St.). Registration is $10 for the Fun Run and $25 for the 5K. Online registration closes at noon on Nov. 23. The first 300 registered runners get a free mug.
Bishop Brady High School (25 Columbus Ave., Concord) will host its Galloping Gobbler 4-Miler on Saturday, Nov. 27, starting at 9:45 a.m. The cost is $20 for ages 15 and under and $30 for ages 16 and up. The first 300 registrants get a free T-shirt. To register, visit raceroster.com and search for the event. Proceeds benefit the tuition assistance program at Bishop Brady.
The Jingle All the Way 5K returns on Saturday, Dec. 4, at Cisco Brewers in Portsmouth. The Greg Hill Foundation hosts this event, which starts at 10 a.m. Holiday outfits are encouraged and best dressed runners will be awarded. Standard registration is $40 and includes a race long-sleeve shirt and medal, while the $100 Santa Special adds a quarter-zip pullover to the swag. There is a $30 virtual option that also includes the long-sleeve shirt and medal. Visit ghfjingle5k.com.
The Santa Claus Shuffle will be held Saturday, Dec. 4, at Veterans Park (889 Elm St., Manchester). The Lil’ Elf Runs start at 2:30 p.m. and the 3-mile Shuffle starts at 3 p.m. The run precedes the Manchester City Christmas Parade, which starts at 4 p.m. The cost for adults ages 12 and up is $30, youth ages 12 to 20 is $25 and kids ages 11 and younger is $10. Registration closes at 9 a.m. on Dec. 3. The virtual option is $25. Santa hats and suits are included with registration. The official charity of the Santa Claus Shuffle is Safe Sports Network. Visit millenniumrunning.com.
The 2021 Jingle Bell Run will be held Sunday, Dec. 5, at 8:30 a.m. at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium (1 Line Drive, Manchester). Registration is $35 and includes a T-shirt and jingle bells. A virtual option is available for $30. All proceeds benefit the Arthritis Foundation. Visit events.arthritis.org.
Run through the Gift of Lights display during the Yule Light Up the Night 2.1-mile run at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (1122 Route 106, Loudon) on Sunday, Dec. 12, at 4:30 p.m. Registration is $25 for ages 12 and up, $15 for ages 4 to 11 (costs for those age groups increase $5 on race day) and $10 for kids 10 and younger. Proceeds benefit Speedway Children’s Charities NH.
The 6th annual Ugly Sweater 4 Miler will be held Saturday, Dec. 18, at 9 a.m. at Backyard Brewery (1211 S. Mammoth Road, Manchester). Wear your ugliest sweater for the 21+ event. The cost is $40 and includes a Tito’s Handmade Vodka ugly sweater for the first 75 registrants. All registrants get a unisex fit long-sleeve shirt and one Tito’s Handmade Vodka signature cocktail. Proceeds benefit the Humane Society of Greater Nashua, the Animal Rescue League of NH and Pope Memorial SPCA Concord. Visit totalimagerunning.com.
The What’s Perry’s Age Again 4-mile run will be held Saturday, Dec. 18, at Bishop Brady High School (25 Columbus Ave., Concord) at 11 a.m. The cost is $25; register by Nov. 19 to get a long-sleeve T-shirt. The run supports Bishop Brady Habitat for Humanity. Visit runreg.com and search for the run.
Featured photo:Photo courtesy of Millennium Running.
Information from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. *Numbers not available on Oct. 26 when the state’s Covid dashboard was undergoing maintenance.
Covid-19 news
Due to a continued increase in Covid-19 numbers in New Hampshire, Gov. Chris Sununu recently announced that state officials will be returning to press conferences on a weekly basis.
During the state’s weekly public health update on Nov. 2, state epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan reported that New Hampshire continues to average between 500 and 600 new infections of the virus per day, while test positivity and hospitalization rates remain high. As of Nov. 8 there were 5,164 active infections of Covid-19 statewide and 212 current hospitalizations. All 10 counties in the state still remain at substantial levels of community transmission.
Pfizer vaccines are now available for kids ages 5 to 11 in New Hampshire, following the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s Oct. 29 authorization for emergency use. Dr. Chan said during the Nov. 2 press conference that 5- to 11-year-olds receive a smaller dose, about one-third of a dose compared to adolescents and adults. “Even with this smaller dose … it creates a similar antibody response, and has been shown to be effective at preventing symptomatic disease,” he said. A statewide map of locations by town can be found at vaccines.nh.gov.
OSHA vaccine mandate lawsuit
New Hampshire will join a coalition of states filing a lawsuit to challenge the Emergency Temporary Standard issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration mandating that all private employers with 100 or more employees require their employees to be vaccinated, or conduct weekly Covid-19 testing and implement mask requirements. The Petition for Judicial Review was filed in the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals on the morning of Nov. 5, Attorney General John M. Formella announced. New Hampshire is the 11th state to challenge the mandate, joining Missouri, Arizona, Nebraska, Montana, Arkansas, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Alaska and Wyoming, as well as a number of private businesses and organizations. “Covid vaccines are the most effective tool we have to protect ourselves and our community from this virus,” Gov. Sununu said in a statement. “but as the head of state, I recognize the limitations of government in mandating this personal medical decision. President Biden has created a loophole to facilitate this overreach, which is why I fully support the Attorney General’s decision to sign on to this lawsuit.”
No Senate for Sununu
Gov. Chris Sununu will not pursue a 2022 run for the U.S. Senate, but will seek re-election as the New Hampshire governor, he announced in a news conference on Nov. 9. According to WMUR, the decision is a surprise to Washington Republicans, who expected to see Sununu in a run for the Senate in a possible match-up against Sen. Maggie Hassan. “My responsibility is not to the gridlock and politics of Washington, it’s for the citizens of New Hampshire,” Sununu told reporters in Concord, according to WMUR. If reelected as governor, Sununu will be the second governor to serve four two-year terms, following Democrat John Lynch.
Craig re-elected
The Manchester mayoral election on Nov. 2 ended in another victory for incumbent Joyce Craig, as she was elected to her third term as the mayor of the state’s largest city. According to WMUR, Craig defeated former state Rep. Victoria Sullivan by a significant margin; the unofficial count from the Manchester City Clerk’s office on election day was 10,228 votes for Craig and 9,005 votes for Sullivan, a margin of 53 to 47 percent, with Craig winning eight of the city’s 12 wards. Craig won her first term in 2017, defeating incumbent Ted Gatsas, and her second term in 2019, defeating Sullivan by a margin of 56 to 43 percent. In her victory statement Craig reflected on the challenges that faced the city at the beginning of her second term, specifically in regard to the Covid-19 pandemic. “We took decisive action — developing guidelines, increasing access to city services, and providing free testing and vaccinations — all to ensure the health and safety of our community,” she said. “And through it all, we continued to move Manchester forward. We prioritized public safety, made investments in affordable housing, returned our students safely to the classrooms, and fostered economic growth.”
Veterans Day parade
The Manchester Veterans’ Council will present a Veterans Day Parade in Manchester on Thursday, Nov. 11, at 10:30 a.m. The parade will proceed down Elm Street starting at the north end and concluding at Veterans Park. Visit sweeneypost.org.
Enrollment open
The open enrollment period for the Healthcare.gov Marketplace, during which New Hampshire residents can purchase or change their Affordable Care Act individual health coverage for 2022, kicked off on Nov. 1 and will run through Jan. 15, 2022. According to a press release from the New Hampshire Insurance Department, New Hampshire has two Navigator grantees this year, First Choice Services and Health Market Connect, who will award a total of $1.6 million aimed at making affordable health insurance more accessible. Lower individual premium rates on the Marketplace were also made possible through a 1332 State Relief and Empowerment waiver approved in 2020, allowing New Hampshire to run a state-based reinsurance program that provides partial claim reimbursements to insurers from 2021 through 2025. “Premiums for individual and small group markets are the lowest in New England,” Gov. Chris Sununu said in a statement. Insurance companies offering ACA-compliant individual health insurance plans on the Marketplace for coverage through 2022 include Anthem, Ambetter from NH Healthy Families and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. Residents are still eligible to enroll for Marketplace insurance outside of the enrollment period if they have a life event such as a marriage, the birth of a child or a change in employment status, according to the release.
Sports betting
Retail locations for sports betting are now permitted to operate in Nashua, according to a press release from New Hampshire Lottery. The sports betting legislation drafted in 2019 allows individual communities in New Hampshire to have their residents vote on whether or not to allow the operation of sports betting retail locations in their own communities. Nashua residents voted to permit retail sports betting during city elections on Nov. 2, becoming the 21st community in the state to do so. There are currently three retail sportsbooks operating in the state, located in Seabrook, Manchester and Dover, and the New Hampshire Lottery and DraftKings are looking to eventually operate as many as 10, according to the release. September was the state’s largest sports betting month on record with more than $68.1 million wagered.
CASA of New Hampshire is hosting a virtual information session to recruit new advocates in the Manchester area on Wednesday, Nov. 17, at 5:30 p.m. CASA is a nonprofit that trains volunteers to advocate for children who have experienced abuse and neglect, according to a press release. To register for the session, visit casanh.org, click on the Volunteer tab and select Virtual Info Sessions.
The State Historical Resources Council has added six properties to the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places, according to a press release. Most locally, it includes the Milford Suspension Bridge, which has been in nearly continuous use since it was built in 1889, and the Goodhue House in Deerfield, which was built circa 1773 and is a Georgian-style, center chimney farmhouse with an attached ell, according to the release.
The Fairgrounds Middle School in Nashua, built in 1961, was rededicated on Nov. 4, according to a press release. It is the first phase of a $118 million middle school project that includes ongoing expansion and renovations at Pennichuck Middle School and the building of a new middle school at Buckmeadow Road, the release said.
The NH Tech Alliance TechWomen|TechGirls Annual Awards, delivered virtually this year, were presented to women who are making an impact in STEM education or professional advancements. The Tech Student of the Year is Isha Mistry of Salem High School, who graduated third in her class and was a part of her school’s FIRST robotics team and Girls Who Code. Tech Educator of the Year went to Kimberly Eckenrode, the Career and Technical Education Pathways Director at Nashua Community College. The Tech Professional of the Year is Melissa Jurkoic, Chief Customer Experience Officer at Addapptation.
Of all the words Carolyn Plummer might use to describe herself, “lucky” isn’t one. As a teenager Plummer won a pair of Grateful Dead passes, only to see the show canceled when Jerry Garcia died. In early 2020, she had the best spring of her comedy career lined up, and everyone knows how that turned out.
Quarantine led to a lot of soul-searching, Plummer said in a recent phone interview.
“I reassessed my whole life,” she said. “Like, why am I doing comedy? Should I have focused on a career? Should I have been a teacher?” Then, in February of this year, Denis Leary called with an invitation for Plummer to appear at the annual Comics Come Home benefit.
“That re-energized me to feel like I was on the right path,” she said. “Now I have a deeper appreciation for live shows and performing. I look at every performance now as an opportunity to meet more people and network and just enjoy it. … There’s a lot of sacrifice, but that kind of just brought everything full circle, that all the sacrifices made sense.”
Of course, the Nov. 13 Boston Garden show has been postponed for another year, but Plummer knows she’ll be on the next one. That’s a more tangible thing to hold on to than that Dead contest back when.
“They were will-call,” she said of the Boston Garden concert. “So I didn’t even have the tickets.”
A few comics mined the pandemic for new jokes, but not Plummer.
“I wasn’t very creative at the beginning. … My whole life just changed; it took a while to work through. I did a few things about contactless delivery; I don’t know why we didn’t have that in the past. I don’t need to have a relationship with the guy bringing the pizza to my house.”
A New Hampshire native — she grew up in Wolfeboro, a minister’s daughter — Plummer got into comedy after responding to an ad.
“This guy was teaching a class out of his mom’s condo in Manchester,” she said, adding with a chuckle, “That seemed safe to me at the time.”
It turned out well, and after a summer of learning, she began hitting open mic nights, eventually spending a lot of time in Portland, Maine.
“I met all the Boston guys; they would come up and do comedy,” she said. “I would watch them and go, ‘Wow, these guys are awesome’ — you know what I mean? Like Don Gavin, and all the greats: Lenny Clarke, Tony V….”
A big early break was the result of misfortune for Plummer.
“True story: On my 30th birthday, I got laid off,” she said. “Kelly MacFarland is one of my best friends, and she’s also a comic. She said, ‘I just met these guys, and they need another roommate, why don’t you go talk to them, and if it works out, move in there?’ I was like, ‘I don’t know, I don’t have a job.’ She said, ‘That’s the best time to go.’ I ended up moving back to Belmont, Mass., which I could never afford if I wasn’t in a roommate situation. … It kind of took off from there.”
While she’s performed in New York City, ventured to California for the Burbank Comedy Festival and even thought about moving west once or twice, Plummer is partial to living in and working in New England, particularly her home state.
“What I like about New Hampshire is it surprises you,” she said. “You might go to this tiny town in the middle of nowhere and have all these highly educated people that you’d think wouldn’t be living in the woods, fixing cars, being lumberjacks, and all this other stuff. You can’t make assumptions like that. … All the different towns are different.”
Carolyn Plummer & Friends
When: Friday, Nov. 5, 7:30 p.m. Where: Rex Theatre, 23 Amherst St., Manchester Tickets: $25 at palacetheatre.org
Featured photo: Comedian Carolyn Plummer. Courtesy photo.
A present-day young woman with a romantic view of 1960s London suddenly finds herself traveling there nightly in Last Night in Soho, a not-the-best but not-the-worst ghosty story from director Edgar Wright.
Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie) loves 1960s London fashion and the 1960s music her grandmother Peggy (Rita Tushingham) listens to. Stories of London are also tied up in Eloise’s mom (Aimee Cassettari), who died by suicide when Eloise was little but whom Eloise still appears to communicate with, such as when Eloise sees her smiling mother just before Peggy brings Eloise the letter saying she’s been accepted into a London fashion school.
Peggy doesn’t know that Eloise is still seeing her mom, but she she worries that the stress of the big city will get to Eloise. Eloise does get a little freaked out when the taxi driver’s chatter gets a little too friendly and she doesn’t quite fit in with her roommate at the school dorm, Jocasta (Synnove Karlsen), who instantly establishes herself as a queen bee.
When Eloise sees an ad for a studio apartment, she decides to move out on her own and is, at first, delighted by the space. In addition to an in-the-thick-of-things location, the apartment gives Eloise a psychic connection to a young woman who lived there decades earlier. When Eloise goes to sleep, she finds herself entering the life of Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy), a blonde with ambitions to be a singer. She goes to swanky clubs, wearing beautiful clothes, and she meets Jack (Matt Smith), a handsome man who offers to help her get gigs. Eloise is quickly enamored with this new life, even if it is somebody else’s that she’s sort of virtual-reality-ing her way into. In the waking world, she buys herself a coat like Sandie’s at a vintage shop, starts designing a dress for a class similar to one of Sandie’s cocktail dresses and even gets Sandie’s haircut. Some of Sandie’s flirting abilities even rub off on Eloise, who is slowly making a friend in classmate John (Michael Ajao).
But then Eloise sees some darker scenes from Sandie’s life and starts to wonder if all of these “ghosts” really are in the past or if there are dangers that have carried into the present — and if a mysterious older man (Terence Stamp) who hangs out at the bar where Eloise works is one of those dangers.
Many of the elements of Last Night in Soho are extremely fun — from Eloise’s whole 1960s mod thing (which reminded me of the 1990s swing revival) to everything about the catty Jocasta character. I like the relationship Eloise has with whatever her abilities are — she just sort of accepts that she is seeing ghosts, but she doesn’t entirely know yet how to interpret what she’s seeing. This character could have seemed extremely daffy and fragile but McKenzie makes her seem more just uncertain and sheltered but also aware of her naivete.
The movie also has a delightful-to-see supporting character, which I won’t spoil except to say I was both happy to get to spend time with this person and then sad when I realized it might be the last new role I see that person in.
Other elements of Last Night in Soho feel underbaked. Sandie’s story builds to high drama, but then it resolves sort of too fast. Am I saying I wished the movie had been longer? No? But maybe added to and then edited down again, with some of the choppier bits of the story smoothed out. B-
Rated R for bloody violence, sexual content, language, brief drug material and brief graphic nudity, according to the MPA on filmratings.com. Directed by Edgar Wright with a screenplay by Edgar Wright & Krysty Wilson-Cairns, Last Night in Soho is an hour and 56 minutes long and distributed by Focus Features.
Army of Thieves (TV-MA)
A group of quirky criminals attempts to crack three of the toughest safes ever created in Army of Thieves, a prequel to Army of the Dead focused on Matthias Schweighöfer’s Dieter.
In this movie, the zombie apocalypse has only just begun in Las Vegas, so while Dieter is worried about zombies and even having nightmares about them, he’s still working his boring job in an idyllic-seeming German town and eating his sad work sandwich under a tiny awning in an alleyway. Then he meets Gwendoline (Nathalie Emmanuel), who has watched his YouTube videos about safe-cracking and believes he just might have the ability to tackle the safes built decades earlier by a man named Hans Wagner. Like the Gotterdammerung, the safe Dieter faces in Army of the Dead, Wagner built three other safes named after parts of Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle. These safes are supposed to be impossible to crack and if someone tries and fails, the safe is supposed to lock forever.
Gwendoline wants to hit all three safes, which are set to be decommissioned soon. Tens of millions of dollars await all the members of the team if they succeed; those members include hacker Korina (Ruby O. Fee), getaway driver Rolph (Guz Khan) and muscle/crazy guy/Gwendoline’s boyfriend Brad Cage (Stuart Martin). But for Gwendoline and for Dieter, the real prize is in being about to meet the challenge of Wagner’s creations.
For Interpol agent Delacroix (Jonathan Cohen), his grand challenge is finding and catching Gwendoline. He quickly realizes that her plan is to go after all the safes and he is determined to catch her in the act — even though, as his fellow agents point out, there’s this whole zombie apocalypse thing, which might arguably be a bigger deal.
Maybe having absolutely no expectations for this thing after the “good ideas but long and sort of scattered” Army of the Dead helped because I kind of enjoyed this. Not loved it, not “wheeeee!” the whole time, just had some fun, some of the time. As this movie itself points out, the machinations of a heist in a heist movie, with its sleight of hand and misdirection and wigs, is always fun and we get a couple of examples of those in this movie. I also enjoyed the group dynamic. Everybody on this team is some kind of oddball and portrayed as such but with a light touch. Dieter is an excellent “talented dork” character, having gained his criminally useful safe-cracking skills from a love of puzzles and a childhood spent as an outsider.
The performances here also bring a good energy to this endeavor, which is peppy despite an over two-hour runtime. Emmanuel is the movie’s big star; I know her mostly from supporting roles on Game of Thrones and in the Fast and Furious movies but here she shows her ability to really carry off the blend of action, humor and general bad-assery that is needed for an action movie lead. Surely there’s some spy thing, some Marvel movie that can capitalize on this.
Army of Thieves feels like a perfect “let’s just watch something fun” movie that doesn’t require too much attention or brain power and delivers a reasonably good time. B-
RatedTV-MA. Directed by Matthias Schweighöfer with a screenplay by Shay Hatten, Army of Thieves is two hours and nine minutes long and is available on Netflix.
Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin (R)
A young woman makes a documentary about her search for her biological mother in Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin, a universe expansion sidequel/reboot thing.
It also took me a minute to remember that the intentional documentary as setup for a horror film was the premise of 1999’s The Blair Witch Project, not 2007’s original Paranormal Activity, which was largely home video camera footage. Here, Margot (Emily Bader) and her friend Chris (Roland Buck III) are making a documentary about an Amish family that she believes is related to her. Margot was adopted and all she initially knows about her birth mother comes from some hospital security footage showing her leaving baby Margot in a doorway. Now, 25-ish Margot has found Samuel (Henry Ayres-Brown), a 20-something Amish man that 23andMe says is related to her. Samuel, living apart from his family during his rumspringa, agrees to meet up with Margot and travel with Margot and Chris to the Baylor family farm, where Margot can learn more about her mother. The film team is joined by Dale (Dan Lippert), a big doofy sound guy, and a van loaded with equipment.
At first the family, represented by Jacob (Tom Nowicki), who we eventually learn is Margot’s biological grandfather, doesn’t want these outsiders hanging around. But he decides to let them stay and Margot and Chris try to uncover more about Margot’s mother from the fairly tight-lipped community. But along with the usual cultural differences between these filmmaker kids and the Amish farmers, Margot and Chris start to notice oddities — a middle-of-the-night meeting of torch-carrying farmers, odd noises from the supposedly uninhabited attic — that hint at something spookier.
At one point late in the film, Dale and Chris debate whether the Baylor family really is Amish at all, or just using it as a cover. But to what end, Chris asks. And that was kind of my feeling about the whole movie: to what end does the movie make any of the choices it does — from elements as large as the use of the documentary to set the plot in motion to smaller details, like specific creaks and “there was something else in the room” that don’t make much sense once you find out the nature of the Scary Thing.
Especially earlier on, the Paranormal Activity movies did a good job of letting its characters use video technology to freak themselves out; I remember watching (in the second one maybe?) footage of a pool cleaner for a while. Scary pool cleaner footage. Next of Kin feels like it has a lot more “things” happening, not just one small element of spookiness per scene, but the result is that the movie often gets in its own way and doesn’t offer a clear idea of why it’s showing us what it’s showing us. C
Rated R for violence and bloody images and language throughout, according to the MPA on filmratings.com (actually, the rating seems largely swear-word based, with some goriness shoved in at the end). Directed by William Eubank with a screenplay by Christopher Landon, Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin is an hour and 38 minutes long and is distributed by Paramount Pictures on Paramount+.
FILM
Venues
Bank of NH Stage 16 S. Main St., Concord 225-1111, banknhstage.com
The Music Hall 28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth 436-2400, themusichall.org
Red River Theatres 11 S. Main St., Concord 224-4600, redrivertheatres.org
Shows
• A Nightmare on Elm Street (R, 1984) part of the Film Frenzy $5 Classics series at O’neil Cinemas with multiple daily screenings through Thursday, Nov. 4.
• French Dispatch (R, 2021) on Thursday, Nov. 4, at 7 p.m. and Friday, Nov. 5, through Sunday, Nov. 7, at 1:30, 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. at Red River Theatres.
• Spencer (R, 2021) on Thursday, Nov. 4, at 6:30 p.m. and Friday, Nov. 5, through Sunday, Nov. 7, at 1, 4 and 7 p.m. at Red River Theatres in Concord.
• The Bolshoi Ballet — Spartacus, a broadcast presentation captured live, Sunday, Nov. 7, at 12:55 p.m. at the Bank of NH Stage in Concord. Tickets $15.
• The Big Parade (1925), a silent film with live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, on Thursday, Nov. 10, at 6:30 p.m. at the Flying Monkey. Tickets start at $10.
• 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 is free; $10 donation suggested.
• Warren Miller’s Winter Starts Nowat The Music Hall in Portsmouth, 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.
• National Theatre Live No Man’s Land,a broadcast of a play from London’s National Theatre, screening at the Bank of NH Stage in Concord on Sunday, Nov. 21, at 12:30 p.m. Tickets cost $15 ($12 for students).
Singin’ in the Rain
See Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Cyd Charisse and Rita Moreno in 1952’s musical film Singin’ in the Rain on Wednesday, Nov. 10, at 10 a.m. at the Rex Theatre (23 Amherst St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org, 668-5588), a Senior Movie Mornings screening. Tickets cost $10.
Featured photo: Last Night in Soho. Courtesy photo.
