Category: Featured Content

News & Notes 21/08/26

Covid-19 update As of August 16 As of August 23
Total cases statewide 103,462 105,302
Total current infections statewide 1,704 2,324
Total deaths statewide 1,395 1,402
New cases 1,345 (Aug. 10 to Aug. 16) 1,840 (Aug. 17 to Aug. 23)
Current infections: Hillsborough County 457 635
Current infections: Merrimack County 144 185
Current infections: Rockingham County 345 483
Information from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services

Covid-19 news

State health officials announced 174 new positive cases of Covid-19 in New Hampshire on Aug. 23. The state averaged 281 new cases per day over the most recent seven-day period, an increase of nearly 50 percent over those from the previous week. As of Aug. 23, there were 2,324 active infections statewide and 107 current hospitalizations due to the virus.

On Aug. 23, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration fully approved the Pfizer vaccine against Covid-19 for people ages 16 and older, according to a press release. The vaccine, which will now be marketed as Comirnaty, also continues to be available under emergency use authorization for people ages 12 to 15, and for the administration of a third dose in immunocompromised recipients. “While millions of people have already safely received Covid-19 vaccines, we recognize that for some, the FDA approval … may instill additional confidence to get vaccinated,” acting FDA commissioner Janet Woodcock said in a statement. “Today’s milestone puts us one step closer to altering the course of this pandemic in the U.S.”

Affordable housing

The New Hampshire Housing Board of Directors approved funding for 16 affordable multi-family rental housing developments during the fiscal year ending June 30, which will produce or preserve almost 1,000 units of affordable rental housing in the state’s communities. According to a press release, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits — a federal program that encourages developers and investors to create affordable multi-family housing for low- and moderate-income families by using tax credits — and other federal and state funding will support these projects. LIHTC-funded housing accounts for about 95 percent of publicly funded workforce housing produced in New Hampshire, the release said. Other funding sources that New Hampshire Housing administers for affordable housing include the federal HOME program and Housing Trust Fund, the state Affordable Housing Fund and tax-exempt bond financing. “The state and federal funding sources that New Hampshire Housing provides are essential financing tools for public and private developers to create and renovate affordable rental housing throughout the state,” Dean Christon, executive director of New Hampshire Housing, said in the release. Local projects include 42 general occupancy units in six townhouse-style buildings on Village Street in Concord, with; 74 general-occupancy units in Woodland Village in Goffstown; and 11 supportive housing units in the Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter, an adaptive reuse of a former school into units that will provide housing for people experiencing homelessness.

Drive sober

New Hampshire has rolled out this year’s Labor Day impaired driving high-visibility enforcement campaign, where drivers can expect to see increased law enforcement on the road now through Sept. 6 specifically targeting impaired drivers. The Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over initiative includes education efforts like messages on highway message boards, radio advertisements and social media public service campaigns, according to a press release. The New Hampshire State Police will work with 63 police departments for the border-to-border, statewide saturation patrol effort to reduce the number of crashes, injuries and fatalities due to impaired driving. Last year, 39 people died in alcohol-related crashes on New Hampshire roads, the release said. The New Hampshire Office of Highway Safety has several recommendations, including calling 911 if you see an impaired driver on the road; designating a sober driver or using a ride service; acknowledging that buzzed driving is drunk driving; and taking the keys of a friend who is about to drink and drive and making arrangements to get them home safely. The campaign is being funded by the New Hampshire Office of Highway Safety and grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Granite Tax Connect

The third and final phase of Granite Tax Connect — the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration’s new online user portal and revenue management system — is now up and running. According to a press release, Granite Tax Connect provides an improved online experience to approximately 148,000 New Hampshire taxpayers, tax preparers and customers of the Tobacco/Smokeless Tobacco Tax, Real Estate Transfer Tax, Private Car/Railroad Tax, Utility Property Tax and Low to Moderate Income Credit. The system allows people to complete tasks online, such as filing taxes electronically, scheduling automated online payments, checking on the status of returns, payments, refund and credit requests and more. It also allows customers of certain tax types to complete additional tasks; wholesalers, manufacturers, taxpayers, practitioners and all DRA customers associated with the Tobacco/Smokeless Tobacco Tax, for example, can renew licenses, pay taxes electronically, view reports such as the Tobacco License lookup and License Additions/Deletions and more, according to the release. The state’s e-file for counties will no longer be available as of Jan. 1, so it is imperative to create an account prior to that date, the release said.

Police oversight

A commission at the New Hampshire State House has formed to try to create an independent police oversight body that would process reports of police misconduct in the state, according to WMUR. The effort has been backed by Gov. Chris Sununu and the Law Enforcement Accountability Commission established last year, but has not yet made it through the Legislature. Chaired by Attorney General John Formella, the commission has until Nov. 1 to work on the proposal.

Cyberthieves

The Town of Peterborough had $2.3 million stolen in two cases of cybertheft, according to NHPR. First $1.2 million was intercepted while being transferred from the Town to the ConVal School District. Investigation by the U.S. Secret Service Cyber Fraud Task Force revealed that the thieves had posed as school district staff and used forged documents and email accounts to access the transfer. Several weeks later, the thieves used a similar tactic to intercept funds being transferred to contractors for construction on the Main Street Bridge project. The money cannot be recovered by reversing the transactions as it was converted to cryptocurrency, and it has not yet been determined whether insurance will cover any of the losses. The Town’s total budget for this fiscal year is a little over $15.8 million, according to the article.

Downtown Concord has two new art pieces on North Main Street. According to a press release, “Into the Wind” and “Sunflower from Mars,” both created by Chris Plaisted, have been installed in front of The Works Cafe and near The POST Downtown and Parlor Salon, respectively. The sculptures are part of the 4th Annual Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit, Art on Main, a free, open-air, 24/7 year-round outdoor art exhibition, the release said.

All online processing fees, including fees for vehicle registrations, taxes and parking tickets, will be waived for Manchester residents for the next year, according to a press release. “By waiving online service fees, we’re hoping more residents who may be nervous about the rise in Covid cases take advantage of the convenience of engaging in city services online, rather than coming into City Hall in person,” Mayor Joyce Craig said in the release.

More than 275 children swam, biked and ran in the annual Kid’s Try-athlon at the Bedford Town Hall and Bedford High School on Aug. 15, according to a press release. The event benefited Friends of Aine, a nonprofit organization providing bereavement support services to grieving children, teens and families.

New Hampshire’s first finding of West Nile virus this year was detected in a mosquito batch in Salem on Aug. 3. According to a press release, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services has elevated the risk from the baseline level to low.

Primary care

Some of us may remember Marcus Welby, M.D., the TV show that highlighted the general practitioner who made house calls. I have vivid early childhood memories of my own family’s doctor, Dr. Gerry, coming to the house to tend to a sick family member. Years later I learned to make house calls, first as a medical student and then in my family medicine residency training. I can recall important moments visiting patients in their homes when I practiced in Lawrence, Massachusetts. My husband, also a family physician, recently mentioned a house call he made; this got me wondering why the thought of house calls provokes such strong and fond memories. I believe it is that they highlight the trust I had — first with my family doc, and then the trust I engendered with my patients.

Amid the flurry of misleading claims and disinformation about the Covid vaccine, we’re hearing recommendations to speak to one’s primary care provider for information we can trust about the Covid vaccine. A survey by the Larry A. Green Center revealed that people who were previously vaccine hesitant who then got vaccinated reported that receiving advice from their own doctor is what changed their mind. It makes sense that receiving advice tailored to one’s own health profile in one-on-one conversations provides a supportive and caring space to address questions and concerns in a way that results in increased confidence.

A robust primary care system is important for having better health as a country overall, and the essential elements of primary care are that it be comprehensive, continuous, accessible and coordinated. In other words, they’re always there for me when I need them, no matter what the complaint or concern, they can address most of my needs directly, and when additional help is needed they can connect me with who I need to see while keeping track of the various providers and recommendations to address my needs — all while supporting my ability to understand and take care of myself. These essential elements together contribute to building authentic relationship, and relationship is foundational to trust.

When people are talking about complex things like the Covid-19 virus and the pandemic we’re in, it’s important to have a trusting relationship with a health care provider with true expertise in medical science — whether an individual person or a practice — to help us sort through the noise presented to us by social media and politics. While house calls are less common today, trust is still at the center of the doctor-patient relationship. Your primary care provider stands ready to give it to you straight about the Covid-19 vaccine and is prepared to answer any questions you might have with your best interests at heart.

Four funny nights

Hampton Beach Comedy Festival returns

Through the years, some things haven’t changed at the Hampton Beach Comedy Festival. Rule No. 1 is that every comic there has to make Jimmy Dunn laugh. Rule No. 2 is that he has to like them — after all, the whole thing began as a hang in 2009, when Dunn, a year-round beach resident, invited a bunch of his friends for a barbecue that ended with a show at Ashworth by the Sea.

It grew to four nights, with many of the same faces, and a few new ones every year working the crowds, then repairing to Playland Arcade for a highly competitive hybrid of cards and skee-ball, followed by after-hours poker — basically a comedy festival that’s an excuse for a rolling party.

“I got my crew of comics, my friends, and it’s sort of how comedy works in New England,” Dunn said in a recent phone interview as he ran down this year’s lineup. “I try and mix it up, bring in some comics that I don’t generally put on shows with me … give some other people opportunities and mix it up for the fans.”

Making their debut are John Reiman, a comedy veteran who spent several years as a writer on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

“He’s been around forever, we just never were able to get him,” Dunn said. “He’s very funny, and he grew up in North Hampton, so he’s also a hometown guy.”

Another newcomer is Peter Martin, a Boston comic whom Dunn calls “explosively funny … I did a show with him; I was watching him just destroy a room, and I went, ‘Oh, man. I don’t know if I could follow this kid tonight.’ That’s how he got my attention. Since then, I’ve seen him a bunch of times.”

Will Noonan was a newcomer in the festival’s early days who’s grown into a regional headliner. Dunn remembers Noonan as an eager-to-please youngster when he first arrived.

“He had this Elvis Costello suit on, and he went up and absolutely killed it,” he said in 2019. “I was like, ‘Who is this kid? This is awesome!’ We’ve become really good buddies.”

Among those also returning are longtime favorite Lamont Price, Kelly MacFarland, Mark Riley, Dan Boulger and Chris D, who first performed in 2019. There are seven or eight comics on each show, making for a rapid-fire night of laughs, and special guests are always a strong possibility.

As in past years, Dunn will close each night, and Dave Rattigan will host.

That the festival is happening at all is a minor miracle. A last-minute offer from Tom McGuirk, who owns the eponymous Ocean View Hotel & Restaurant, saved the long weekend.

“He said, ‘Hey, we’d love to have it down here,’ and we looked at it and said, ‘This would be really cool,’” Dunn said. “I guess he’d been to a few of the festivals in the past at the Ashworth and is a comedy fan.”

The Ashworth was “in over their heads with staffing issues and trying to get all the weddings through that they could, and they just couldn’t accommodate us,” Dunn said. “We lucked out, because I thought we were done.”

Dunn’s best friend Tony V. will perform. The two have a podcast called Two Boston Guys Whack Up A Pie.

“The premise was we’d get together and get some kind of pie, apple, blueberry, sit there and have a slice. That’s just such a Boston expression — ‘You want to whack up a large pizza pie?’ But we found out pretty quickly that people didn’t like hearing us eat at the same time we’re talking.”

The show is usually Dunn and Tony V. commiserating about current events and comedy, but recently they hosted Bobcat Goldthwait, who’s been a friend of both since their open mic days in Cambridge at the Ding Ho and other clubs.

“He eats like everybody else,” Dunn said. “He’s getting back out on the road doing stand-up and wanted to plug some dates up here in New England. We get along great with Bob, so we had him on. Technically, it was not our best episode, but he’s a really funny man.”

Hampton Beach Comedy Festival
When: Thursday, Aug. 19, to Sunday, Aug. 22, at 8 p.m.
Where: McGuirk’s Ocean View, 98 Ocean Blvd., Hampton
Tickets: $20/show at happsnow.com

Thursday
Jimmy Dunn
Chris D
Dan Boulger
Mike Whitman
Dan Crohn
Liam McGurk
Graig Murphy
Dave Rattigan

Friday
Jimmy Dunn
Will Noonan
Jeff Koen
Steve Scarfo
Tony V
Janet McNamara
Dave Rattigan

Saturday
Jimmy Dunn
Steve Bjork
Lamont Price
Dan Miller
Carolyn Plummer
Andrew Della Volpe
Don Zollo
Dave Rattigan

Sunday
Jimmy Dunn
Kelly MacFarland
Mark Riley
Jason Merrill
Peter Martin
Jon Rineman
Dave Rattigan

Featured photo: Jimmy Dunn. Courtesy photo.

Riverwalk redux

Honeysuckle brings live music back at beloved Nashua venue

Released in early spring, the latest album from Honeysuckle is called Great Divide. It’s a title with multiple meanings: a reference to today’s fractious national mood, evidenced by cover art of a house cracking to pieces, as well as a nod to the line between normal life and the masked, distanced one people came to live in the past year and a half.

The pandemic shaped the band’s art, Holly McGarry said in a recent phone interview. A planned EP stretched to 10 songs when she and bandmate/boyfriend Chris Boniarz got stranded at his parents’ house when lockdown began and ended their tour.

“That kind of forced indoor reflective time,” she said. “Then it changed a little bit of the tone.”

The title is also a reference to personal — and personnel — changes, McGarry said. In late 2019 Ben Burns left after seven years, changing Honeysuckle from a trio to a duo.

“We’ve had divides in every part of our lives. I mean, I lost jobs, and we lost gigs. We lost a bandmate. … There’s just been a big separation from what was and what is, for better or worse.”

Honeysuckle began at Berklee College of Music, when McGarry and Burns began writing together for school projects, and she started dating Bloniarz; the two men were in a band together. One day Burns played a harmonized line in a song and Bloniarz jumped in with his instrument, and an ‘aha’ moment happened.

“As sad as we are to not be able to play his songs, have him with us live and on records, everybody has to do what’s right for themselves, “ McGarry said of Burns’ departure. “Music is a passion and it’s a multi-layered thing, but it’s also a job. Everyone’s entitled to move on to whatever that next phase of life is that they want. So it was amicable.”

Great Divide is Honeysuckle’s fifth record, following the debut EP Arrows in 2015, an eponymous 2016 disc, Catacombs in 2017 and 2019’s Fire Starter. On the most recent LP, Boniarz and McGarry were co-writing more together, and shifting the band’s sound in the process.

“It’s been really interesting because Chris comes from a little different musical background, a little more rocking, I guess,” she said soon after it was released. “He loves Metallica. … It’s brought a slightly different flavor to things.”

Producer Benny Grotto, who worked with them on previous projects, proved invaluable on the new record, in a difficult time to work.

“If we had to involve more people than just Benny, it probably wouldn’t have been possible to do it over the pandemic,” McGarry said. “Because he was able to engineer, produce, mix and play drums and percussion, we were able to just have that little pod of the three of us.”

Now that they’re a duo, Boniarz is stretching out, McGarry said.

“It’s empowered him to … bring new parts of his multi-instrumental abilities to the group. We have a synthesizer that we’ve been using to fill in those lower frequencies. We’re having fun being a little bit more experimental with what we can do in the studio, and what we can do live,” she said.

This new direction is apparent on Great Divide’s dreamy title track, which McGarry names as one of her favorites on the new release, along with “Cycles,” a rollicking song with Boniarz on lead vocals.

“Chris is doing more looping now, and with the synthesizer we can add percussive beats to certain songs,” she said. “That’s what we’re trying to transition into … seeing if we can adapt and layer more things with the mandolin.”

They’re repurposing their studio tricks for live shows like the upcoming one at Nashua’s Riverwalk Café. Sponsored by Symphony New Hampshire, it’s the first in-person show at the venue since it stopped doing regular live music events in 2019. Honeysuckle was a frequent guest in those days.

“We’ve always really loved playing Riverwalk, and we were very sad when they stopped doing music there,” McGarry said. “So it’s going to be nostalgic and special to be back.”

Honeysuckle
When: Thursday, Aug. 26, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Riverwalk Café and Music Bar, 35 Railroad Square, Nashua
Tickets: $20 at eventbrite.com

Featured photo: Honeysuckle. Photo credit: Crhis Cruz.

Free Guy

Free Guy (PG-13)

Ryan Reynolds is a video game character who breaks free of his programming in Free Guy, a movie about the nature of existence, the value of creation for creation’s sake and the usefulness of highly recognizable intellectual properties.

There is something unintentionally meta about seeing this movie in a theater due to that last factor (this movie is from Fox, which is now owned by Disney — and that’s as spoilery as I’ll get except to say that if you are inclined to see a movie in the theater this one might be worth it if only for that element).

Is that vague and a little confusing? So are elements of Guy’s (Reynolds) life. Guy wakes up each day, puts on the same blue shirt and khaki pants, orders the same coffee and heads to his job at the bank (where he stamps the day’s date on deposit slips as simply “today”) where he constantly finds himself diving for the floor during one of a countless number of bank robberies every day. The robberies — and the many stick-ups of his friend who works at the corner store and the constant car chase/gun battles and the streets filled with pro-wrestler-ishly attired criminals — are all just a part of life in Free City, which for Guy is the only world he’s ever known but for all the people wandering around causing mayhem is an elaborate multiplayer video game where players earn points for committing crimes and stashing guns and the like. Guy doesn’t know this until he meets Millie (Jodie Comer), a player who doesn’t realize that the suddenly independent-acting Guy is really an NPC — a non-player character.

Millie isn’t just any player, she’s the designer of a game — built to grow and learn but without all the violence and crime of Free City — that she thinks was used without credit (or compensation) to build Free City. She is seeking proof that Free City’s creator, Antoine (Taika Waititi), stole her code and is fairly certain she’ll find it inside the game. When she meets Guy — who has just taken some sunglasses from a player and can suddenly see the various power-ups and game money floating everywhere — she tells him to go level up and then find her if he wants to help her on her quest. To Millie’s surprise, Guy does just that, essentially becoming an in-game superhero by stopping the players from committing quite so much violence on the other NPCs. To Antoine’s surprise, Guy becomes a kind of folk hero to the people playing the game who wonder just what he is and what his actions say about the way they treat the heretofore disposable-seeming NPCs.

As Guy joins Millie on her quest, they both get a little help from Keys (Joe Keery), Millie’s former partner on the possibly stolen video game. He works for Antoine now but he seems ambivalent about the virtual world of Antoine’s that he has helped to create.

I was looking forward to this movie because I thought it looked like goofy Ryan Reynolds fun, kind of a clueless Deadpool with video game-y action. And, sure, there’s some of this; that tone is definitely the way the movie presents itself. But underneath that is something, shockingly, deeper with thoughts about what makes something “living” and what that means — is Guy alive because of the way he acts (unpredictably, with signs of choice and learning and growing) and is Guy human, with all that implies about the worth of his existence (and the wrongness of someone intentionally causing his death), because he seems to be alive? What makes something real — is, as Guy’s NPC friend Buddy (Lil Rel Howery) seems to argue, their existence, video-game-situated though it may be, real because the emotions behind it are real? What does that mean about the players (and what does that mean about their careless violence toward the NPCs in the game)?

This and other questions about the very nature of the story we’re watching are presented with a relatively light touch in the sense that I don’t think the movie necessarily gives us answers. It’s more like it offers up these surprisingly interesting ideas but then plays out this very commercial movie around it, allowing us to both laugh at some Reynolds silliness and leave the theater with some “huh, what is the nature of existence?” type thoughts, without one getting in the way of the other.

Reynolds is able to keep this balance up perfectly; he can offer the sincere-jokey-sincere sandwich required here without it seeming too slick or contrived. And he’s surrounded by a cast — including Comer — who is equally adept at bringing just the right slightly askew energy. Free Guy isn’t exactly what I expected but it was somehow exactly the kind of “fun but with more” movie I needed. B

Rated PG-13 for strong fantasy violence throughout, language and crude/suggestive references, according to the MPA on filmratings.com. Directed by Shawn Levy with a screenplay by Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn, Free Guy is an hour and 55 minutes long and is distributed by 20th Century Studios.

FILM

Venues

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

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

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

Shows

The Lorax (PG, 2012) a “Little Lunch Date” screening at Chunky’s in Manchester, Nashua & Pelham on Wednesday, Aug. 18, at 11:30 a.m. Reserve tickets in advance with $5 food vouchers. The screening is kid-friendly, with lights dimmed slightly, according to the website.

• Frozen (PG, 2013) at the Rex Theatre, on Wednesday, Aug. 18, 7 p.m. with a portion of the proceeds going to Ballet Misha. Tickets cost $12.

• Walk the Line(PG-13, 2005) a senior showing on Thursday, Aug 19, at 11:30 a.m. at Chunky’s in Manchester, Nashua and Pelham. Admission is free but reserve tickets in advance with $5 food vouchers.

• The Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour (NR, 2021) at Red River on Friday, Aug. 20, through Sunday, Aug. 22, at 12:30 and 6 p.m.

• Swan Song (NR, 2021) Red River Friday, Aug. 20, through Sunday, Aug. 22, at 1 p.m. and 6:45 p.m.

• CatVideoFest 2021 (NR, 2021) at Red River Friday, Aug. 20, through Sunday, Aug. 22, at 3:15 p.m.

• Pig (R, 2021) at Red River Theatres on Friday, Aug. 20, through Sunday, Aug. 22, at 4 p.m.

• American Graffiti (PG, 1973) screening outdoors in front of the Red River Theatres marquee in downtown Concord as part of Market Days on Friday, Aug. 20, at dusk.

• Theater Candy Bingo on Sunday, Aug. 22, at 6:30 p.m. at Chunky’s in Manchester and Nashua. Admission costs $4.99 plus a box of candy.

• Paw Patrol: The Movie (G, 2021) a sensory-friendly screening, with sound lowered and lights up, on Saturday, Aug. 21, 10 a.m. at O’neil.

• National Theatre Live Skylight a broadcast of a play from London’s National Theatre, at the Bank of NH Stage Sunday, Aug. 22, at 12:30 p.m. Tickets cost $15 ($12 for students).

• Mantrap (1926) silent film directed by Victor Fleming with live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, on Sunday, Aug. 22, 2 p.m. at Wilton Town Hall Theatre. A $10 donation per person is suggested.

Featured photo: Free Guy. Courtesy photo.

World flavors

We Are One Festival celebrates 20 years of multicultural food and performances

A celebration of the state’s Latin-American, African and Caribbean communities, the We Are One Festival features authentic food, live performances, crafters and more. The free event will celebrate its 20th year at Veterans Memorial Park in Manchester on Saturday, Aug. 21.

Scenes from previous years at the We Are One festival. Courtesy photo.

The festival as it is known today first came together in 2013, after two separate events that were held in the Granite State from 2001 to 2012 — a Latino Festival organized by Latino Unidos de New Hampshire, and an annual African-Caribbean celebration organized by Ujima Collective — each combined their resources. Last year’s event was reorganized as a community health fair, with limited attendance and a greater emphasis on education about the pandemic’s impacts.

“We’re excited about having it. … I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to have the festival as close to what we’re used to having,” said Sudi Lett, who is co-chairing the We Are One Festival’s planning committee with Shaunte Whitted. “At the same time, we know that Covid is still very much a factor, so we’re just trying to take that into account as well.”

One of the biggest draws to the festival each year is the food, and you’ll find a diverse array of options available throughout the day. Local vendors include both restaurants and community members, with usually every cuisine from Dominican, Colombian and Puerto Rican to Congolese, Sudanese and Liberian represented. Featured dishes will often run the gamut from beef or pork to vegetarian options, and other ethnic staples like chivo (goat), rice and beans or stewed chicken. Don Quijote Restaurant in Manchester, for example, is a longtime participant of the festival that will be returning as a vendor once again with Caribbean options, Lett said.

“We’re looking to add more people to participate, even leading right up to the festival,” he said.

While there won’t be a large performance stage at the park as in years past, Lett said there are a few local musicians due to return to the festival this year, including African drummers and R&B and soul artists. The We Are One festival often also features local vendors selling their wares, from handcrafted jewelry to artwork, clothing and more, as well as a back-to-school giveaway featuring backpacks stuffed with school supplies for kids.

A health fair hosted by the NH Black Women Health Project will also be a part of this year’s event. Lett said there will be onsite Covid-19 testing and vaccinations at the park.

We Are One Festival

When: Saturday, Aug. 21, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Where: Veterans Memorial Park, 723 Elm St., Manchester
Cost: Free admission; food is priced per item
More info: Email festival co-chair Sudi Lett at [email protected] or search “We Are One Festival 20 Year Celebration” on Facebook
Event is rain or shine. Masks or face-coverings are optional.

Featured photo: Scenes from previous years at the We Are One festival. Courtesy photo.

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