The stores are full of patriotic paraphernalia right now. I can skip past the metallic flag pinwheels; the red, white and blue wreaths; even the super-fuzzy flag blanket. But anything emblazoned with “America the Beautiful”? I start singing.
Katherine Lee Bates wrote the poem that would become the lyrics of our unofficial national anthem in 1893, inspired by the vista from Pikes Peak in Colorado. Samuel Augustus Ward had composed the melody earlier and in 1910 the words and music were wed. To me as a kid, “America the Beautiful” ranked right up there in holiness with “Silent Night.” Fifty years later at a family reunion I shivered with emotion as we cousins from across the country sang it together. Imagine my delight during this year of division when I stumbled on a new rendition by New Hampshire folk musician Steve Schuch. Weaving together Bates’ words and others inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Schuch and collaborators created a version that seeks to unite all ages, colors, religions and voices, a vision of America for everyone. You can listen and download sheet music at americathedream.org.
Another iteration of “America the Beautiful” is in a recent report recommending how to meet President Biden’s ambitious “30 by 30” environmental goal. Biden’s challenge to Americans is to conserve at least 30 percent of our lands and waters by 2030. Although the report describes principles rather than plans, one step endorsed is creation of a Civilian Climate Corps. Echoing FDR’s Civilian Conservation Corps, Biden’s program would put a new, diverse generation of Americans to work in well-paid jobs that restore the environment and build community resilience to climate extremes. Unlike the original CCC, Biden’s would include women and people of color.
I hiked Mt. Pemigewasset last week. It’s a popular mountain in Franconia Notch, not as rigorous as the towering 4,000-footers but high enough to provide a spectacular vista. Stepping out of pine forest onto bare ledges near the summit sent strains of “America the Beautiful” pulsing through me. According to New Hampshire’s 52 with a View: A Hiker’s Guide, Frank O. Carpenter wrote about this “striking view” and the “rugged shoulders of LaFayette” in his own guidebook in 1898, not long after Bates penned her anthemic poem. In the 1930s, Roosevelt’s CCC cleared hiking and ski trails in this area, enabling generations to appreciate New Hampshire’s beauty.
I’m grateful to those who inspire me with their words and music and to those who have protected some of our lands and waters. I am hopeful that a new generation of much more environment-concerned Americans can lead the way in meeting the 30 percent by 2030 challenge. That’s the Americana I buy.
Poor Amy Adams plays a severely agoraphobic woman who believes she’s witnessed a murder in The Woman in the Window, a long-delayed movie (and not just because of the pandemic, as is clear from watching the movie) now available on Netflix.
I mean, like, poor poor Amy Adams, who can be so good (Enchanted! Arrival!) but has just been saddled with some real nonsense lately, to include all the Zack Snyder Lois Lane stuff, the mess that was Hillbilly Elegy and now this. And she tries, she gives this movie more than it deserves, but unlike Emily Blunt, who was the best thing about the otherwise borderline-silly The Girl on the Train, Amy Adams feels a bit like she’s being drowned by all the suspense melodrama.
Anna Fox (Adams) is a child psychologist but it seems like she is currently on a sabbatical and just focused on regaining her own health. Her own psychiatrist (Tracy Letts, the playwright and screenwriter who adapted this screenplay from the book by A.J. Finn) is working on finding her a medication that will help her with her anxiety and depression and with the agoraphobia that keeps her trapped in her thankfully large brownstone. Based on a conversation she has with her husband, Ed (Anthony Mackie), from whom she is separated and who is with their young daughter, Olivia (Mariah Bozeman), Anna spends a lot of her days staring out the window and watching her neighbors. She does some post-neighbor-watching Google-stalking as well, which is how she knows what the Russells, the family newly moved in across the street, have paid for the house and that they don’t have much of an internet presence.
Soon, though, the Russell family bleeds into her life a bit. Fifteen-year-old Ethan Russell (Fred Hechniger) brings over a gift from his mother. His father, Alistair Russell (Gary Oldman), hires David (Wyatt Russell), Anna’s tenant who lives in a basement apartment, to do some handyman work. And on Halloween, when Anna’s candy-free house is being pelted with eggs, Anna, who can barely bring herself to open the door and then faints when she does, meets and spends time with Ethan’s mom (Julianne Moore), who Anna’s snooping has told her is Jane Russell. Jane drops a lot of hints about the possible dark side of Alistair and is just generally kind of oddball in that way that certain Julianne Moore characters can be. But Anna has a good time with her and even seems to have made a friend.
Or has she? Has she even met Jane Russell? And later, when she thinks some harm befalls Jane, what has she actually seen, if anything at all? Despite advice, Anna can’t seem to stop herself from mixing her powerful psychiatric drugs with what seems like a steady stream of red wine. Between this mix of intoxicants and her general jumpiness that has her quick to call 911 at every hint of trouble, not only are police detectives Little (Brian Tyree Henry) and Norelli (Jeanine Serralles) unsure what to believe but even Anna can’t be sure of what she’s seen.
On paper, all of this is fine — Rear Window-ness, unreliable narrator, spacious if spookily lit real estate. And the movie has a cast of solid performers. But I feel like tone is where this movie sort of falls apart. It can’t decide if it’s playing things straight: the drama of Anna’s condition meets the suspense of the mystery of the Russells, or some pulpier blend of suspense and thrills peppered with some very dark comedy. I feel like we get examples of both — with more pulp as the movie goes on — but the lack of tonal consistency makes it hard to, say, enjoy it for the melodrama or take Adams’ performance very seriously. She’s giving A Lot of performance — which also doesn’t seem to hit exactly the right tone ever — but it feels like she is often more serious or more sudsy than the movie around her.
I didn’t dislike The Woman in the Window much in the same way I didn’t dislike last fall’s unremarkable Rebecca or the recent, slightly goofy ghost story Things Seen and Heard. Netflix actually feels like it would be a sensible outlet for prestige, movie star versions of cheap thrillers, higher-budget versions of basic cable movies about shady husbands and Muhr-Der. It’s just too bad for Adams in particular that this movie couldn’t be a nudge or two better. C
Rated R for violence and language, according to the MPA on filmratings.com. Directed by Joe Wright with a screenplay by Tracy Letts (from the book of the same name by A.J. Finn), The Woman in the Window is an hour and 40 minutes long and is available on Netflix.
Those Who Wish Me Dead (R)
Angelina Jolie is a forest firefighter running from flames and assassins to keep a kid safe in Those Who Wish Me Dead, an entertaining-enough action movie available on HBO Max and in theaters.
Hannah (Jolie) drinks too much and does potentially self-destructive stuff like parachuting off the back of a pickup truck driving fast on a wooded road. As her ex-boyfriend, Sheriff Ethan (Jon Bernthal), knows, this tough-lady stuff is all her way of self-destructively coping with her trauma and regret from a fire that trapped her team, resulting in the deaths of one firefighter and a group of kids who were stuck on a hillside. She is punished for this by being assigned to a forest fire tower for a year. On the downside, she is stuck here alone (with no toilet), but on the bright side (not really) it gives her lots of time to stare at the horizon and cry.
On the slightly brighter side, Hannah’s exile means that she is in the woods when the 11-ish-year-old Connor (Finn Little) needs someone to turn to. Connor and his father Owen (Jake Weber) are on the run after Owen’s boss, a Florida district attorney, is killed. Owen believes that the criminal organization (whose representative here is played by Tyler Perry, who is fun and could have used more screen time) that he has been investigating is now after him. Owen heads to Ethan, his late wife’s brother, whose ranch-y home, shared with pregnant wife Allison (Medina Senghore), seems like a good place to hide out. That plan would have been more successful if he didn’t have a picture of Ethan and his ranch hanging on the wall of his house as a big clue for assassins Jack (Aidan Gillen) and Patrick (Nicholas Hoult).
When Hannah finds a frightened Connor wandering in the forest, she is able to convince him that she’s a friendly but they face a series of obstacles: Hannah’s communication equipment has just been fried by a lightning strike. It’s a significant walk into town. Some of that walk will be through what is essentially a field of lightning. Jack and Patrick are on the hunt for Connor. And lastly, a big chunk of the forest they’re in the middle of is on fire.
Angelina Jolie is never not Angelina Jolie in this movie; there is nothing about her that believably suggests a hard-living firefighter. But as a movie star in an action film, she’s fine. She can sell the physicality of the part well enough and once we get over the hump of setting up Hannah’s backstory situation, the movie is pretty immediate-problem-solving-based. The problem is getting through this lightning field, the problem is hiding from Jack and Patrick, the problem is getting Connor in touch with “the News,” which was what his father told him to do if they were ever separated. (That plan has some practical flaws but in the general “don’t worry about it too much, this is an action movie” sense is fine because it gets the information disseminated and removes the point of killing Connor — aside from just revenge, I guess.) Chases through the forest and fights in front of a scary fire-lit background are the point of this movie and it executes them competently. I basically enjoyed this movie as I was watching it — particularly Senghore’s performance and character, she is the movie’s truly believable bad-ass — and while I wouldn’t recommend going out of your way to find it, if you already have HBO Max, it is perfectly acceptable low-effort entertainment. B-
Rated R for strong violence and language throughout, according to the MPA on filmratings.com. Directed by Taylor Sheridan with a screenplay by Michael Koryta and Charles Leavitt and Taylor Sheridan, Those Who With Me Dead is an hour and 40 minutes long and distributed by New Line Cinemas. It is available on HBO Max and is screening in theaters.
Farmers markets open with plans for a more lively summer
Ledge Top Farm in Wilton is a vendor at this year’s Milford Farmers Market. Courtesy photo.
Adrienne Colsia wasn’t sure what the Milford Farmers Market’s first day back outdoors would bring. The market canceled its entire indoor season this winter — though to make up for some lost dates, it remained outdoors for six additional weeks through Nov. 21 last year.
On May 8, the market kicked off its summer season more than a month earlier than normal, at its usual outdoor spot at 300 Elm St. across from the New Hampshire Antique Co-op.
“Usually you never know with that first market, but it was very well-attended. I had a lot more people come out than I was expecting,” said Colsia, who manages the market and also co-owns Paradise Farm in Lyndeborough, one of its featured vendors. “I actually had several vendors that day tell me that they had broken their own sales records for one market.”
At least 19 vendors are on the schedule each week, offering a wide variety of items from beef, poultry and fresh produce to prepared meals, cheeses, baked goods, craft beer and wine.
For the time being, Colsia said, masks are still required and sampling is not allowed. But other features of the market, such as live music in the center of the lot, may be returning soon.
As the summer market season returns in the Granite State, pandemic regulations and restrictions that were implemented last year may still be in effect or may be eased a bit. According to Gail McWilliam Jellie, director of agricultural development for the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food, it will all likely vary depending on where you go — each individual market, she said, can have its own guidelines encouraging masks or one-way shopping, or temporarily suspending product sampling, live entertainment or demonstrations.
Here’s a look at some farmers markets that have already kicked off their outdoor seasons and others due to start in the coming weeks, plus a couple new local markets debuting in 2021.
Markets underway
Khadija A. with Fresh Start Farms, vending at the Milford Farmers Market. Courtesy photo.
When it comes to creating a vendor list for the Milford Farmers Market, Colsia aims for variety.
“We try to limit things like crafts or jewelry,” she said. “We want people to feel like they can do their grocery shopping here. That’s what I strive for.”
This year’s roster includes Lone Wolf Cheese of Harrisville, which makes many of its own cheeses, butters and yogurts; Quarter Moon Farm of Hancock, which offers a line of certified organic black garlic products; and Mola Foods of Nashua, offering world-inspired spice blends.
In mid-June, a few additional vegetable vendors will be joining the market too once their products reach their peak growing season — among them will be Groh Farm of Wilton, a biodynamic farm established by Temple-Wilton Community Farm co-founder Trauger Groh.
After a few months indoors from January to April, the Concord Farmers Market also kicked off its summer season at its usual spot on Capitol Street, steps away from the Statehouse. Market president Wayne Hall said the board has been closely following guidelines from the City of Concord, which still has a mask ordinance in effect through June 1.
“Samples are allowed now … but the vendor has to hand it to the person rather than them just reaching for it,” said Hall, who also owns Rockey Ole Farm in Concord, a purveyor of leafy greens, fresh berries and other produce in addition to eggs and cut flowers.
The Contoocook Farmers Market moved back outdoors on May 1, a few weeks earlier than normal, to its normal spot by the gazebo next to the Contoocook Railroad Museum. Many of the same guidelines from the start of the last summer season remain in effect, such as the encouragement of one shopper per household to visit the market to promote social distancing. Most of the vendors also offer several types of alternative payment methods to limit cash use.
Another market that recently moved back outdoors, the Salem Farmers Market is in a new spot as of May 16, according to president Bonnie Wright — the Tuscan Village shopping plaza. You’ll find it there every Sunday behind Drive Fitness and adjacent to the building housing Williams Sonoma and the new Tuscan Market. For the first time in more than a year, Wright said, the Salem market has extended its hours back to its usual 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. time frame.
Salem also has the distinction of being one of the only year-round markets in New Hampshire that has remained nearly uninterrupted. From March 2020 all the way until January of this year, the market had been outdoors, before finding a temporary indoor spot at 369 S. Broadway.
“Our market is so critical to the livelihood of our customers … that our vendors agreed to keep coming out,” Wright said. “Other farmers markets have used us as a model, because we were proactive right at the beginning. We were strict about social distancing and masks from the start.”
Markets on deck
Fresh vegetables from Kearsarge Gore Farm in Warner, a vendor at Concord and Warner’s markets. Courtesy photo.
As Memorial Day weekend approaches, more outdoor markets across New Hampshire are set to begin their summer seasons. Next up are the Henniker Community Market, kicking off on May 20, and the Weare Real Food Farmers Market, due to hold its first outdoor market on May 29.
Henniker is coming off the heels of an “outstanding” inaugural Handmade & Homegrown event on May 8 in the Community Center park, a primarily arts-focused market that also featured a few local prepared food vendors, according to market manager Monica Rico. The Henniker Community Market will continue every Thursday in that spot through Oct. 21.
The Weare Real Food Farmers Market held its first year outdoors last July through the weekend before Thanksgiving, and a new indoor space opened March 15, owner Marek Rivero said. Outdoors, the market has received clearance from the Town to remain open from Memorial Day weekend through the entire rest of the year, weather permitting. You’ll find vendors’ products from right in town as well as in neighboring communities — Warner River Produce of Webster, for example, has been featuring items like spinach, carrots, microgreens and shiitake mushrooms, while the New Hampshire Doughnut Co. has been dropping off deliveries of its fresh doughnuts.
On Wednesday, June 2, the Derry Homegrown Farm & Artisan Market will return for the first time since the 2019 season. Just one day before its original opening date last year, the market’s board announced it had unanimously voted to sit the 2020 season out.
“Most of our vendors have been with us since the beginning, and just about everybody is back with us and equally excited as us to be back,” market manager and board vice president Neil Wetherbee said. “The community response also has been great so far.”
New vendors are expected, like Meta Microgreens of Dracut, Mass., and Mimi Rae’s Gluten Free Bakery of Chester, which offers cookies, brownies and other treats.
With Derry holding its first farmers market since the onset of the pandemic, Wetherbee said several critical decisions were made early on, among them to permit vendors to give out samples.
“We usually have alcohol vendors … and it’s a huge thing for them to come but not be able to do samples,” he said, “and the alcohol has to be in a roped off section of the market anyway.”
Live music performances and art demonstrations are returning to the Derry market too, thanks to a grant the board received from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts.
Also on June 2 will be the return of the Canterbury Community Farmers Market, which is set up in the parking lot of the Elkins Public Library. Like in Contoocook, the market is continuing to observe its best practices from last year, which can be viewed on the website.
The New Boston Farmers Market is due to return on June 12, co-manager Allison Vermette said.
“We have a few of our craft vendors coming back who had taken last year off,” she said. “We do have a few new vendors coming too, which is always exciting. … We have one right here in town called Coyote’s Kitchen that will be bringing vegan organic pizza crusts.”
Similar to last year, Vermette said live musicians will be performing from the nearby gazebo each week throughout the season. One-way entrances and exits for customers are also in effect.
“We’re going to see if we can get food trucks like we have at the market in the past, and we’ll kind of have a separate eating area where there’s enough space,” she said.
On June 15, the Bedford Farmers Market will begin its season. The market had moved to the parking lot at 209 Route 101 in Bedford last year out of necessity, but according to manager Lauren Ritz, it was such a success that they decided to keep it there.
Because Wicked Good Butchah and Flight Coffee Co. are both located in the shopping plaza, Ritz said, this year’s market does not have a meat or coffee vendor. Instead, there will be around 20 local vendors selling everything from fresh produce to maple syrup, baked goods, seafood and more. New faces to the Bedford market this year include Jajabelles of Nashua offering fresh pastries; Sunfox Farm, which will have sunflowers and sunflower oil; and Oasis Springs Farm, also of Nashua, offering its own hydroponically grown lettuce and microgreens.
Intown Manchester is also planning on bringing back its farm stand, which debuted at Victory Park last year, executive director Sara Beaudry said. Intown Manchester’s Farm Stand & Artisan Shop will be held on Thursdays from June 17 through Aug. 26, with produce from Fresh Start Farms, as well as a small selection of other vendors, like DJ’s Pure Natural Honey and Dandido Hot Sauce.
New markets for 2021
Shortly after the formation of the Pelham Agricultural Commission, chairwoman Jenny Larson said its board members began planning to organize a subcommittee for a farmers market.
“We got involved in the community and asked citizens what they’d like to see from us … and the overwhelming response was for a farmers market,” Larson said. “So that was the No. 1 thing we immediately put on our agenda, and it went off without a hitch from there. … Pelham had had one years ago, but it just kind of fell apart due to a lack of volunteers.”
The new Pelham Farmers Market, expected to feature more than a dozen vendors, is set to begin June 19 outside the First Congregational Church of Pelham, continuing on Saturdays through October.
“We’re going to have something pretty much for everyone,” Larson said. “Farmer Dave’s over in Dracut, [Mass.,] will have all kinds of fruits and veggies. We’re going to have a meat vendor, some breads, baked goods, some microgreens, some honey, and some organic soaps. Our applications for vendors are on a continuous basis, so they can send one in three months from now if they just want to sell in the fall.”
The market will be held rain or shine from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Larson said additional events such as live music and demonstrations have also been in discussion for future markets.
Candia’s Agricultural Commission is also planning a new Candia market that will begin on June 19. According to market manager Pattie Davis, it will be on the grounds of the Smyth Public Library on the third Saturday of each month, from 9 a.m. to noon, wrapping up Oct. 16.
“The original idea … was for people with farms in town to be able to sell their wares once a month if they didn’t have enough stuff to come every week,” Davis said. “At this point, there’s one bakery and one crafter, and after that it’s all fruits and vegetables.”
She added that each market will feature a booth highlighting a different community organization — the first one will be the local gardening club, which will be there selling perennials.
Local farmers markets Here’s a list we’ve compiled by the day of the week of summer farmers markets happening in southern New Hampshire this year. Some markets are rain or shine while others may be postponed or canceled due to weather — be sure to visit their websites or Facebook pages for the most up-to-date information on each individual date.
Sundays • Gilmanton Community Farmers Market will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Gilmanton Year-Round Library (1385 Route 140) beginning June 13 and through Sept. 26. Visit gilmantonfarmersmarket.com or find them on Facebook @gilmantoncommunityfarmersmarket.
• Nashua Farmers Market will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at City Hall Plaza (229 Main St.) beginning June 20 and through Oct. 17. Visit downtownnashua.org or find them on Facebook @nashuafarmersmarket.
• Salem Farmers Market is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. As of May 16 the market has moved to a new outdoor location at Tuscan Village South, behind Drive Fitness (12 Via Toscana Drive). Visit salemnhfarmersmarket.org or find them on Facebook @salemnhfarmersmarket.
Mondays • Durham Farmers Market will be from 2:15 to 5:30 p.m. in the parking lot of Sammy’s Market (5 Madbury Road) beginning June 7 and through Oct. 4. Visit seacoastgrowers.org or find them on Facebook @market03824.
Tuesdays • Bedford Farmers Market will be from 3 to 6 p.m. in the parking lot of Wicked Good Butchah (209 Route 101), beginning June 15 and through Oct. 12. Visit bedfordfarmersmarketnh.org or find them on Facebook @bedfordfarmersmarketnh.
• Rochester Farmers Market will be from 3 to 6 p.m. on the Rochester Town Common (Route 108 and South Main Street) beginning June 15 and through Sept. 28. Visit rochesternhfarmersmarket.com or find them on Facebook.
Wednesdays
• Canterbury Community Farmers Market will be from 4 to 6:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the Elkins Public Library (9 Center Road) beginning June 2 and through Sept. 29. Visit canterburyfarmersmarket.com or find them on Facebook @ccfma.
• Derry Homegrown Farm & Artisan Market will be from 3 to 7 p.m. at 1 W. Broadway beginning June 2 and through Sept. 29. Visit derryhomegrown.org or find them on Facebook @derryhomegrown.
• Dover Farmers Market will be from 2:15 to 5:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce (550 Central Ave.) beginning June 2 and through Oct. 6. Visit seacoastgrowers.org or find them on Facebook @market03820.
• Peterborough Farmers Market is from 3 to 6 p.m. on the lawn of the Peterborough Community Center (25 Elm St.) now through October. The market moves indoors during the winter months. Find them on Facebook @peterboroughnhfarmersmarket.
Thursdays • Exeter Farmers Market is from 2:15 to 5:30 p.m. at Swasey Parkway (off Water Street) now through Oct. 28. Visit seacoastgrowers.org or find them on Facebook @market03833.
• Franklin Farmers Market will be from 3 to 6 p.m. at Marceau Park (Central Street) beginning June 24 and through Sept. 30. Visit franklinnh.org or find them on Facebook @franklinlocalmarket.
• Henniker Community Market is from 4 to 7 p.m. in the town’s Community Center park (57 Main St.) now through Oct. 21. Find them on Facebook @hennikercommunitymarket.
• Intown’s Farm Stand & Artisan Shop will be from 3 to 6 p.m., at Victory Park (Concord and Chestnut streets, Manchester) beginning June 17 and through Aug. 26. Find them on Facebook @manchesterfood.
• Rindge Farmers & Crafters Market is from 3 to 6 p.m. at West Rindge Common (Route 202 North) now through Oct. 7. Find them on Facebook @rindgefarmersandcraftersmarket.
• Wolfeboro Area Farmers Market is from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. at Clark Park (233 S. Main St.) now through Oct. 28. Visit wolfeborofarmersmarket.com or find them on Facebook @wolfeboroareafarmersmarket.
Fridays • Francestown Community Market is from 4 to 7 p.m. at the horse sheds near the Francestown Police Station (15 New Boston Road). Find them on Facebook @francestowncommunitymarket.
• Newport Farmers Market will be from 3 to 6 p.m. on the Newport Town Common (N. Main and Park streets) beginning June 11 and through Oct. 1. Visit newportfarmersmarketnh.com or find them on Facebook @newportfarmersmarketnh.
Saturdays • Barnstead Farmers Market will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 96 Maple St. in Center Barnstead beginning June 12 and through Sept. 25. Visit barnsteadfarmers.weebly.com or find them on Facebook @barnsteadfarmersmarket.
• Candia Farmers Market will be from 9 a.m. to noon outside the Smyth Public Library (55 High St., Candia) beginning June 19. (Note: This market will only be held on the third Saturday of each month through October. Dates are June 19, July 17, Aug. 21, Sept. 18 and Oct. 16). Visit candianh.org or email agcomm@candianh.org.
• Cole Gardens Farmers Market is from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Cole Gardens (430 Loudon Road, Concord) now through Oct. 30. Visit colegardens.com or find them on Facebook @colegardens.
• Concord Farmers Market is from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Capitol Street (near the New Hampshire Statehouse) now through Oct. 30. Visit concordfarmersmarket.com or find them on Facebook @concordfarmersmarketnh.
• Contoocook Farmers Market is from 9 a.m. to noon at 896 Main St. (by the gazebo behind the train depot) now through October. Find them on Facebook @contoocookfarmersmarket.
• Milford Farmers Market is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 300 Elm St. (across the street from the New Hampshire Antique Co-op) now through Oct. 9. Visit milfordnhfarmersmarket or find them on Facebook @milfordfarmersmarketofnh.
• New Boston Farmers Market will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the corner of Route 13 and Meetinghouse Hill Road beginning June 12 and through Oct. 9. Visit newbostonfarmersmarket.webs.com or find them on Facebook @newbostonfarmersmarket.
• New Ipswich Farmers Market is from 9 a.m. to noon in the parking lot of New Ipswich Town Hall (661 Turnpike Road) now through October. Beginning in November the market typically moves indoors to the New Ipswich Congregational Church. Find them on Facebook @newipswichfarmersmarket.
• Pelham Farmers Market will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. outside the First Congregational Church of Pelham (3 Main St.) beginning June 19 and through Oct. 30. Search “Friends of Pelham NH Farmers Market” on Facebook.
• Portsmouth Farmers Market is from 8 a.m. to noon in the parking lot of Little Harbour Elementary School (50 Clough Drive, Portsmouth) now through Nov. 6. Visit seacoastgrowers.org or find them on Facebook @market03801.
• Warner Area Farmers Market is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the Warner Town Hall lawn (5 E. Main St.). Visit warnerfarmersmarket.org or find them on Facebook @warnerareafarmersmarket.
• Weare Real Food Farmers Market will be outdoors from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 65 N. Stark Hwy. in Weare beginning May 29. Visit wearerfm.com or find them on Facebook @wearerealfoodfarmersmarket.
• Wilmot Farmers Market will be from 9 a.m. to noon on the Wilmot Town Green (9 Kearsarge Valley Road) beginning June 26 and through Sept. 25. Visit wilmotfarmersmarket.com or find them on Facebook.
Feautred photo: Lakonian Olive Oil is a vendor at this year’s Milford Farmers Market. Courtesy photo.
Jillian Kalosky is a criminal defense investigator based in Concord, investigating state and federal criminal cases on behalf of the accused.
Explain what your job is and what it entails.
After someone gets arrested, they either hire an attorney or one is appointed by the court. I’m then hired by the attorney to help prepare the defense. I start by reviewing the investigation conducted by the police. Then oftentimes I talk to people who have information about the case and document what they know. Sometimes they’ve already spoken to the police. Other times, I’m the first person they speak to. If there’s relevant information on social media about the case, I track it down. If my client has an alibi, I track it down. If it makes sense to check out the scene — and it often does — I do that. My work on any given day is driven by the needs of the case.
How long have you had this job?
Over 10 years.
What led you to this career field and your current job?
I was always that weird kid fascinated by crime. When I was fairly young, I saw a TV show about a child who had been murdered. The killer had hidden the body by rolling a huge log on top of it in the woods. It blew my mind. I grew up in a safe, normal, loving household; I couldn’t imagine that sort of thing happening to a child. That always stuck with me. I so deeply wanted to understand it.
What kind of education or training did you need?
I studied sociology and justice studies as an undergrad at UNH. Then, in grad school there, I earned a master’s degree in sociology with a focus in criminology. Nothing compared, though, to the hands-on training I received at the New Hampshire Public Defender. I was an intern there during the summer between undergrad and grad school. Then I was offered a full-time position after my master’s program. I spent almost seven years at the Public Defender. That time was invaluable. I now run my own PI business.
What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?
I dress for the occasion, whether that’s going to court, knocking on doors to try to find a witness, going to the jail, or sitting down for a Zoom meeting with an attorney. You can most often find me in a turtleneck, jeans and Doc Martens.
How has your job changed over the last year?
Throughout the pandemic my work shifted to mostly phone interviews and Zoom meetings. Now that I’m fully vaccinated I’ve been able to resume in-person meetings, visiting clients in jail and interviewing people in their homes.
What do you wish you’d known at the beginning of your career?
How to meditate.
What do you wish other people knew about your job?
I wish people knew that miscarriages of justice do happen. Eyewitnesses get it wrong. People plead guilty to crimes they didn’t commit. People confess to crimes they didn’t commit. About a third of people exonerated through DNA testing gave false confessions. Criminal cases are complicated. It’s rarely ever black-and-white like on TV.
What was the first job you ever had?
I started at the Gap when I was 15. I still fold my clothes the Gap way.
What’s the best piece of work-related advice you’ve ever received?
Don’t take it personally.
Five favorites Favorite book: The Power of Now Favorite movie: The Grand Budapest Hotel Favorite type of music or musician: Classic soul/motown Favorite food: Indian Favorite thing about NH: Birdwatching
Nashua to host its second pandemic-era Sculpture Symposium
After a successful rescheduled and pandemic-adapted event last summer, the 2021 Nashua International Sculpture Symposium will resume its traditional time in the spring, with sculptors starting work on Monday, May 24.
“Last year, we were able to provide a model for a safe, community-oriented program within a pandemic setting,” artistic director Jim Larson said. “[Having a model] that easily met all of the safety requirements, combined with the amazing and exciting artwork we saw produced, meant that we were excited to try [the symposium] again this year, even while we’re still within a pandemic scenario.”
Started in 2008, the Nashua International Sculpture Symposium was inspired by the Andres Institute of Art International Sculpture Symposium, a similar event held in Brookline every fall. It is the only international sculpture symposium in the U.S. that is held in a city, with the sculptures being placed on public property.
“More public art — and more accessibility to public art — is the name of the game,” Larson said
The symposium invites three experienced sculptors to spend three weeks in Nashua, creating outdoor sculptures for permanent installation in the city. Historically, it has welcomed sculptors from all over the world, but with the pandemic increasing restrictions on international travel, the symposium will, for the second time, feature three sculptors from the U.S. Aside from the discrepancy it creates with the event’s name, Larson said, the absence of an “International” component, though not ideal, doesn’t diminish the impact of the symposium. There’s even an upside, he said: Hosting U.S. sculptors allows Nashua to “build connections with local and somewhat-local similar-minded organizations and artists,” ultimately strengthening the arts community in New Hampshire.
“What’s really exciting about inviting local artists to the symposium is that the resources we collect through grants and donations to support our artists stay right here in our community through that artist and their work,” Larson said.
The sculptors — Gavin Kenyon from New York, Sam Finkelstein from Maine, and Nora Valdez, from Boston, Mass., originally from Argentina — are all mid-career, Larson said, and were chosen based in part on how the symposium could benefit them and their artistic growth. Finkelstein, for example, has worked in stone for many years but has never made a large-scale piece because he lacks the studio infrastructure needed to move thousands of pounds of stone; and Kenyon, whose 20 years as a professional artist has consisted mostly of commission work and private projects, hasn’t had many opportunities to create public art or art in the public domain.
“We’re supporting them and providing what they need to make work that they couldn’t or wouldn’t otherwise,” Larson said.
This year’s sculptors have been challenged to interpret the theme “Introspection” through their pieces — a theme that has emerged in many artists’ work during these pandemic times, Larson said.
“Artists have been isolated in their own studios, more productive than ever, but not having as much dialogue … about their work and ideas, so, in that way, art has become very introspective,” Larson said. “[For the symposium,] we want to keep art within the context of that introspection while bringing it back out into the public realm.”
Working from cast concrete, white marble, red granite and Indiana limestone, all three sculptors have planned figurative pieces depicting elements of the human form. But, as symposium president Gail Moriarty can attest, it’s not uncommon for sculptors to find new inspiration once they’re able to physically engage with the installation site and materials.
“They come with ideas that they’re ready to begin working on, but nothing is finalized until they [start working],” Moriarty said. “It’s really cool to see how those ideas manifest themselves, because we’re never quite sure how they will.”
The sculptors will work six days a week, Monday through Saturday, outside The Picker Artists studios on Pine Street from Monday, May 24, through Friday, June 4, and relocate to the installation site on Saturday, June 5, where they will resume working for one more week. As always, the public is encouraged to stop by the work site to observe and interact with the sculptors, so long as they wear a mask and keep a safe distance.
This “constant viewership and dialogue” surrounding the sculptors while they work is just as integral to the symposium as the sculptures that are produced, Larson said.
“[The way in which] artists physically enact their intentions on their work becomes part of the piece, and being able to watch that makes it easier to engage with the piece of art,” he said.
Moriarty recommends visiting the work site multiple times over the course of the symposium to follow the sculptures’ transformation.
“The materials look different every single day,” she said. “It’s always exciting to come back and see how much they’ve changed.”
The finished sculptures will be revealed during a closing ceremony (not open to the public, but it will be videoed and available to watch online) on Saturday, June 12. The sculptures will be installed collectively in the courtyard at the corner of Church and Court streets in downtown. A quiet, low-traffic space that branches a block off Main Street, the site enables an “intimate viewing experience” of the sculptures, Larson said.
“It’s not like looking at the pieces on Main Street, where there’s traffic whizzing by,” he said. “This is a place where someone can have their own personal time with the pieces.”
14th annual Nashua International Sculpture Symposium Opening and closing receptions: The opening reception will take place on Thursday, May 20, and the closing reception will take place on Saturday, June 12. Neither event is open to the public, but both will be videoed and available to watch online. Visit the sculptors: Sculptors will work Monday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., outside The Picker Artists studios (3 Pine St., Nashua) from Monday, May 24, through Friday, June 4, and at the installation site at the corner of Church and Court streets in downtown Nashua from Saturday, June 5, through Saturday, June 12. More info: nashuasculpturesymposium.org
Featured photo: A previous Nashua International Sculpture Symposium. Courtesy photo.
Get some music and some art during “Art After Work: Free Thursday Nights” at the Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St. in Manchester, 669-6144, currier.org). Admission is free from 5 to 8 p.m. (register for your spot online; the website recommends advance registration). Listen to Sold Under Sin, who will be performing tonight (next Thursday, it’s Alli Beaudry and Paul Nelson). Through June 10 you can also drop by the Open Studios to meet “Artist in the Community” Artist-in-Residence Omolará Williams McCallister.
Saturday, May 22
It’s a symphony of bird sounds in the forests these days. Get more information about local birds during a Saturday Birding with Dave Bechtel program from the NH Audubon (Bechtel is the NH Audubon president). The program is free and no registration is required for the hour-long walk starting today at 8 a.m. at the McLane Center (84 Silk Road in Concord), according to nhaudabon.org, where you can find details on this weekly event, which alternates between McLane and the Massabesic Center in Auburn.
Saturday, May 22
Buy some stuff! From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., head to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Manchester (669 Union St., uumanchester.org) for their spring plant sale featuring perennials, annuals, shrubs, houseplants, herbs and veggies, according to the website. (The sale will also run Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.) From 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., the Friends of the Nashua Public Library will hold a pop-up book sale outside in the Library Plaza (2 Court St. in Nashua; nashualibrary.org). The outdoor sale will feature adult fiction and children and teens books, according to a press release, but Friends members (and you can buy or renew a membership on the day) can browse the selection of nonfiction adult books by going inside (sign up online for a time). From 1 to 3 p.m., the Bedford Garden Club will hold its annual May plant sale, featuring herbs, perennials and annuals, at the Bedford Village Common Bandstand (15 Bell Hill Road in Bedford; see bedfordgardenclubnh.org).
Sunday, May 23
Catch Stand By Me, the 1986 (R-rated) Rob Reiner-directed movie based on the Stephen King novella The Body, today at 3 p.m. during a special 35th anniversary screening at Cinemark Rockingham Park 12 (15 Mall Road in Salem; cinemark.com). The film will also screen at the Lowell Showcase Cinemas at 3 p.m.
Save the Date!
Sunday, June 6
The Capitol Center for the Arts Music in the Park series kicks off Sunday, June 6, with Joe Sabourin performing at 3 p.m. in Fletcher-Murphy Park (28 Fayette St. in Concord). Tickets cost $12, plus a $3 fee (if you can’t make it in person, you can also get an $8 ticket to a livestream of the concert), according to the website. The June schedule also features Jason Spooner on June 13 and Ms. Yamica Peterson on June 20. See ccanh.com for tickets.
