Normally held in late July, the Manchester Brewfest is a fall affair this year — the event returns on Sunday, Oct. 31, bringing together all kinds of local beers and food options at Arms Park.
It’s the seventh annual festival and the first one since the summer of 2019. Attendees will have the opportunity to sample more than 100 craft beer options, and other featured activities will include live music, face painting, and a petting zoo from Candia’s Charmingfare Farm.
“We have the perfect location for a brew festival,” Peter Telge of Stark Brewing Co. in Manchester, one of the festival’s organizers, said of Arms Park. “A lot of times if you go to brew festivals it can be hard to find a place that’s close to stay or to park, or everything’s spread out and you’ve got to walk all the way here or there. This is just a nice huge area that we can make a great festival out of … and it’s also next to the Merrimack River, which is beautiful.”
Telge has worked with several local charitable organizations over the years that have been beneficiaries of the Manchester Brewfest. This time around, he’s partnering with John Hayden of Value of Sport, a new nonprofit dedicated to giving Manchester students in fourth grade and up equal access and opportunity for success through programs in sports, art and music.
“In the past we’ve had around 30 breweries. This year we’re probably going to get 20 or so, maybe 25,” Telge said. “There are a lot of new people doing some really cool stuff with malt beverages and seltzers and things like that, so it will be a nice variety of different flavors.”
Most of the vendors hail from New Hampshire or a neighboring New England state. Martha’s Exchange & Brewery of Nashua, for instance, is expected to bring its Apple Brown Betty, a Belgian brown ale brewed and aged on toasted apple wood, in addition to a few other selections. Hidden Moon Brewing and Moonlight Meadery of Londonderry will pour both its Little Apples hard cider and its Razz What She Said raspberry session mead, while Willie’s Superbrew, a Charlestown, Mass.,-based purveyor of hard seltzers blended with real fruit, will be there with multiple offerings, like its cranberry and lime and pineapple and jalapeno flavors.
Several local restaurants will be there too, including 900 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria, which will have meatball subs, Hayden said. Auburn Pitts, Firefly American Bistro & Bar of Manchester, and Hooksett’s Second Brook Bar & Grill are all expected to attend as well.
Live performances will include both the Gilford-based Eric Grant Band and the New Hampshire Police Association Pipes and Drums. The festival is also coinciding with the conclusion of Millennium Running’s annual Trick or Trot 3K Race.
7th annual Manchester Brewfest
When: Sunday, Oct. 31; general admittance is from 1 to 4 p.m., with VIP admittance beginning at noon Where: Arms Park, 10 Arms St., Manchester Cost: Tickets are $40 general admission, $50 VIP admission and $15 for designated drivers; ticket prices do not include food Visit: manchesterbrewfest.com Event is rain or shine.
For the second year, ArtWeek Nashua is going to be a mainly virtual event, but organizers are doing everything they can to foster the connection between artists and the public, with professionally filmed TV segments, live Facebook feeds and an in-person mural painting to kick it all off.
“Last year, in 2020, there were so many performers, musicians and actors and actresses, all types of performers who got off their game. A lot of people ended up learning a lot about how to use [virtual media] … and create content that would be engaging for people even if it’s not in person,” event coordinator Asia Scudder of City Arts Nashua said.
ArtWeek begins Saturday, Oct. 16, and runs through Sunday, Oct. 24, coinciding once again with KidsWeek Nashua.
KidsWeek Nashua
The scavenger hunt returns, with 50 mini art kits filled with painting, sewing or sculpture projects will be hidden at various public sculpture locations throughout the city. With a little help from Access Nashua Community Television and Nashua-based photographer Sid Ceaser, Woz Watts and Sid the puppet are going undercover as superheroes, hiding the art kits, five of which will have an exclusive “creativity stone” that will give its finder unlimited creative power. “The art kits are the size of like an Altoid box, but they’re really cute,” Scudder said. Hints will be revealed through City Arts Nashua social media, and maps of sculpture site locations will be available at The Picker Artists Studios, at 3 Pine St, Nashua.
Eric Escobar will help get things started, painting a graffiti-style mural on cellophane at 30 Temple St. beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday, and the public is encouraged to come down and watch him at work. It’s the only in-person event of the week; the rest will be on TV and online.
The video segments were filmed by Access Nashua Community Television, and Scudder said the ones she’d seen so far looked great. She watched one with Damien Rigden, a multimedia artist who writes children’s books and poetry.
“The interview process was just so interesting, to see him really come alive [as he talked about] the process of his creativity,” Scudder said.
She also saw a video of a mother-daughter duo who are from India and just moved to Nashua. Mom Sumeet does food photography and has photos of food from Nepal and India, as well as from Nashua restaurants, and her 8-year-old daughter, Gracelynn, wrote about the importance of food and culture to accompany the photos. Scudder said that during a normal ArtWeek, those photos would be on display in restaurants, but the video allows viewers to get to know the story behind the art, and the artists.
“My hope is that we really encourage people to support artists who have been isolated, alone, not sure about their careers, just show support for these creative individuals,” Scudder said.
Scudder also hopes that the public will interact with artists using social media, even if it’s simply liking a Facebook post.
“The most exciting thing for me is the interaction and hoping that we can inspire people to give a thumbs up to an artist or a shout out,” Scudder said. “It’s difficult having to do this virtually again … but it’s good in terms of keeping momentum going [for the artists].”
Engage in ArtWeek
Each day on Access Nashua Community Television (Comcast Channel 96), City Arts Nashua’s website (accessnashua.org/stream.php) and social media there will be profiles of artists and their works, and posts about each artist will be displayed on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, along with Twitter and LinkedIn.
In-person events
Artist Eric Escobar will hold a live artmaking performance to help kick off ArtWeek and create our ArtWeek installation piece at 30 Temple St. on Saturday, Oct. 16, starting at 10 a.m.
Take a self-guided public sculpture tour of the works of the Nashua International Sculpture Symposium. Maps are available at Picker Artists Studios at 3 Pine St. or using the free Distrx app, which will also be available at cityartsnashua.org.
View artwork on display in the windows of downtown Nashua business locations, with QR codes accompanying the pieces for viewers to see and learn more about the artists:
• Bar Harbor Bank will display the works of artists Janice Donnelly, Madeleine LaRose, Carol Lake, Nona Angelini and Joseph Bryant at 188 Main St., on the East Pearl Street side of the building
• DesignWares will show work by Brenda McDougald at their 206 Main St. location
• The Nashua Area Chamber of Commerce will be showing art from Gate City Charter School for the Arts students in their windows at their 60 Main St. location
ArtWeek artists and performers
• Eric Escobar, live artmaking performance
• Tim Foley, paintings and drawings
• Positive Street Art
• Damien Rigden, interdisciplinary artist
• Robert Lembree, fine art photographer
• Nancy Goodwin/UpbeatNH Youth Orchestra
• Carol Lake, live special events painter
• Ruth Boland, League of NH Craftsmen basketmaker
• Sumeet and Gracelynn Mehta/myllyynnis, food photography
• Teresa Moler, watercolor artist and puppeteer
• Madeleine LaRose, local landscapes in pastels and acrylics
• Bonnie Guercio, mixed-media collages
• Lisa Culpa, landscape photographer
• Karina Mitchell/Membit, interactive artist
• Nona Angelini, painting, mixed media figure drawing
• Nashua Community Music School
• Leslie Pasternack/Lemon Punch Theatre Lab
• Ricardo Cortez, dark abstract to soft whimsical photography
• Douglas Huntley, abstract mixed media artist
• Janice Donnelly, bright, colorful and happy landscapes
• Olivia Powell, imaginative writing
• Loretta Hubley, etching and painting
• Quint-Essential Winds, musicians performing works by American composers
• Brenda McDougald, landscape photography
• Bitter Pill, rhythm and bluegrass band from New Hampshire
Arcades, bowling alleys and game shops to level up your game night
High scores
Classic video gaming at New Hampshire’s arcades
by Matt Ingersoll
Portsmouth native Sean Greenlaw grew up playing retro video games, thanks in part to his father’s managing the former Dream Machine arcade at the Fox Run Mall. So when he learned that Manchester’s Electric Avenue Arcade was up for sale, he saw a unique opportunity.
“I was definitely here pretty regularly. This was a place that I loved to come to and remembered having an amazing community to participate with,” Greenlaw said. “I’ve wanted to start my own business, and this pandemic really taught me that there were opportunities out there for me and that I needed to take chances. … So I threw my hat into the ring to purchase the arcade.”
Last month Electric Avenue fully reopened under Greenlaw’s ownership after an extended absence. All of the arcade’s more than two dozen games are available to play once again, from timeless classics like Pac-Man and Galaga to Donkey Kong, Space Invaders and many others, plus multiple pinball machines and a few Skee-Ball lanes. Greenlaw is looking into adding a few more games on the floor too, including one he acquired that used to be at the Dream Machine.
Arcades were products of their time, before the age of the internet and smartphones, when gamers would gather around hunched over a machine and attempt to surpass the high score. It’s all part of that nostalgic factor Greenlaw hopes to carry on at Electric Avenue.
“You can play a game on your computer or your phone, and that’s a very solitary experience,” he said, “but when you come into an arcade you hear the classic sounds that you grew up with. You’re able to meet up and challenge other folks face to face, which is something that has kind of been lost. … So I really appreciate the feeling of the arcade bringing everyone together. That’s the vibe I’m going for here, is that you feel like you’re walking into your friend’s basement.”
Block Party Social in Hooksett. Photo by Matt Ingersoll.
Indeed, when Greenlaw reopened the doors, many of the arcade’s faithful regulars returned.
“There were people who hadn’t seen each other since the pandemic began who were able to meet up again, and for me that was the best part,” he said. “It’s a testament to [former owners] Chuck and Sara [Vorias], and that’s something that I want to continue.”
In the spirit of starting fresh, Greenlaw is resetting the high scores of each of the machines and is also working toward adding a token dispenser. The bar side of the arcade, meanwhile, will continue to feature a rotating selection of local brews and light food options.
At Block Party Social in Hooksett, formerly the Space Entertainment Center, there are dozens of new arcade games to play in its recently renovated space. Each game operates using preloaded funds on a game card, which you can also use to accumulate points and win prizes.
While there are several iconic games that are represented, many have their own modernized twist. If you love to play Pac-Man or Galaga, for example, you can experience them on a giant LED video billboard. Space Invaders Frenzy combines the classic gameplay of the original Space Invaders with ray gun-like controllers in place of traditional joysticks and buttons. There are also multiple interactive arcade experiences, such as Jurassic Park and Halo.
“The games all kind of have that physical experience to them. It makes for more of an immersive environment,” Block Party Social marketing director Ron Weinberg said. “In a certain sense it is a throwback to maybe when you used to go to the arcade at the beach and play Skee-Ball, but this is almost like a little more high-tech version of it.”
Weinberg said the new games were all part of a complete rebranding of the business that took place last year. Other attractions, like indoor ropes courses, zip lines and an axe-throwing lounge with multiple games to choose from using superimposed screens, have all been added.
In Concord, Wow Fried Chicken & Subs owner Maher Abbas recently turned the adjacent vacant building space on the corner of Main and Pleasant streets into Wow Chicken Arcade, which officially opened to the public on Oct. 1.
Wow Chicken Arcade in Concord. Photo by Matt Ingersoll.
Abbas said kids of all ages enjoying the few games he has inside in his restaurant made him realize that there wasn’t any central arcade in town for them to go to. Unlike at Electric Avenue, which currently utilizes special tokens to play the games that are sold in bagged quantities at the counter, machines at Wow Chicken Arcade are quarter-operated.
Games include many of the classics, as well as a few pinball machines, racing simulators, ice hockey tables and basketball shooting machines. Abbas is making the downstairs space available to rent as a function room for family-friendly private parties and gatherings and has plans to offer entertainment outings like open mic or karaoke nights in the near future.
Visit an arcade
From Pac-Man to Space Invaders and dozens of other classics in between, here’s a list of some spots in southern New Hampshire where you can get your retro video gaming on.
Hours: Sunday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to midnight
Formerly the Space Entertainment Center, Block Party Social features a newly renovated arcade space with more than 100 types of video games to enjoy, in addition to an in-house restaurant, a revamped 5,000-square-foot laser tag arena, ropes courses, and an axe-throwing lounge with a variety of game formats.
Dave & Buster’s
1500 S. Willow St., Manchester, 506-3100, daveandbusters.com
Hours: Sunday and Monday, 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.; Tuesday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
The Granite State’s first Dave & Buster’s location, which arrived in the Mall of New Hampshire plaza in August 2020, features a large arcade with chances to win prizes, plus a sports bar and virtual reality gaming.
Hours: Thursday, 6 to 11 p.m.; Friday, 6 p.m. to midnight; Saturday, noon to midnight, and Sunday, noon to 7 p.m. (may be subject to change)
Reopened last month under new ownership, Electric Avenue is back with all of the same arcade games as before, including Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Paper Boy, Galaga, Q*Bert and more, plus a rotating offering of local brews and a light food menu.
Funspot
579 Endicott St. N., Laconia, 366-4377, funspotnh.com
Hours: Monday through Friday, noon to 10 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Billing itself as the “largest arcade in the world,” Funspot features several hundred classic arcade games, as well as other activities like indoor mini-golf, bowling and cash Bingo.
FunWorld
200 Daniel Webster Hwy., Nashua, 888-8735, funworldnh.com
Hours: Friday, 3 to 8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 1 to 8 p.m. (hours are temporarily reduced due to the pandemic and may be subject to change)
This Nashua center features more than 250 video games for all ages, plus a three-story playground and three indoor amusement rides.
Hours: Monday through Thursday, noon to 8 p.m.; Friday, noon to 9 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Arcade games are just one of the attractions at Hilltop Fun Center, which also features mini-golf, laser tag, batting cages and more.
Mel’s Funway Park
454 Charles Bancroft Hwy., Litchfield, 424-2292, melsfunwaypark.com
Hours: Friday, 5 p.m. to midnight; Saturday, noon to midnight, and Sunday, noon to 7 p.m.
One of several attractions to enjoy at Mel’s Funway Park, the indoor arcade is expected to remain open through the end of Spooky World’s annual run this Halloween season, according to co-owner Mike Accomando.
Tokens Taproom
284 Central Ave., Dover, 343-2879, tokenstaproom.com
Hours: Monday through Thursday, 4 p.m. to midnight; Friday, 4 a.m. to 1 a.m.; Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m., and Sunday, 4 to 11 p.m.
Known as a “barcade,” a combination arcade and bar, Tokens Taproom has classic arcade games and pinball machines that have been collected over the years by owner Josh Hynes. It’s open to visitors ages 21 and up, but minors are allowed in on Saturdays, from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., with accompanying adults.
Wow Chicken Arcade
2 N. Main St., Concord, find them on Facebook @wowchickennn
Hours: Monday through Thursday, noon to 10 p.m., and Friday through Sunday, noon to midnight (may be subject to change)
New to the local arcade scene, Wow Chicken Arcade opened Oct. 1 on the corner of Main and Pleasant streets in downtown Concord. Games include pinball, ice hockey, simulated racers, Skee-Ball and more, while a function space is available to rent.
Right up your alley
Bowling still fun for all ages
By Meghan Siegler
The game of bowling hasn’t changed much in the past few decades. You lace up your well-worn rental shoes, grab a ball — a big one with finger holes if you’re playing 10-pin, a much smaller one with no holes if you’re playing candlepin — and send it down the lane, aiming for the pins at the end and hoping the ball stays out of the gutters. But not everything has stayed the same.
“What has come a long way is the technology,” said Kelly Cross, manager of Yankee Lanes in Manchester.
There are two basic kinds of bowling centers, Cross said: traditional league houses that are focused on league bowlers and tournaments, and the centers that are geared more toward family entertainment. She said Yankee Lanes falls somewhere in the middle, with league-based play during the weekdays and non-competitive players coming in on nights and weekends.
Photo courtesy of Kelly Cross of Yankee Lanes.
“After 9 it’s really geared more toward the casual bowlers,” Cross said. “We crank up the music and turn on the glow-in-the-dark lights.”
Cross has been working at Yankee for 20 years, so she’s watched the scene evolve in that time.
“The swing toward a more casual bowler has been the most dramatic change,” she said.
There are also two main kinds of bowling: candlepin and big-ball, the former of which is really only a thing in New England, Cross said.
“It’s a pretty niche market,” she said.
With candlepin, you’re using a smaller ball and aiming for skinnier “candlesticks,” so named because the pins are tapered and resemble candlesticks. The lane conditions are different too; there’s a protective coat of oil that goes on big-ball lanes that’s not used on candlepin lanes.
With its smaller balls, candlepin might seem like a better choice for kids and families, but most bowling centers that have 10-pin offer lighter-weight balls for kids. They also have ramps for really young kids, and bumpers help minimize the frustration of gutter balls.
“There are no benchwarmers in bowling,” Cross said. “Everyone can participate. … We have bowlers who are 2 or 3, all the way up to 90.”
Go bowling
Candlepin
Boutwell’s Bowling Center
152 N. State St., Concord, 224-0941, boutwellsbowl.com
Hours: Sunday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Hours: Sunday noon to 9 p.m., Monday, Wednesday and Friday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Tuesday 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday noon to 10 p.m.
Hours: Closed Monday, open Tuesday through Saturday noon to 9 p.m., Sunday noon to 6 p.m.
Ten-pin
Merrimack Ten Pin
698 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack, 429-0989, merrimacktenpin.com
Hours: Sunday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 1 a.m.
Strikers East Bowling Center & Function Room
4 Essex Dr., Raymond, 895-9501, strikerseast.net
Hours: Sunday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday 5 to 10 p.m., Tuesday 5 to 9 p.m., Wednesday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Thursday 5 to 10 p.m., Friday 2 to 11 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Yankee Lanes
216 Maple St., Manchester, 625-9656, yankeelanesentertainment.com
Hours: Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to midnight, Saturday noon to midnight, Sunday noon to 11 p.m.
Really Retro
King Bowling Lanes in Manchester has been around since 1939, according to its website. When it first opened, there were “pinboys” who would set the pins because there were no automatic pinsetters — those weren’t added until 1954. In 1989 King Bowling upgraded to automatic scoring, which is now the norm at most bowling centers.
Well-played
Local game shops host tabletop games, old and new
by Angie Sykeny
Tabletop games are alive and well, from the ones you played as a kid to new ones being released all the time. Many local game and comic book stores double as venues where people can gather for open-play gaming and organized gaming events.
The fantasy tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, or D&D, has been a household name in the game world since the 1980s, but some local game shop staff said it’s starting to break into the mainstream.
“D&D has really come out of the basement and into the spotlight in the last few years, with shows like The Big Bang Theory,and shows that stream D&D games, like Critical Role, where you see Hollywood voice actors playing the game,” said Jay Ribak, owner of Relentless Dragon, a game store in Nashua. “I think the demographic [of players] is growing.”
Megan Kilar, who works at Collectibles Unlimited, a game store in Concord, said the pandemic was also responsible for a “Dungeons & Dragons renaissance.”
“There are a lot of board games that you can really only play in person, but D&D is one that you can play together online, so for many people, playing D&D was a way to connect with their friends during Covid,” she said.
Relentless Dragon hosts organized D&D games three nights a week that are open to anyone with any level of interest in the game.
“People are welcome to drop in and sit in on a session to observe, or to join,” Ribak said. “You don’t really need anything except a willingness to try things out. … We’ll help you get an introduction to the game.”
Tabletop gaming at Game Knight in Manchester. Courtesy photo.
Another game that has stood the test of time and continues to attract new players is Magic: The Gathering, a fantasy trading card game that came out in the early 1990s.
“Magic is great, because the rules haven’t changed,” Kilar said. “If you knew how to play Magic 10 or 15 years ago, you still know how to play Magic, and if you don’t, it’s easy enough to pick up.”
You can find weekly Magic games at both Collectibles Unlimited and Relentless Dragon as well as other local game shops.
If you like games involving strategy and games that allow you to be creative, Warhammer, a medieval-fantasy war game played with custom miniatures, has the best of both worlds, Kiler said. Around since the 1980s, Warhammer has maintained a following and is, according to Kiler, the most popular game at Collectibles Unlimited.
“There’s a lot to it,” she said. “You paint your miniatures on your own however you want to, and then you have to think about how you’re going to use your army and what each of your units is going to do.”
Your tabletop game options don’t end with the classics; Matt Summers, owner of Game Knight, a BYOB game shop and gaming lounge in Manchester, said there’s “a pretty decent market” for tabletop games, and that it’s growing all the time.
“A lot of people think board games have gone by the wayside, but they’ve actually been evolving,” Summers said. “There’s brand new games — all kinds of crazy games — coming out almost every month.”
Modern games have expanded into many different themes and genres beyond fantasy, Summers said, such as cyberpunk, outer space, crowd games and games based on anime series like Cowboy Bebop and My Hero Academia.
Every Saturday, Game Knight opens a game that’s new to the store and teaches people how to play it.
“We don’t want to be a niche-type store,” Summers said. “The sky’s the limit in [the game] world — if you can think of it, there’s probably a game for it — and we want to do it all so that anyone can come and game the way they want.”
If your post-pandemic social life could use a boost, Riback said, playing games at your local game store is a great way to get out of the house and engage with other people in a relaxed atmosphere.
“It’s really important, especially now, to be able to step away from our screens for a bit and get some face time with our fellow humans,” he said. “[The store] provides a place where people can do that, and everyone is welcome.”
Play tabletop games
Here are some local game shops and gaming lounges where you can play tabletop games.
• Awesome Cards, Collectibles, & Games (123 Nashua Road, Unit 14, Londonderry, 404-6996, awesomeccg.com)
• Boards and Brews Board Game Cafe (941 Elm St., Manchester, 232-5184, boardsandbrewsnh.com)
• Collectibles Unlimited (25 South St., Concord, 228-3712, collectiblesunlimited.biz)
Yu-Gi-Oh – Wednesday, 7 p.m., and Saturday, 11 a.m.
Magic: The Gathering (Commander) – Thursday, 7 p.m., and Saturday, 3 p.m.
Magic: The Gathering (draft) – Friday, 7 p.m.
Flesh & Blood TCG – Friday, 7 p.m.
Cardfight Vanguard – Saturday, 3 p.m.
Weekly events at Concord location:
Flesh & Blood TCG – Sunday, 1 p.m.
Magic: The Gathering (Commander) – Thursday, 7 p.m., and Saturday, noon
Magic: The Gathering (draft) – Friday, 7 p.m.
• Game Knight (North End Shops at Livingston Park, 545 Hooksett Road, Manchester, 232-4813, gameknightnh.wixsite.com)
Weekly events:
Dungeons & Dragons – Wednesdays, 6 to 10 p.m.
Magic: The Gathering (Commander) – Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m.
Magic: The Gathering (Draft) – Friday, 7 p.m.
Ultimate Day of Gaming (the shop introduces a new game)
• The Relentless Dragon Game Store (483 Amherst St., Nashua, 204-5275, relentlessdragon.com)
Weekly events:
Dungeons & Dragons – Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 6 to 9 p.m.
Magic: The Gathering – Friday, 5 to 11 p.m.
• Merrymac Games and Comics (550 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack, 420-8161, merrymacgc.com)
Weekly events:
Magic: The Gathering (Draft) – Wednesday, 6 to 10 p.m.
Magic: The Gathering (Commander) – Thursday, 6 to 9 p.m.
Magic: The Gathering (Modern) – Friday, 6:30 to 10 p.m.
• Midgard Comics and Games (55 Crystal Ave., No. 21, Derry, 260-6180, midgardcomicsandgames.com)
Weekly events:
Digimon – Thursday, 6:30 to 10 p.m.
Magic: The Gathering – Friday, 6:30 to 10 p.m.
• Tactical Tabletop Gaming (940 Suncook Valley, Epsom, 736-0411, tacticaltabletopgaming.com)
Free RPG Day
Free RPG Day, an annual worldwide promotional event for role-playing tabletop games, will take place on Saturday, Oct. 16. Participating game, comic book and hobby retailers partner with participating game publishers to provide free content for RPGs, including booklets with exclusive adventures, campaigns, guides, character profiles and previews, as well as RPG accessories and swag, like special-edition dice. This year’s featured RPGs will include Twilight Imperium, Talisman Adventures, Fabula Ultima, Warhammer, Victoriana, Achtung! Cthulhu, Pathfinder, Zombicide, Blue Rose, Vast Grimm, Humblewood, Epic Encounter, Iron Kingdoms and Dungeons & Dragons. More may be announced. For more information and updates about Free RPG Day, visit freerpgday.com or find them on social media @freerpgday.
Here are the local retailers officially registered as Free RPG Day participants. Other retailers may be hosting unofficial celebrations with special activities and promotions of their own.
• Awesome Cards, Collectibles, & Games (123 Nashua Road, Unit 14, Londonderry, 404-6996, awesomeccg.com) • Game Knight (North End Shops at Livingston Park, 545 Hooksett Road, Manchester, 232-4813, gameknightnh.wixsite.com) • Jetpack Comics (37 N. Main St., Rochester, 330-9636, jetpackcomics.com) • Pop Culture Cards, Comics, Collectibles, and Gaming (66 Route 27, Raymond, 244-1850, popculturenh.com) • The Relentless Dragon Game Store (483 Amherst St., Nashua, 204-5275, relentlessdragon.com)
Featured photo: Electric Avenue Arcade in Manchester.Courtesy photo.
Information from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services
Covid-19 news
As of Oct. 11 there were 3,941 active infections of Covid-19 statewide and 142 current hospitalizations. Two additional deaths were announced on Oct. 11, bringing the total to 1,499.
On Oct. 8, following the postponement of an Executive Council meeting the previous week regarding federal grants for vaccine funding, New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella issued a memo to Gov. Chris Sununu saying that the state is able to accept the money without being locked into any future federal mandates. Anti-vaccine protests had forced the postponement of the Sept. 29 meeting, according to a report from WMUR. “I appreciate that the Attorney General has been very clear in his determination that these contracts do not bind the New Hampshire state government to any sweeping federal mandates, ensuring our state’s sovereignty in how we manage the Covid pandemic,” Sununu said in an Oct. 8 statement.
HealthCost
Last week the New Hampshire Department of Insurance launched the state’s new HealthCost website (nhhealthcost.nh.gov), which helps people compare prices across health care facilities with additional medical procedures and new information on hospital quality measures. According to a press release, the site also includes information on health insurance and an interactive tool to compare hospitals’ quality of care, cleanliness and customer satisfaction.
Spirit at MHT
Manchester-Boston Regional Airport has expanded its services. On Oct. 7 the airport celebrated the first flight of Spirit Airlines, which provided transportation between Manchester and several Florida locations. In the security area at Spirit’s gate, Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig, Spirit’s Vice President of Guest Experience & Brand Lania Rittenhouse, and Airport Director Ted Kitchens gave their remarks on the expansion. According to a press release, Spirit is the first new passenger airline that Manchester-Boston Regional Airport has welcomed in 17 years.
Juvenile justice
Last week Gov. Chris Sununu signed an order establishing the formation of the Juvenile Justice Reform Commission, an advisory group to update and replace the State Advisory Group for Juvenile Justice. According to a press release, the New Hampshire Juvenile Justice Reform Commission will “assist the state in aligning New Hampshire’s juvenile justice system with advances in scientific understanding of adolescent development and youth offenders.” The group’s primary role is to advise the state on its use of federal juvenile justice grants and supporting compliance with federal juvenile justice requirements. The original advisory group had been in place for more than 20 years, created by Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, and the formation of this new group is an effort to bring in fresh perspectives and ideas, the release said. “I would like to thank all new members for agreeing to serve the state in this incredibly important mission, and I have full confidence they will meet the challenges and opportunities facing the state as we create a juvenile justice system designed to meet the needs of the individuals, families, and communities in a safe, data-driven, and evidence-based manner,” Sununu said in a statement.
Organic certification
The state has terminated the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire’s certification program for organic processor/handle and livestock operations, according to a press release from NOFA-NH, which noted that the decision could impact as many as 45 state-certified organic farms, processors and handlers as well as farms that were in the process of transitioning to and becoming certified organic. An “adequate transition plan” was not put in place, the release said, and the farms affected will have to contract with a new certifier in the coming year.
Career schools
Smaller career schools in New Hampshire will no longer need to be regulated or licensed by the New Hampshire Department of Education’s Office of Career School Licensing, or pay licensing and licensing renewal fees. According to a press release, career schools are defined as post-secondary institutions that provide training in trades and vocational skills that expand students’ employment opportunities. The Senate Bill 148, signed into law by Gov. Chris Sununu in August, applies to private career schools with an adjusted gross income of less than $100,000 per year, of which there are 41 existing in the state. Newly established career schools meeting those criteria will not need to apply for a license from the state. “This change will make it easier for smaller career schools to operate and promote the creation of new vocational schools in New Hampshire with minimal risk to participating students,” Stephen Appleby, Director of Educator Support and Higher Education with NH-DOE, said in the release. Career schools may still opt to remain licensed or apply for licensure if they want to participate in federal programs that require it. Any schools affected by the law that grow to exceed an AGI of $100,000 in the future will at that point be required to go back and receive regulation and licensing by the state again.
Choose Love
The New Hampshire Department of Corrections has joined with the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement to provide its programming to incarcerated residents. According to a press release, the Corrections Choose Love Program will include daily activities that will reinforce and support social and emotional learning skills, to improve the residents’ relationships and interactions with their families and communities. Funding for the program was awarded to NHDOC’s Family Connections Center from the state Department of Health and Human Services’ Community Collaborations to Strengthen and Preserve Families. Choose Love has been incorporated into schools, state and local departments and various organizations across New Hampshire, the release said.
Last week Gov. Chris Sununu visited Jeremiah and Jamie Crosby’s home in Springfield to highlight the state’s investment in broadband upgrades, after allocating short-term CARES Act funds to broadband expansion. According to a press release, $13 million went to 16 projects that benefitted over 4,500 households, and the state is expected to receive an additional $122 million in one-time federal funds to provide broadband access to every household in the state.
To commemorate the founding of Daughters of the American Revolution, on Oct. 11, 1890, 10 members of the local Buntin-Rumford-Webster chapter gathered at the Old Fort Cemetery in East Concord on Oct. 8 to clean and reset gravestones. According to a press release, two of the stones that were cleaned belonged to American Revolutionary War patriot Moses Eastman and his wife, Elizabeth.
UpReach Therapeutic Equestrian Center will host volunteer trainings at its facility in Goffstown on Saturday, Oct. 16, from 9 a.m. to noon and Tuesday, Oct. 26, from 1 to 4 p.m. According to a press release, volunteers must be at least 14 and be physically able to lead a horse at the walk and provide support as needed to mounted participants. Supplemental trainings are required for volunteers who want to handle or lead a horse, on Saturday, Oct. 16, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. and Wednesday, Oct. 27, from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Email kathryn@upreachtec.org or call 497-2343.
Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester officially opened its new Esports Arena with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Oct. 8. According to a press release, the arena is equipped with live broadcasting and streaming capabilities and 18 high-end gaming PCs, giving SNHU esports players a place to practice their gaming skills and compete against varsity opponents across the U.S. and Canada.
Though he’s a native of Wisconsin, Willy Porter feels a strong connection to the Granite State.
“I think I could easily live in New Hampshire,” he said in a recent phone interview. “I just love the pace of life there.”
Porter returns frequently for shows at The Flying Goose in New London, and this year he’ll be there for two nights to start their live music season.
Porter’s career began around the time Tom Mills opened the restaurant turned brewpub in 1993; his breakthrough LP, Dog Eared Dream, arrived a year later. His ties to the area include a long collaboration with musician and artist Tom Pirozzoli. The two have written together over the years and in 2020 made an album, Reckon by the Light.
“He’s got a great eye as a poet and a painter,” Porter said of Pirozzoli. “He’s one of the guys you want around.”
Porter has made almost a dozen records over his three-decade career. His most recent, mnemonic, arrived just ahead of the pandemic, on Valentine’s Day 2020. With its release, he played a trio show in his home state, then headed to Florida to start a tour in support of the new disc.
When he got there, the world shut down.
After being stranded for a bit, Porter flew back to Wisconsin. He didn’t perform again until June of this year, other than playing for a handpicked crowd last fall to help an Omaha, Nebraska performing arts center stay open.
“It was a strange sort of mummified show … everybody fully wrapped,” he said of the event, which was livestreamed. “I did get to play this extraordinary room; it was like going from my basement to Carnegie Hall.”
Now, beginning with a festival in Oregon and continuing in New England, Porter is finally back on the road.
“I was looking at my luggage and I saw the baggage tag was from the return from Florida on March 12 of 2020,” he said, and offered a baseball metaphor for emphasis. “It’s a gift to come off the Covid bench, get back in it and see some old friends.”
Porter drew from the pandemic and America’s pastime for a single he put out in early summer. “Baseball On The Radio” recalls a trip to Sears with his dad that’s more about time away from his mom than shopping, as the two bond over their beloved Brewers and announcer Bob Uecker calls the game.
“I asked him, ‘Why are we here?’ He said, ‘Because your mother’s not,’ … I just looked at him and then he kind of just smiled, and we moved on. I think that was a time when the garage was just not far enough away,” he said. “I’m lucky that I grew up in a house where my parents always worked it out.”
The hopeful, nostalgic song was also aimed at a reeling country.
“We’re coming out of Covid, and the one thing I’ve always loved is baseball, we can all rally around it. It’s an American thing, it’s not partisan, it’s just fantastic. It’s right up the middle, it’s where we’re from. I just wanted something that was uniquely positive … plus, it’s a lot of fun to sing about the Brewers.”
The song will appear on a new album Porter is working on with Dog Eared Dream producer Mike Hoffman.
“It only took us 27 years to do the follow-up together,” he said with a laugh. The forthcoming disc draws inspiration from his experience revisiting the 1994 record on its 25th anniversary in 2019.
“It was a very hopeful time,” he said. “Going back, you can pull some of that energy out of that music again and reapply it. Not that I’m trying to replicate it, but there’s a mindset, a psychology of hope in both of those records. I’m definitely trying to tap into [that] with this new project.”
Willy Porter
When: Wednesday, Oct. 6, and Thursday, Oct. 7, 8 p.m. Where: Flying Goose Pub, 40 Andover Road, New London Tickets: $25 at flyinggoose.com
A young Tony Soprano is mentored by Dickie Moltisanti in “this thing of ours” in The Many Saints of Newark, a Sopranos prequel/little fan service treat.
Dickie (Alessandro Nivola) is the father of Christopher (as an adult, Michael Imperioli), who was the guy The Sopranos-era Tony Soprano took under his wing in fatherly fashion. Here, we see Christopher’s father serve that role for Tony (William Ludwig as a kid; Michael Gandolfini, son of the late James Gandolfini, as a teen), particularly when his own father, Johnny Soprano (Jon Bernthal), is away in prison. Tony frequently has an easier time relating to Dickie than to his own mother, Livia (Vera Farmiga, going all out), who is, you’ll recall, A Lot.
By the way, that previous paragraph, with all the “this guy is that guy’s father and also related to this other guy” is how this movie feels from the very beginning. In the movie’s opening scene, which sets up the movie’s narration, there was a piece of information that caused me to press pause and then have a whole “wait, he had a kid?” discussion. The Many Saints of Newark often feels like an extended conversation about second and third cousins, where you keep forgetting who everybody is and how they’re connected.
The movie actually gets going in part with Christopher’s grandfather, Dickie’s father, Hollywood Dick (Ray Liotta) returning from Italy with an extremely young new wife, Giuseppina (Michela Di Rossi). Dickie — who appears to still live in the family home with his own wife, Joanne (Gabriella Piazza) — instantly has the hots for Giuseppina and also there’s all sorts of psychological weirdness about his father saying she’s going to have his second set of children while Dickie and Joanne struggle to conceive their own child and some residual anger from Dickie because of his father’s physical abuse (toward him as a kid, toward his mother and now toward Giuseppina). Dickie, we learn, also has a temper.
Through it all, kid Tony seems to go to great lengths to be around Dickie, whose occupation seems to involve the numbers racket and stolen goods. Tony gets in his own small-time trouble: as a kid he gets kicked out of school for setting up a little-kid numbers racket, as a teen he gets busted for buying a stolen test. But there is part of him that seems to want what somebody at some point calls a civilian life — he plays football, he dreams of college.
I’m not saying I want this but there is a version of this project that isn’t a two-hour movie but a three-season HBO show, where side plots like the ambitions of Giuseppina or everything to do with Harold McBrayer (Leslie Odum Jr.), a man whom we first meet working for Dickie but who wants to strike out on his own, get richer development. McBrayer in particular is an interesting character — initially collecting cash for Dickie but deciding to go out on his own: a numbers-running operation in the Black community controlled by him and not the Italian mob. His story intersects with the Newark riots and real-life gangster Frank Lucas. But as presented here, a lot of his story feels kind of stuffed in. “Here are some ideas” is the feel of McBrayer and Giuseppina’s arcs but then the action of the movie is really centered on Dickie. And, my attention was usually on Tony and his growing into the guy we remember from the TV show and all the familiar names associated with that. You know how the post-credits scene of a superhero movie will show a costumed character or mention a first and last name and you know that you’re supposed to know who this person is and understand their significance? That is sort of how this movie is, but for the whole movie (and I say this as someone who watched the entire run of The Sopranos). As was pointed out to me by my movie night companion, a lot of those “hey, that’s Silvio Dante” or “they just mentioned Hesh” aren’t important for the plot of this specific movie. But because this is a Sopranos property, you can’t help focusing on these elements.
All of that said, this movie was fun to watch, even if I seemed to watch it in 10-minute chunks, pausing for frequent “is that the guy who”-type conversations. There are truly horrifying moments, truly funny moments and some solid bits of acting, including from Farmiga and Gandolfini. And like a family gathering full of third cousins and unplaceable children (a nephew? By marriage? Which marriage to whom?), The Many Saints of Newark feels overstuffed and even overwhelming at times but also familiar and enjoyable to spend time with in this limited setting. The movie displays some quality construction and dialogue and reminds you just what a standout, even after the ensuing decades of peak TV, The Sopranos really was. B-
Rated R for strong violence, pervasive language, sexual content and some nudity, according to the MPA on filmratings.com. Directed by Alan Taylor with a screenplay by David Chase & Lawrence Konner, The Many Saints of Newark is two hours long and is distributed in theaters by Warner Bros. Pictures and is on HBO Max until Oct. 31.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage (PG-13)
The alien symbiote/human goofball partnership that lives inside Eddie Brock accidentally spawns a bigger, redder creature in Venom: Let There Be Carnage.
And, as you may have already heard, there is a mid-credits scene in this movie. On balance, I’d say it’s worth waiting for because you already put on your outside clothes to come to the movie theater anyway and it is a fun little teaser for [redacted].
If you ever watched the late great one-season ABC show Stumptown, you’ll remember the somewhat ratty car that lead character Dex drove — it had a broken tape player that would on-the-nose-ily turn on and it always looked like it was one too-fast turn from coming completely apart. Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) feels like the human version of this — just barely keeping himself together. And, in truth, that’s what he’s often doing: just barely keeping Venom, the evil-Spider-Man-looking alien symbiote who lives inside him, from popping out and going on some kind of destructive rampage. Eddie talks back to the pestering Venom voice (that only he can hear) who seems to spend a lot of time asking to eat either people or chocolate, or complaining about Eddie’s inability to get back together with his former fiancee Anne (Michelle Williams), who is now dating Dr. Dan (Reid Scott).
But Venom is useful too. When Eddie interviews serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson), it’s Venom who notices some of the drawings on Cletus’ wall and helps Eddie figure out that one of them points to the location of Cletus’ victims’ bodies. This earns Eddie some acclaim — and Cletus’ rage, as the appearance of all the new bodies has the state of California decide to make an exception to its “no more executions” rule just for Cletus. During his final meeting with Eddie, though, Cletus provokes Venom and bites Eddie, getting just enough of that weird alien symbiote-infected blood to grow his own strange creature inside himself, which I think eventually calls itself Carnage.
Unfortunately for Eddie (and everyone else in the city), by the time Cletus/Carnage have broken out of San Quentin, Eddie and Venom have, er, broken up. Eddie doesn’t like how Venom causes thoughtless havoc in Eddie’s life and Venom isn’t cool with how Eddie keeps him from eating human brains (they had bought chickens for Venom to eat but he ended up naming them — Sonny and Cher — and is now too attached).
Cletus and Carnage and Cletus’ long-lost girlfriend Frances (Naomie Harris) — this movie’s villains — are very “meh, whatever” villains. (Ditto a character called Detective Mulligan played by Stephen Graham, who by the end of the movie is less of a character and more just comic book homework.) Is Harrelson appropriately crazy? Sure, he’s pretty good at that kind of character. But I found myself wishing we could just cool it with Cletus and his motivations and his backstory and spend more time with Tom Hardy and his Eddie/Venom duo. Hardy seems to be having a really good time with this/these character/s (Hardy even has a story-by credit). Obviously CGI plays a big part in the look of Venom but the personality seems to come from Hardy letting Eddie be more of a, well, goober and Venom more “immediate reaction of all your worst impulses.” It makes for an overall very watchable, fairly silly — if still quite violent, I was kind of surprised this movie is only a PG-13 — lead character even if everything going on around him is less than thrilling. B-
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some strong language, disturbing material and suggestive references, according to the MPA on filmratings.com. Directed by Andy Serkis (yes that Andy Serkis) with a screenplay by Kelly Marcel, Venom: Let There Be Carnage is an hour and 37 minutes long and distributed in theaters by Columbia Pictures.
The Addams Family 2 (PG)
The altogether-ooky family hits the road in The Addams Family 2, a rather underwhelming second entry in this rather underwhelming animated adaptation of the Addams Family.
After preteen Wednesday Addams (voice of Chloë Grace Moretz) gets annoyed with her family for showing up to her science fair, dad Gomez (voice of Oscar Isaac) decides he must yank his daughter back into the fold with a family road trip. Mom Morticia (voice of Charlize Theron) and younger kid Pugsley (voice of Javan Walton) load up the family’s camper (which has kind of a steampunk hearse carriage/iron lung appearance) and set out for three weeks, along with Thing, Lurch (voice of Conrad Vernon), Uncle Fester (voice of Nick Kroll) and occasionally Cousin It (voice of Snoop Dog).
Right before the family leaves, though, a lawyer named Mr. Mustela (voice of Wallace Shawn) shows up to inform the Addamses that Wednesday might have been switched at birth and might not actually be an Addams. They laugh it off at first, thinking it’s just Wednesday trying to get out of the family trip, but Mustela follows the Addams family as they travel across the county.
Is Wednesday really not an Addams or does this lawyer and his story have something to do with Wednesday’s science experiment, which involved briefly giving Uncle Fester the intelligence of a Rubik’s Cube-solving octopus? When the science fair sponsor, Curtis Strange (voice of Bill Hader), asked Wednesday for her research, she turned him down, but he doesn’t seem like the type to accept “no.” Also, maybe Fester’s transformation wasn’t as “brief” as originally thought, since he suddenly has an irresistible urge to be near water and one of his arms is looking very cephalopod-like.
There is an off-kilter oddball energy to the 1990s live-action Addams Family movies that is missing here. These Addamses are spooky, sure, in kind of a Halloween decoration way, and Wednesday is still trying to kill her brother Pugsley in a way that felt a little too murderous to have me rushing to show this to my young elementary-aged kids. But there’s a gleeful weirdness that made those movies something I always end up stopping to watch if I flip past them. Here, the Addams-ness is rather muted beneath a very standard “family appreciating each other” tale.
Now, that same factor — fewer electrocutions and babies with knives — might make it more palatable/less nightmare-inducing for, say 8-year-olds and up (whereas I felt the first movie in this series was maybe for more like 10-year-olds and older). So the mushiness that makes it a less interesting Addams movie probably does make it a better kids’ movie — which, of course, kids in the audience is really the whole point of this movie. And the overall look of the film is fun in the way that a lot of spooky themed stuff is fun. I feel like kids who generally enjoy monsters and scary stuff (but still need their scary stuff to be not too scary) will enjoy this. C+
Rated PG for macabre and rude humor, violence and language, according to the MPA on filmratings.com. Directed by Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon with a screenplay by Dan Hernandez & Benji Samit and Ben Queen and Susanna Fogel, The Addams Family 2 is an hour and 33 minutes long and distributed by United Artists Releasing. It is in theaters and available via Video On Demand.
The Music Hall 28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth 436-2400, themusichall.org
Red River Theatres 11 S. Main St., Concord 224-4600, redrivertheatres.org
Regal Fox Run Stadium 15 45 Gosling Road, Newington regmovies.com
The Strand 20 Third St., Dover 343-1899, thestranddover.com
Wilton Town Hall Theatre 40 Main St., Wilton wiltontownhalltheatre.com, 654-3456
Shows
• The Witch (R, 2015) screening at The Strand in Dover on Wednesday, Oct .6, 7 p.m. Tickets cost $6.
• Night of the Living Dead (1968) screening on Thursday, Oct. 7, at 7 p.m. at Red River Theatres in Concord.
• Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (R, 2013) screening at The Strand in Dover on Thursday, Oct. 7, 7 p.m. Tickets cost $6.
• 21+ Trivia Night for The Nightmare Before Christmas at Chunky’s in Manchester on Thursday, Oct. 7, at 7:30 p.m. Reserve a seat with the purchase of a $5 food voucher.
• The Evil Dead (NC-17, 1981) 40th anniversary screening with intro from Bruce Campbell on Thursday, Oct. 7, at 7:30 p.m. at AMC Londonderry 10, Lowell Showcase Cinemas and Regal Fox Run Stadium 1 via Fathom Events.
• I’m Your Man (R, 2021) screening at Red River Theatres in Concord, Friday, Oct. 8, through Monday, Oct. 11, at 1, 4 & 7 p.m.
• Lamb (R, 2021) screening at Red River Theatres in Concord, Friday, Oct. 8, through Monday, Oct. 11, at 1:30, 4:30 and 7:30 p.m.
• The Conjuring (R, 2013) screening at The Strand in Dover on Friday, Oct. 8, 7 p.m. Tickets cost $10.
• Maleficent (PG, 2014) screening at The Strand in Dover on Saturday, Oct. 9,2 p.m. Tickets cost $6.
• The Nowhere Inn (R, 2021) screening at The Music Hall in Portsmouth on Saturday, Oct. 9, at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $15.
• Hocus Pocus (PG, 1993) screening at The Strand in Dover on Sunday, Oct.10, 2 p.m. Tickets cost $6.
• The White Tiger (1923), a silent film with live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, at Wilton Town Hall Theatre on Sunday, Oct. 10, at 2 p.m. Admission is free; $10 donation suggested.
• Scream (R, 1996) on Sunday, Oct. 10, at 3 p.m. at Cinemark Rockingham Park, AMC Methuen and Regal Fox Run and at 7 p.m. at AMC Methuen and Regal Fox Run. Also screening Monday, Oct. 11, at 7 p.m. on Cinemark Rockingham Park, Regal Fox Run and AMC Methuen. All via Fathom Events.
Chefs Mike Prete and Matt Greco found success in 2011 with The Kitchen, a casual eatery in Portsmouth focusing on elevated sandwiches and burgers. A full-service catering company would follow three years later, further expanding on the pair’s scratch-made comfort offerings.
On Sept. 17 The Kitchen found a new home in downtown Warner — Prete now runs this expanded concept, while Greco continues to operate the eatery’s original spot in Portsmouth.
Shortly after he and his family moved to the small New Hampshire town of Salisbury, Prete had brought The Kitchen’s concept to nearby Andover in late 2018. Then last summer he learned about the closure and sale of The Foothills restaurant in Warner.
“We kind of just outgrew our space,” Prete said. “We only had an 1,100- to 1,200-square-foot space in Andover and we were trying to do catering and the restaurant out of one little space and it just wasn’t working. The Foothills … [is] an over 5,000-square-foot space.”
After several weeks of renovations that included upgrades on almost every piece of its equipment, The Kitchen opened with limited dinner hours to start. The eatery offers its own takes on traditional sandwiches that are elevated but remain approachable — the turkey club, for instance, features hand-sliced turkey with fried tomatoes, pork belly in place of bacon, and a house-roasted shallot mayonnaise. There is also a smash burger that is pressed in an iron skillet before being served on Texas toast with cheddar and American cheeses and sauteed onions; and a short rib grilled cheese, which has pepper relish and roasted marinated tomatoes.
Beyond the sandwiches and burgers there are a number of plated appetizers and dinner items, with many more options Prete said will be introduced over time. Unique appetizers include crispy wonton nachos with pulled duck, onions, scallions and a sweet chili sauce; a homemade sausage board with two types of sausages, pickled fennel and a mustard seed and bacon jam; and an option called “which came first,” featuring two deviled eggs and two chicken drummettes, one of each with blue cheese-ranch dressing and Buffalo sauce.
“We have a steak of the week, and then a catch of the week that rotates,” Prete said. “We also have a full line of liquor, beer and wine [options], with a lot of local beers on draft.”
Short-term plans, Prete said, include online ordering and expanding The Kitchen’s hours to include lunch service starting at 11 a.m. A deli case with take-and-bake dinners, soups, salads and quiches is also expected, as well as additional seating out on the front porch and back deck.
Eventually, Prete said he would also like to begin serving a variety of breakfast and brunch items, from eggs Benedicts to brioche French toasts and Belgian waffles.
The Kitchen
Where: 15 E. Main St., Warner Hours: Wednesday through Saturday, 4 to 8 p.m.; expanded lunch hours are likely coming soon More info: Visit feedmeatthekitchen.com, find them on Facebook @thekitchenwarner or call 977-0128
New photo exhibition, book capture 21st-century life in NH
The “New Hampshire Now” statewide photographic exhibition and accompanying book could just as accurately be called “The Real New Hampshire,” with its honest and heartfelt representation of the good, the bad and the beautiful that makes up the Granite State.
The exhibition and book are the culmination of a two-year project that saw nearly 50 photographers capturing the people, places and events that make the state what it is.
“I felt that we needed to make a photographic document that reflects New Hampshire in the 21st century,” said Gary Samson, who proposed the project to the New Hampshire Society of Photographic Artists. “I was really thrilled that the NHSPA wanted to take [it on].”
The photographers all volunteered their time and covered the state’s seven regions, taking pictures of whatever they personally thought represents the real New Hampshire, in this moment.
“I was not aiming to produce a pretty picture book of New Hampshire,” Samson said. “The story here, really, is the photographers digging in.”
That, of course, meant including the pandemic. Samson said meeting in person became impossible, but it gave them the chance to extend and change the direction of the project, and to safely document the pandemic.
“There were some photographers who really dug into that,” Samson said. “Like life, the project became somewhat unpredictable.”
The project also took an interesting turn when, several months into it, the New Hampshire Historical Society offered to collaborate on it. Originally the photos were going to serve as a sort of historical document that would be archived for future generations. But the Society raised funds to publish a book and arranged for eight cultural centers around the state to host exhibitions.
Each exhibition contains images from the collection that are most relevant to that region. But Samson said there are major themes that are included in most of them, like the pandemic, the presidential election, homelessness and Black Lives Matter.
“I think the shows are pretty fair in what they represent,” he said.
Still, what you see at the show at the Millyard Museum in Manchester is not the same show as the one you’ll get up north, to the west or on the Seacoast.
“I love the bucolic countryside photos that may have come to us from Lancaster or Colebrook or even the Seacoast, but that’s not the reality of Manchester,” Manchester Historic Association Executive Director John Clayton said. “Our particular slice of the state is far more populous, beset with the problems that come with urban areas.”
Samson said there’s a whole section of the book about homelessness in Manchester, which he saw firsthand when he spent part of a day photographing the city.
“I was stunned when I saw so many tents around the courthouse and the park,” he said. “This is also an important story to tell about New Hampshire; there are a lot of people who are in desperate straits.”
Clayton said he hopes that people who come to the Millyard exhibition will look at it and be able to think about the state in greater depth.
“I think this will be an eye-opener,” he said.
Fletcher Manley, one of the project’s most prolific photographers, captured a very different piece of New Hampshire.
“I live up here in the North Country and I wanted to represent the North Country,” he said. “This is not a terribly gentrified part of the state. It’s still “fringey” … and that’s part of the appeal to a good many.”
Manley said he focused on the area’s “tremendous natural resources,” like the White Mountain range. But he also took shots of people that symbolize what it means to live in northern New Hampshire. One was of a young woman working in her garden with a young child on her back; when he saw her, he thought of an earth goddess working the soil. In the image, the little girl’s smile is as big as her mother’s.
“You can’t plan for these shots,” he said.
There’s also an image of a man who has lived up north his whole life and used to work in the paper mills. He built his own home, tills his own soil and played a big part in the grassroots effort to stop Northern Pass.
“He’s typical of the resourcefulness of the people up here,” Manley said.
Manley used his own resourcefulness to take photos that he thinks outsiders wouldn’t have been able to get.
“You really need to be of an area so you know the nooks and crannies … and whose backyards you can cross through,” Manley said.
The “New Hampshire Now” flagship exhibition is at the New Hampshire Historical Society in Concord, with images that represent the state as a whole, so it includes Manley’s North Country along with the six other regions.
The Millyard Museum will host a discussion panel on the exhibit on Saturday, Oct. 9, at 11 a.m. with photographers Samson, Claudia Rippee and Mark Bolton, with Clayton moderating.
“There are many different New Hampshires, and I think people who come [here] will see there’s much more of an urban flavor to the Manchester and Merrimack Valley exhibit.”
“New Hampshire Now”
For more information about the exhibition and where to purchase the New Hampshire Now book, visit newhampshirenow.org.
Region-specific exhibitions Belknap Mill Society, Laconia Davidow Center for Art + Design, New London Historical Society of Cheshire County, Keene Millyard Museum, Manchester Museum of the White Mountains, Plymouth New Hampshire Historical Society, Concord Portsmouth Historical Society, Portsmouth Tillotson Center, Colebrook
Events A Discussion with New Hampshire Now Photographers Project Director Gary Samson and photographers Claudia Rippee and Mark Bolton for a panel discussion about their work on the project. Where: Manchester Historic Association’s Millyard Museum When: Saturday, Oct. 9, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Cost: Free and open to the public. For advanced registration, call 622-7531 or email history@manchesterhistoric.org.
New Hampshire Historical Society: New Hampshire Through the Lens of a Camera Join a panel of photographers who participated in “New Hampshire Now” and learn more about their experiences capturing the Granite State and Granite Staters. Where: Virtual When: Wednesday, Oct. 13, 7 to 8:30 p.m. Cost: Free. Register through Eventbrite.com.
New Hampshire Historical Society: “More than Just a Pretty Picture” Gary Samson and art historian Inez McDermott explore how “New Hampshire Now” fits in with other documentary photography projects in American history and discuss recurring themes that emerged during the project. Where: New Hampshire Historical Society, Concord When: Saturday, Oct. 16, 2 to 4 p.m. Cost: Free with the price of admission ($7)
Featured photo: New Hampshire Now. Courtesy photo.
CELEBRATE YOUR FAVORITE GOURD AT LOCAL PUMPKIN FESTS PLUS WHERE TO PICK YOUR OWN
Flavors of fall
Milford Pumpkin Festival returns
by Matt Ingersoll
When longtime Milford resident Wade Campbell learned that the town’s annual pumpkin festival was at risk of not continuing in 2018, he and several volunteers, local organizations and community members set out to take it over. Three years later, Campbell is now director of the Granite Town Festivities Committee, carrying on the decades-long tradition of the Milford Pumpkin Festival in partnership with the Milford Rotary and Lions clubs.
The three-day event will return to the Milford Oval and surrounding areas from Friday, Oct. 8, to Sunday, Oct. 10, featuring local food vendors, beer and wine tastings, live music and family-friendly activities.
This will be the first in-person version of the Milford Pumpkin Festival in two years, although a scaled back virtual event mainly highlighting local musicians took place in 2020.
“I’m really excited. I’ve been looking forward to this ever since we ramped it back up,” Campbell said. “We did cancel the variety show and we have a few less vendors in the town hall, but overall there really isn’t much of a difference between this year and 2019.”
Friday evening’s opening festivities will include a pumpkin lighting ceremony at the Milford Town Hall, while on the Oval honorees for Milford’s Citizen of the Year will be announced.
At the nearby Community House Lawn, the Milford Rotary and Lions clubs are presenting two nights of beer, wine and spirit tastings on Friday and Saturday from more than two dozen local and regional vendors. Admission is available at the gate either night beginning at 5:30 p.m. — attendees are given a total of 10 tasting tickets, which are redeemable for a four-ounce sample of beer, a one-ounce sample of wine or a ½-ounce sample of liquor per vendor.
Pumpkin Fest Tasting
Beer, wine and spirits tastings
When: Friday, Oct. 8, and Saturday, Oct. 9, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Where: Milford Community House Lawn, 5 Union St., Milford Cost: $20 per person; includes 10 tasting tickets, each for a four-ounce sample of beer, a one-ounce sample of wine or a ½-ounce sample of liquor Visit: milfordpumpkinfestival.org/bws-tastings Free parking and shuttle bus services will be available at Milford Middle School (33 Osgood Road) on Friday and at Milford High School (100 West St.) throughout the weekend. Per federal regulations, face masks are required while riding the shuttle bus regardless of vaccination status.
This will be the first official festival participation for Concord’s Steadfast Spirits Distilling Co. since it opened in early 2020. Lori Lundergan, whose husband, CJ, is head distiller, said they will likely be pouring their fan-favorite Apple Pie moonshine-mixed cocktail — better known under the name Trouble’s Moonshine — in addition to some other flavors of their signature selections.
Averill House Vineyard of Brookline will be there with its barrel-aged True Blue blueberry wine and its Little Secret Nebbiolo wine, owner Bob Waite said. The winery will also be promoting a unique Halloween-themed twist for its igloo experiences, which are being transformed into “wine caves” with blacklights and decorative spider webs throughout the month of October.
The beer, wine and spirit tasting on the Community House Lawn, Milford Pumpkin Fest. Courtesy photo.
Of course, in keeping with the festival’s theme, you can expect pumpkin brews. The Loft Brewing Co. of Milford will offer its OMG pumpkin ale, while on Friday only, Martha’s Exchange of Nashua is expected to bring its PumpkinWeizen, in addition to other selections.
“We have a few vendors who couldn’t physically make it but are donating product, so there will be a couple of tables where we’ll have volunteers, Rotarians or Lions doing the pouring,” said Tim Finan, former Milford Rotary Club president and coordinator of the tastings.
Dozens of local vendors, from restaurants and food trucks to crafters and artisans, will be set up at multiple spots throughout the weekend. On Friday night Papa Joe’s Humble Kitchen of Milford will be serving burgers at the Community House Lawn. Then on Saturday, members of the Milford Rotary and Lions clubs will team up to offer burgers, homemade sausages and more.
Rotarian Janet Langdell added that The Memo Foundation, a Milford-based nonprofit, will be back to serve Frito Pie, featuring homemade chili and cheese served in a Fritos corn chip bag.
More than 20 bands and singers will hold performances across two stages throughout the weekend. The Flying Gravity Circus will be there on Saturday afternoon, while the Boys & Girls Club of Souhegan Valley’s competitive dance team will perform on Sunday morning.
Other featured activities during the festival will include pumpkin and face painting, a “haunted trail” at the nearby Emerson Park, a pumpkin weigh-in contest and a pumpkin catapult.
32nd annual Milford Pumpkin Festival
Official Milford Pumpkin Festival hours are Friday, Oct. 8, 5 to 9 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 9, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sunday, Oct. 10, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visit milfordpumpkinfestival.org.
Friday, Oct. 8 • Live music performances: 5 to 9 p.m. on the Oval and Community House Lawn stages • Opening ceremonies and Town Hall pumpkin lighting: 6:30 p.m. • Haunted Trail: 6 to 9 p.m. at Emerson Park (6 Mont Vernon St.); tickets are $5 for adults and $1 for children under 10
Saturday, Oct. 9 • Milford history walking tour: 8 or 9:30 a.m.; begins at the Carey House (6 Union St.) and goes around the Oval and nearby sites • Live music performances: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on the Oval and Community House Lawn stages • Scarecrow making, pumpkin painting and face painting: 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on the Community House Lawn ($15 per scarecrow, $5 per pumpkin painting, $1 per face painting cheek and $5 for full face painting) • Pumpkin catapult: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the lower parking lot of TD Bank (57 South St.); the cost is $3 for one pumpkin shot and $5 for two shots • Eye-Spy scavenger hunt: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Carey House (6 Union St.) • Pumpkin carving: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the Oval • Great Pumpkin Weigh-In contest: Noon on the Oval • Flying Gravity Circus performance: 3 to 6 p.m. along Union Square, near the intersection of Union and Elm streets • Haunted Trail: 5:30 to 9 p.m. at Emerson Park (6 Mont Vernon St.); tickets are $5 for adults and $1 for children under 10
Sunday, Oct. 10 • Milford history walking tour: 8 or 9:30 a.m.; begins at the Carey House (6 Union St.) and goes around the Oval and nearby sites • Pumpkin catapult: 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the lower parking lot of TD Bank (57 South St.); the cost is $3 for one pumpkin shot and $5 for two shots • Scarecrow making, pumpkin painting and face painting: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., on the Community House Lawn ($15 per scarecrow, $5 per pumpkin painting, $1 per face painting cheek and $5 for full face painting) • Boys & Girls Club of Souhegan Valley’s competitive dance team performance: 10 a.m. on the Community House Lawn stage • Live music performances: 10:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Oval and Community House Lawn stages • Rubber duck race: 1 p.m. on the Souhegan River; ducks can be purchased at the Milford Ambulance Association’s booth on Middle Street, starting Friday at 5 p.m. and ending on Sunday at noon ($5 per duck, or $20 for five ducks)
Boatload of fun
Enormous pumpkins the star of Goffstown’s annual event
by Angie Sykeny
Goffstown Giant Pumpkin Weigh-off and Regatta
Where: Downtown Goffstown and the Piscataquog River When: Saturday, Oct. 16, and Sunday, Oct. 17 Cost: Free admission More info: goffstownmainstreet.org/pumpkin-regatta
There are a lot of creative uses for pumpkins, but it’s hard to top Goffstown’s Giant Pumpkin Weigh-off and Regatta.
The two-day fall festival will return on Saturday, Oct. 16, and Sunday, Oct. 17, with all kinds of pumpkin-related fun in the downtown area and, of course, the regatta, where teams from local community groups, schools and businesses will race down the Piscataquog River in boats made from giant pumpkins.
Images from previous Goffstown Giant Pumpkin Weigh Off & Regattas. Courtesy photos.
It all started in 2000 when Jim Beauchemin, a member of the New Hampshire Giant Pumpkin Growers Association, was thinking about what to do with his giant pumpkins once the pumpkin weigh-offs were over. His idea was to use the pumpkins as boats and create a community event centered around a pumpkin boat race on the river. It was a hit, with around 500 people attending the inaugural regatta.
“It’s a tradition and a really special thing … not just for Goffstown but for New Hampshire and even for New England, especially now, being able to come together again when we haven’t been able to for so long,” said Tracey Hutton, executive director of Goffstown Main Street Program, which hosts the event.
Members of the New Hampshire Giant Pumpkin Growers Association will present their pumpkins at the weigh-off on Saturday and compete to be the grower with the heaviest pumpkin. Then, all of the pumpkins that are structurally sound enough to be used as boats — Hutton said she’s expecting around six this year — will be handed over to the regatta teams to be converted.
For a pumpkin to function as a boat, it must be carved out, then filled with sandbags to ensure that it’s balanced and won’t roll over when it’s in the water. Once that’s done, the teams will get to work painting and decorating their boats based on this year’s chosen theme, “Back to the Future.”
“We thought that was an appropriate theme after having to skip last year’s event because of the pandemic,” Hutton said. “It’s like, we’re ‘back to the future’ of the regatta; the regatta is back.”
The regatta itself will take place on Sunday. Each team designates a captain, who is usually in costume fitting the theme, to race their pumpkin boat. Spectators gather along the perimeter as the captains use kayak paddles to float down the river, about 100 yards, to the Goffstown bridge. The team with the first boat to make it under the bridge wins the race and receives a trophy. The team with the best pumpkin boat design will also be awarded, with a travelling trophy to keep until next year’s regatta.
Another highlight of the event, Hutton said, is the pumpkin drop on Sunday.
“We take one of the giant pumpkins and drop it from a crane,” she said. “It’s always exciting to see that big pumpkin go ‘kersplat’ and explode.”
New this year, the event will also feature a fireworks show on Saturday night.
“We’re really excited to be doing something that we’ve never done before,” Hutton said. “I think people will really enjoy that extra bit of festivity.”
Other festivities happening throughout the weekend will include a mini pumpkin race on the river, pumpkin carving demonstrations, a pie eating contest, a dog costume contest, yoga and fitness classes, a scarecrow contest, a 10k road race, activities for kids, street vendors and food concessions.
“There are so many different things going on,” Hutton said. “It’ll be a great time to get something good to eat, buy a few things and just relax and enjoy each other’s company.”
Schedule of events
Saturday, Oct. 16 • 10K Race check-in (behind the Village Trestle) – 7 a.m. • Giant pumpkins arrive on the Common – 9 a.m. • Vendors, demonstrations and activities – starting at 9 a.m. • Doggie costume contest – 10 a.m. • Pumpkin Weigh-off on the Common – 10:30 a.m. • Kids pumpkin dash (Mill Street) – 11 a.m. • Crowing of the Prince and Princess (on the Common) – noon • Giant pumpkin boat building begins (Mill Street) – 2:30 p.m. • Fireworks – dusk
Sunday, Oct. 17 • Giant pumpkin carving demonstration (on the Common) – 10 a.m. • Giant pumpkin drop (Citizens Bank Field) – noon • Pie eating contest – 1 p.m. • 50/50 mini pumpkin race (Piscataquog River) – 2 p.m. • Arrival of the Pumpkin Princess and Prince (parade on Mill and Main streets) – 2:45 p.m. • Pumpkin Regatta (Piscataquog River, Mill Street and Village Bridge) – 3 p.m.
Fields of orange
How pumpkin crops have fared this year
by Angie Sykeny
It’s been a challenging year for growing produce, and pumpkins were no exception.
Holly Kimball, a family owner of Beech Hill Farm in Hopkinton, said the farm had “some disappointments” with its pumpkin crop this year, particularly the gourds and mini pumpkins, due to the large amounts of rain and not enough sunny days.
“Gourds will usually grow pretty much anytime, anywhere, but the one thing they really don’t like is a lot of moisture,” she said, “so they didn’t do very well.”
Beech Hill’s pumpkin crop was at a disadvantage from the start. The rain was particularly heavy in early May, which is when the farm normally plants pumpkins, Kimball said. The ground was too soggy for the farmer to take the tractor out, so they had to hold off on planting the pumpkins until the end of the month.
“If you plant too early or too late by even one week, that can affect your crop,” she said.
Harvesting at the right time is also critical. Beech Hill had to pick their pumpkins prematurely this year, which “wasn’t ideal,” Kimball said, but, if they were to allow the pumpkins to grow for a few more weeks in order to reach full maturity, the farm would be risking a frost, which would wipe out the entire crop.
“It’s tricky, but it is what it is,” she said. “When you’re a farm in New Hampshire, you have to take your losses, because every year is different.”
In the past Beech Hill has invited visitors to pick their own pumpkins right from the patch, but this year, with growing the pumpkins being such a challenge, preservation is the priority, Kimball said, and the farm will be able to preserve more pumpkins if they handle the harvesting.
“If someone steps on a vine, you lose [all of the pumpkins] that are on that plant,” she said, “and if we leave them out in the field [for pick-your-own] there’s a greater chance of them getting frosted, or of animals getting to them, and we just can’t risk losing all those pumpkins.”
There was one upside to this year’s growing conditions. Unlike gourds, the regular orange pumpkins love water; the more rain they get, the bigger and plumper they grow. Kimball said she estimates this year’s pumpkins to be between 20 and 30 pounds, making them the heaviest pumpkins the farm has grown since she’s been there.
“They’re beautiful,” she said. “They’ve got thick, strong stems and nice ridges all the way around, and you can put your arms all the way around them; they’re a perfect armful.”
When you go to pick out your pumpkins, consider what you want to do with them.
As you can gather from their name, sugar pumpkins — the smaller orange ones that you can hold on one hand — have higher sugar content than other kinds of pumpkins.
“Those are the ones that you want to get for eating,” Kimball said. “You can roast them or cook with them or make a pie.”
If it’s the pumpkin seeds you’re after, go for the bigger orange pumpkins.
For decor, the best pumpkins are simply a matter of personal preference, Kimball said. Though the big orange pumpkins are the most popular choice for carving and using as jack-o’-lanterns, other kinds of pumpkins are just as suitable.
“People choose all sizes and shapes and for carving,” Kimball said. “Some people like tall, thin ones, some people like warty ones, and then, there’s the colored pumpkins, too, which are really trendy.”
Pick your own pumpkin
Head to the pumpkin patches at these farms to find your perfect pumpkin. Picking hours and pumpkin availability are subject to change, so call or check the farm’s social media for updates before you go.
• Applecrest Farm Orchard (133 Exeter Road, Hampton Falls, 926-3721, applecrest.com) has PYO pumpkins, including field pumpkins and jack-o’-lanterns for 75 cents per pound, sugar pumpkins for 95 cents per pound, and specialty heirloom gourds and pumpkins for $1.25 per pound. Open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., weather-dependent.
• Butternut Farm (195 Meaderboro Road, Farmington, 335-4705, butternutfarm.net) has PYO pumpkins for 60 cents per pound, open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Mondays. An “All You Can Haul” pumpkin carrying challenge is tentatively planned for the weekend of either Oct. 16 or Oct. 23, TBD. The cost for the challenge will be $25 per person.
• Charmingfare Farm (774 High St., Candia, 483-5623, visitthefarm.com) has PYO pumpkins for 50 cents per pound, starting at $6, during its Pumpkin Festival, which runs from Saturday, Oct. 9, through Monday, Oct. 11. Admission costs $22, free for children age 23 months and under.
• DeMeritt Hill Farm (20 Orchard Way, Lee, 868-2111, demeritthillfarm.com) has PYO pumpkins, open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Call for pricing.
• J&F Farms (124 Chester Road, Derry, 437-0535, jandffarmsnh.com)has PYO pumpkins until Oct. 31, open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call for pricing.
• Lavoie’s Farm (172 Nartoff Road, Hollis, 882-0072, lavoiesfarm.com) has PYO pumpkins through October, open daily from 8 a.m. wto 7 p.m. Call for pricing.
• Mack’s Apples (230 Mammoth Road, Londonderry, 434-7619, macksapples.com) has PYO pumpkins through the end of October, open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call for pricing.
• Moulton Farm (18 Quarry Road, Meredith, 279-3915, moultonfarm.com) has PYO pumpkins through October, open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call for pricing.
• Scamman Farm (69 Portsmouth Ave., Stratham, 686-1258, scammanfarm.com) has PYO pumpkins for 60 cents per pound, fancies for $1 per pound, Jack B Littles for $1 each, and gourds for $1.50 per pound under 20 pounds or $1 per pound over 20 pounds, through Oct. 31, open weekdays from noon to 5 p.m., closed Tuesday, and open on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Sunnycrest Farm (59 High Range Road, Londonderry, 432-7753, sunnycrestfarmnh.com) has PYO pumpkins through Oct. 31, open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., weather-dependent. Call for pricing.
• Trombly Gardens (150 N. River Road, Milford, 673-0647, tromblygardens.com) has PYO pumpkins as well as specialty pumpkins, gourds and mini pumpkins, open Sunday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Celebrating Pumpkins
• Charmingfare Farm (774 High St. in Candia; visitthefarm.com) holds the last weekend of its Pumpkin Festival this Columbus Day weekend on Saturday, Oct 9, through Monday, Oct. 11. Tickets cost $22 per person (for everyone ages 24 months old and older). Take a tractor train ride to the pumpkin patch to pick your own or get one at the farm stand. The event also includes horse-drawn wagon rides, live music (Lynda Nelson and Dan Morgan, described as having “notes from country, folk and bluegrass”), a cow milking contest, a take-home pumpkin art project (for $8 when purchased online), costumed characters, pony rides (also $8 when purchased online) and visits with the barnyard animals. Purchase tickets online for the specific day and time. • Applecrest Farm Orchards (133 Exeter Road in Hampton Falls; 926-3721, applecrest.com) will hold another Great Pumpkin Carve Sunday, Oct. 10, when a master carver will work with an 800-pound pumpkin. The day is part of live music (on Sunday, hear Unsung Heroes), pumpkin picking and more. • The Somersworth Festival Association’s Pumpkin Festival will take place Saturday, Oct. 9, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Somersworth Plaza on Main Street. A $10 bracelet gives kids access to multiple activities including pumpkin decorating and other pumpkin crafts, scarecrow making, hayrides, photos and more, according to a press release, which said the day will also feature a bouncy house and games. Kids in costume get a $1 discount. The event will also feature live entertainment, a food court and raffles.
Pumpkin cookies
This recipe for pumpkin cookies came from Michelle Moulin, who used to own Michelle’s Bakery in Manchester, and first ran in the Hippo years ago. Somewhere between a little pumpkin cake, a cookie and a mini-scone, this pumpkin treat gets much of its sweetness from its icing. Halved, the recipe makes a little more than three-dozen, teaspoon-sized cookies.
1 pound of butter (4 sticks), softened
2 cups of brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups pumpkin
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon cloves
For icing:
1½ cups confectioner’s sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup water
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Cream softened butter and sugar.
Add eggs and pumpkin and mix until blended.
Stir together dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves) and add slowly, with mixer set on low, until blended.
Scoop teaspoon-sized dough scoops and bake for 10 to 12 minutes until firm. Cool.
Mix together icing ingredients (confectioner’s sugar, cinnamon and water) until smooth.
Spoon onto cookies and let sit for glaze to harden.
Information from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services
Covid-19 news
During a Sept. 29 press conference, state epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan reported that New Hampshire had averaged between 400 and 500 new positive tests of Covid-19 per day over the previous few weeks, with the total number of infections now exceeding 120,000 since the beginning of the pandemic. “The test-positivity [rate] has been slowly declining the last several weeks,” Chan said. “Hospitalizations have also remained elevated … and, in fact, the majority of deaths that we are identifying and reporting out on a daily and weekly basis continue to be community-associated deaths.” Chan renewed state recommendations to seek vaccination against the virus, citing a recent CDC study highlighting the fact that unvaccinated people are five times more likely to be infected and 10 times more likely to be hospitalized. “People who have been naturally infected do have some protection … against recurrent infection,” he said, “but studies have shown that vaccination after natural infection provides higher levels of protection and likely longer duration of protection and immunity.” As of Oct. 4, there were 3,502 active infections of Covid-19 statewide and 141 current hospitalizations. All 10 counties remain at substantial levels of community transmission.
Vaccine protest
Gov. Chris Sununu postponed the Sept. 29 Executive Council meeting after anti-vaccine mandate protesters disrupted the meeting, which was being held at Saint Anselm College. “I will not put members of the Executive Council or state agencies in harm’s way,” Sununu said in a statement after the postponement. “State Police had to escort state employees to their cars after unacceptable, unruly behavior. This meeting is being postponed until our state employees can go before the Council in a safe and orderly manner. The items on today’s agenda will be brought up at a later date.” That afternoon, at the state’s Covid-19 briefing, Sununu said protestors had threatened state employees, and that the employees who needed to be escorted to their cars were career DHHS employees, WMUR reported. Sununu said the protesters’ claim that approving federal funds for state vaccination efforts would compromise New Hampshire’s sovereignty was “not true,” and that the protesters’ behavior was “incredibly disappointing” and “not what New Hampshire is about.” Republicans Ted Gatsas, Joseph Kenney and David Wheeler exited the room shortly after the protests began. According to WMUR, Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington said protesters were to be expected at the meeting due to the controversial nature of the topic, but were not expected to be a danger to the lives of state employees. “‘Saying to people, ‘I know where you live,’ I think that’s threatening and intimidating,” she said. “I was very surprised by that.”
Women’s march
Rallies were held across New Hampshire on Saturday as part of a nationwide Women’s March organized to protest recent laws restricting and banning abortion, including the ban on nearly all abortions in Texas and the ban on most abortions after 15 weeks in Mississipi, which is to be brought before the U.S. Supreme Court. According to NHPR, speakers at a rally held in Concord addressed issues affecting the Granite State, including a recent state law that will go into effect in January requiring people to get ultrasounds before an abortion and banning abortion after 24 weeks, and the Executive Council’s recent vote to stop funding some reproductive health clinics. Gov. Chris Sununu has stated that he wants to hold another vote for the latter, NHPR reported.
Indigenous Peoples Day
Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum, located at 18 Highlawn Road in Warner, will recognize Indigenous People’s Day with a public panel to celebrate and honor Native American people, histories and cultures, according to a press release. The panel is set for Monday, Oct. 11, from 1 to 3 p.m. Topics of discussion will include the Abenaki Trails Projects, efforts made by Warner and other New Hampshire towns to support local Native voices, and the contemporary goals of local Indigineous People. The event is free. Visit indianmuseum.org.
NH Hospital
The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Administrative Services and New Hampshire Hospital officials will discuss a proposal to build a secure 24-bed forensic hospital next to New Hampshire Hospital in Concord during a virtual public information session on Thursday, Oct. 7, at 6 p.m. on Zoom. According to a press release, the new facility will be the first in the state appropriate for treating acute mental illness in forensic patients, including patients who are civilly committed for treatment, in a safe and secure environment. The session will also cover state leadership for the plan, the progress that has been made and a timeline for the project.
NAMIWalks NH
NAMIWalks NH, the state’s largest mental health awareness and suicide prevention event, will remain a virtual event this year, according to a press release. NAMIWalks NH Your Way – A United Day of Hope is planned for Saturday, Oct. 9, and invites people to participate independently through kayaking, hiking, horseback riding, skateboarding, knitting, playing, drawing, painting or any other activities they enjoy, and to share their activities on social media while raising awareness about mental health and suicide prevention. For more information and to register for the event, visit naminh.org.
The Doorway
The Doorway of Greater Manchester is now available to clients in the city 24 hours a day, seven days a week, replacing the Manchester Safe Station, according to a press release from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. Previously, individuals seeking recovery services after hours would have to go to the fire station, but now they can call 2-1-1 for immediate access to services, including screening and stabilization at The Doorway facility on Rogers Street or at an overnight respite facility. The Manchester Fire Department will continue to provide mobile, field-based recovery and substance misuse outreach services as needed, according to the press release.
Memorial Elementary School in Bedford and Grantham Village School in Grantham have been named 2021 National Blue Ribbon Schools. According to a press release, the Blue Ribbon award recognizes schools for their high performance in academics. “These two innovative schools have managed to thrive throughout the pandemic, finding creative ways to not only achieve high academic results, but successfully engage with students and support their overall needs,” New Hampshire Department of Education commissioner Frank Edelblut said in the release.
Girls Inc. NH, based in Manchester and Nashua, has a new school bus thanks to a grant from Fidelity Investments. According to a press release, the bus will be used to transport girls to after-school programming and field trips and replaces a retired bus that needed repairs exceeding its value.
Homeowners searching for a contractor or handyman for home improvement projects can get free help from 411 Contractor Referral Network (411mycontractor.com) of Brookline. According to a press release, the company’s website provides information about companies that have been screened and have agreed to a code of ethics. The screening includes tracking licenses and insurance coverage, records checks and references from at least three local homeowners.
