Information from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services
Covid-19 news
As of Sept. 27 there were 3,595 active infections of Covid-19 statewide and 143 current hospitalizations. All 10 counties remain at substantial levels of community transmission.
On Sept. 22 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized single booster doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for certain populations, including for people over 65, as well as for those with underlying health conditions and who are regularly exposed to the virus, according to a press release. Booster doses can now be administered at least six months after receiving the second shot. “This pandemic is dynamic and evolving, with new data about vaccine safety and effectiveness becoming available every day,” Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said in a statement. “As we learn more about the safety and effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines … we will continue to evaluate the rapidly changing science and keep the public informed.”
With steadily climbing infection and hospitalization rates in the state, the New Hampshire Hospital Association issued a press release on Sept. 24 signed by dozens of health care professionals renewing their calls to get vaccinated, to wear a mask in indoor settings where social distancing is not possible, and to stay home when you are not feeling well. “There is no one solution that can completely eliminate the risk of spreading Covid-19, but when layered together, these interventions will have a significant impact,” the press release read in part.
Motion denied
On Sept. 27, the Hillsborough County Southern District Superior Court denied a motion to require that New Hampshire reinstate the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program and dismissed the case. According to a press release from the Office of the Governor, the state had announced it would be ending participation in the enhanced federal unemployment benefits over four months ago and gave citizens over a month’s notice to prepare for the termination as was required by the United States Department of Labor. According to the release, the court noted that “the plaintiffs have not demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits of their claims because neither of the statutes on which they rely require the defendants to act. … Moreover, because all of the plaintiffs’ claims for relief are premised on flawed interpretations of RSA 282-A:127, I and 15 U.S.C. § 9021(c), the Court further finds that the plaintiffs cannot succeed on the merits of their claims as a matter of law. In other words, the plaintiffs have failed to state claims for which relief may be granted.” Gov. Chris Sununu thanked the court in a statement following the decision and said that “The New Hampshire Department of Employment Security has done a phenomenal job throughout the pandemic assisting out-of-work Granite Staters receive benefits and find work, and this ruling will allow them to continue helping our citizens unobstructed as we move forward.”
Economic support
The first two of the four planned Collaborative Economic Development Regions in New Hampshire have been established to promote economic expansion post-pandemic, according to a press release from the New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs. The regions were created as part of the state’s Economic Recovery and Expansion Strategy and will help facilitate collaboration among economic development partners with business retention and attraction; workforce development; entrepreneurship; infrastructure and business advocacy. “While the pandemic has taken a significant toll on the Granite State, New Hampshire has proven resilient,” BEA Commissioner Taylor Caswell said in the release. “CEDRs are an intentional approach that builds an infrastructure for the state’s entities to work together and deliver on our collective missions to support those employers.”
$10 million, found
Between November 2016 and July 2021 more than $10 million was located for New Hampshire residents who used the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ Life Policy Locator tool, according to a press release from the New Hampshire Insurance Department. More than 1,000 consumers in the state searched for deceased relatives’ policies. Christopher Nicolopoulos, commissioner of the New Hampshire Insurance Department, said in the release that finding life insurance policies can be a challenge. “The Lost Policy Locator Tool is a powerful resource that has helped New Hampshire residents settle important details of the estates of deceased friends and family members,” he said.
Associated Grocers of New England’s distribution facility in Pembroke was scheduled to cut the ribbon on a new 1,292-kilowatt solar array on Sept. 29. According to a press release, the 3,400 solar panels are expected to generate more than 1,450,000 kilowatt-hours of clean energy every year, which is the equivalent of planting 17,000 trees or removing 224 cars from the road each year.
Granite United Way coordinated a Volunteer Day at two camps in Bedford last week. According to a press release, on Sept. 23 volunteers from several local companies, including Geneia, Enterprise and McLane Middleton, spent time at Camp Kettleford and Camp Allen working on end-of-season projects like landscaping and painting.
Members of the Manchester Garden Club recently planted fall flowers at several locations around the city: the Manchester Historic Association, the Manchester City Library and the Mary Gale Apartments. According to a press release, the club was established in 1933.
The Nashua Regional Planning Commission is holding a Household Hazardous Waste Collection on Saturday, Oct. 2, from 8 a.m. to noon at the Nashua City Park & Ride at 25 Crown St., according to a press release. Residents of Amherst, Brookline, Hollis, Hudson, Litchfield, Merrimack, Milford, Mont Vernon, Nashua, Pelham and Windham. There is a $15 user fee per vehicle, with additional charges for waste that exceeds 10 gallons or 20 pounds. Visit nashuarpc.org/hhw for a complete list of accepted items.
I have written on several occasions in this column about my work with Fellowship Housing Opportunities in Concord. This nonprofit provides safe, affordable housing and services to people suffering from long-term mental health issues. I am proud to serve as its Board President, and I am a strong advocate of the role that it plays in the Concord community, recognizing that without this nonprofit there would likely be 63 additional people in Concord classified as “homeless.”
I also wear a business owner’s hat as a property owner in downtown Manchester. Our corporate offices are in a commercial office building in the center of downtown, just a block off Elm Street. Since employees returned to the office from a work-at-home environment, they are faced with finding trash, used needles, human waste, stolen bicycles and other items left behind. It is not uncommon to see a homeless person use the property’s gardens as a personal restroom in broad daylight. Repeated calls have been made to the Manchester Health Department, the police, and directly to Mayor Craig’s office. To date, little has happened to resolve the impact on our property.
The city and state have been regularly evicting the homeless from various camps throughout Manchester. With each eviction, this population relocates. While services are offered, and a majority of the homeless do reside in shelters provided by several nonprofits, many choose not to. Homelessness is a complex issue that requires a multi-faceted solution. Some homeless people have temporarily fallen on hard times, and with a little assistance will get back on their feet. Some have addiction and mental health issues and require a broader spectrum of support in addition to housing and financial.
I am dedicated to the mission of Fellowship Housing. I recognize we are but a cog in the wheel in dealing with a worsening situation. As a business and property owner there is also recognition that this burden is too big for nonprofits to bear alone. It is time for Manchester to develop a comprehensive plan to ensure that this population is properly cared for. Shuffling homeless people from property to property is not a solution and is negatively impacting those in need as well as the quality of life for those who call Manchester home, including business and property owners.
Matthew and Gunnar Nelson formed their duo Nelson as the MTV era crested. Their video “(Can’t Live Without Your) Love And Affection” was ubiquitous when it came out in 1990, but like their father, Ricky Nelson, whose string of hits was cut short by The Beatles in 1964, his twin sons’ ascent was also stymied by a musical movement — Nirvana and grunge.
The brothers were accustomed to uphill battles, though. It took years for Geffen Records to take them seriously.
“We call it the world’s longest overnight success,” Matthew Nelson said in a recent phone interview. “We were the kings of waiting and starting and waiting.”
Even with a record deal, they received scant support; once, they busked in front of an elevator at a radio convention because the label wouldn’t spring for a hotel suite.
So the pair pressed on, touring with their hard-rock blood harmony sound and making new music. They’ve recorded six studio albums since their multiplatinum debut After The Rain, and a country rock project, First Born Sons, is currently in the works. But an evening playing their father’s songs wasn’t something they considered doing until a Japanese promoter suggested it in the early 2000s.
Initially they were skeptical about performing for U.S. troops at Yokosuka Naval Station.
“No one at that time knew who we were, let alone our dad. He said, it’s Japan, it’s for a good cause, and nobody’ll know if it’s horrible,” Matthew Nelson said. “This is pre-internet, so there was truth to that. We put together a little rockabilly show and by the first number my brother and I felt like idiots that we weren’t doing it sooner — the kids loved the music.”
Two decades later, they’re still doing Ricky Nelson Remembered; it hits Manchester’s Palace Theatre on Oct. 7. The show has evolved from its protean origins into a multimedia affair, an evening of music and storytelling. Hits like “Hello Mary Lou,” “Travelin’ Man” and “Garden Party” are mixed with Matthew and Gunnar’s memories, along with filmed interviews from artists who were influenced by their dad, including Paul McCartney and Chris Isaak.
Ricky Nelson starred with his family on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, a sitcom that ran from 1952 through 1966; the show launched a music career that sold half a billion records. His pivot from teen idol to singer-songwriter inspired a bevy of SoCal folk rock performers, from the Byrds to the Eagles.
“He was definitely in a very cool place at a very cool time,” Matthew Nelson said. “If he had any kind of albatross, it was that he was impossibly handsome with a television show [and] I think he came to represent something that had passed by.”
Undeterred, the elder Nelson formed the Stone Canyon Band in the late ’60s and kept playing, releasing “Garden Party” in 1972 with the wonderfully dismissive line, “if memories were all I sang, I’d rather drive a truck.”
Matthew and Gunnar were 18 when their father died in a plane crash, on New Year’s Eve 1985; two years later he was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Matthew recalls a “great relationship” with their dad, marked by music, love and laughter. The tribute show reflects that.
“The best part about it is frankly representing our dad and honoring him — I still miss him every day,” Matthew Nelson said. “So for me on the selfish front, I get to visit with him whenever I do the show and relive some of those memories that are personal to me. We get to talk about him on stage.”
Ricky Nelson Remembered draws a multigenerational audience; some come to relive their past, others to discover a bygone era. However, the show goes beyond family nostalgia, insists Matthew Nelson.
“It’s especially a journey through music that wasn’t computerized or fixed in the mix … it’s live. I think that going back to basics is important for everybody — especially for musicians that can slap on a plug-in and tune their voices. You couldn’t do that back then. … People get something real, and that’s the most important thing.”
Ricky Nelson Remembered When: Thursday, Oct. 7, 7:30 p.m. Where: Palace Theatre, 80 Hanover St., Manchester Tickets: $45 to $55 at palacetheatre.org
Featured photo: Gunnar and Matthew Nelson. Courtesy photo.
A teenager living in Sheffield, England, and dreaming of a future of fabulousness pursues his desire to become a dragqueen in the musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, a joyous movie about figuring out who you are, with original songs
Jamie New (Max Harwood) is an out, proud and happy-seeming teen, even if he does have some family difficulties — his dad (Ralph Ineson) doesn’t keep in contact — and he’s the object of some bullying from schoolmates, including popular kid Dean (Sean Bottomley). But Jamie has a supportive best friend in Pritti Pasha (Lauren Patel), whose headscarf and nerdiness have also made her a bullying target, and a supportive mom, Margaret (Sarah Lancashire).
It’s Margaret who buys Jamie the sparkly pair of red pumps he’s been saving for as a birthday present — and she gives him the card and cash that she says is from his dad. Though Jamie is clearly worried about what people — the kids at school, his dad — will think, he uses the shoes as a springboard to more fully develop a drag queen persona with the intention of debuting her at the school prom. It’s this plan that takes him to a drag queen clothing store and its owner, Hugo Battersby (Richard E. Grant), who on stage is the warrior queen Miss Loco Chanelle. Hugo helps to school Jamie in the art of being a drag queen and in also his history, particularly in late 1980s and early 1990s England.
Grant really brings it in that particular song, which captures the joy of his performance days and the struggles of that particular time in history. It’s one of many times when, even if the movie is being very on the nose, it’s nonetheless deeply moving and really captures the emotions of the characters. There are times here that reminded me of the scene in the recent movie CODA, when the teen learning to find her singing voice describes what music means to her in sign language, which is presented as her most precise way of expressing her emotions. Similarly, this movie uses song to really get to what things like performing in drag means to Jamie — and to the hurt of his relationship with his father. The movie also does a good job of making us understand what the power of a drag persona means to Jamie and how he wields it and has to learn to wield that power with care.
Strong relationships also help to sell this story, despite its fantasy elements of lunch room dance numbers and high school hallway as runway. Even though most of Margaret’s scenes are about Jamie, Lancashire is able to give us so much of her life and what she’s going through — particularly the very relatable parental heartache of putting all her energy into supporting Jamie with the knowledge that success means he’ll one day leave her behind. Likewise, we get glimpses of Pritti’s inner life and even some of the more antagonistic characters get layers. This is a sweet, good-hearted movie but it lives in the realm of reality, in terms of the way its people relate to each other, which helps all the joyful aspects of it have even more impact.
And the music and dancing — including some really spectacularly choreographed and production design-having big-cast dance numbers — are universally great too.
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is a brightly colored, big-hearted, delight-filled movie. B+
Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, strong language and suggestive material, according to the MPA on filmratings.com. Directed by Jonathan Butterell with a screenplay by Tom MacRae (and based on the stage musical of the same name), Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is an hour and 55 minutes long and is distributed by Amazon Studios via Amazon Prime Video.
Cry Macho (PG-13)
Clint Eastwood dons a very Clint-Eastwood-y cowboy hat to play a very Clint-Eastwood-y old-man cowboy in the Eastwood-directed Cry Macho.
It’s 1979 and Mike (Eastwood) is a fading horse trainer living in Texas. After a clunkily exposition-filled but wholly unnecessary opening scene where he is fired, we see that same former boss, Howard Polk (Dwight Yoakam), hire Mike a year later to go to Mexico to get Howard’s teenage son Rafael. Howard gives Mike, who has never met Rafael, who goes by Rafo (Eduardo Minett), a picture of the boy when he was like 6 (Rafo is now like 13) and some cash and mentions that Rafo’s mother, Leta (Fernando Urrejola), is nuts and that he (Howard) can’t go himself because he has vague legal troubles in Mexico.
Sure, this should all work out fine.
Mike first goes to see Leta, a cartoonishly Bad Mother, at her mansion, where a fancy party is taking place. She drunkenly tells Mike to take Rafo if he can find him — Rafo is wild and lives in the streets, taking his rooster to cockfights. And indeed Mike does find Rafo and his rooster, Macho, on the streets. After some convincing, Mike seems to get Rafo to agree to go with him to Texas, but later Leta threatens Mike that she will send the Mexican authorities after him if he tries to take Rafo. Mike seems to give up on the whole endeavor and drives away but then he finds Rafo has stowed away in his car and eventually agrees to take the kid north.
Because there is now a certain amount of peril involved in their journey — both from the police and from Leta’s henchmen — the duo takes back roads, running in to various types of difficulty. Eventually they end up in a small town where Marta (Natalia Traven), a widow raising her four granddaughters and running a restaurant, shows them kindness.
Cry Macho is not as aggressively offensive as 2018’s The Mule (which, rereading my review, I was way too nice to) but it is generally unpleasant and unfun to watch with regard to everything it does with its Mexican characters. Not that the two Texan characters come off much better, in terms of development and believability, but everything with the Mexican characters has a real hacky stereotype quality that I did not enjoy. The movie’s two female characters are painted with extravagant lack of subtlety as saint (the generous Marta, who finds Mike and Rafo when she goes to light candles in the shrine of the Virgin Mary) and devil (the boozy Leta, whose villainy is so over-the-top it doesn’t really make sense). It’s all so “ugh” that it gets in the way of whatever emotional story it’s trying to build about Mike and his mentor-y relationship with Rafo.
This movie is also clunky and inartful in its plot mechanics and its dialogue. You can see every seam of how this story was put together and the dialogue often feels like a first draft rough sketch of the ideas you’re trying to convey in a scene, not something the characters would actually say. These people never read as humans, only as characters and sometimes only as character types, which also makes it hard to judge whether the performances are any good.
This movie does look good, even if it leans on the dusty landscape to do most of the heavy lifting in that regard. Cry Macho isn’t as off-putting as The Mule — but it also isn’t the graceful The Old Man and the Gun (Robert Redford’s allegedly final acting turn), the movie Cry Macho most made me think of, with its nostalgia-filled “give it up for Your Favorite Actor, ladies and gentlemen” vibe. C
Rated PG-13 for language and thematic elements, according to the MPA on filmratings.com. Directed by Clint Eastwood with a screenplay by Nick Schenk and N. Richard Nash (based on the book Macho by N. Richard Nash), Cry Macho is an hour and 44 minutes long and is distributed by Warner Bros. It is in theaters and streaming on HBO Max through Oct. 17.
FILM
Venues
Bank of NH Stage in Concord 16 S. Main St., Concord 225-1111, banknhstage.com
The Flying Monkey 39 Main St., Plymouth 536-2551, flyingmonkeynh.com
Red River Theatres 11 S. Main St., Concord 224-4600, redrivertheatres.org
Rex Theatre 23 Amherst St., Manchester 668-5588, palacetheatre.org
Wilton Town Hall Theatre 40 Main St., Wilton wiltontownhalltheatre.com, 654-3456
Shows
• The Eyes of Tammy Faye (PG-13, 2021) screening at Red River Theatres in Concord Friday, Sept. 24, through Sunday, Sept. 26, at 12:30, 3:30 and 6:30 p.m.
• Blue Bayou (R, 2021) screening at Red River Theatres in Concord Friday, Sept. 24, through Sunday, Sept. 26, at 1, 4 and 7 p.m.
• National Theatre Live Follies,a broadcast of a play from London’s National Theatre, screening at the Bank of NH Stage in Concord on Sunday, Oct. 3, at 12:30 p.m. Tickets $15 ($12 for students).
• National Theatre Live Cyrano de Bergerac, a broadcast of a play from London’s National Theatre, screening at the Bank of NH Stage in Concord on Sunday, Oct. 17, at 12:30 p.m. Tickets cost $15 ($12 for students).
• Frankenweenie (PG, 2012) at the Rex Theatre on Sunday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. with a portion of the proceeds going to Motley Mutts Rescue. Tickets cost $12.
• The Nightmare Before Christmas (PG, 1993) at the Rex Monday, Oct. 18, at 7 p.m. with a portion of the proceeds going to Motley Mutts Rescue. Tickets $12.
• The Phantom of the Opera (1925), a silent film starring Lon Chaney, with live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, on Thursday, Oct. 21, at 6:30 p.m. at the Flying Monkey in Plymouth. Tickets start at $10.
• Nosferatu (1922), a silent film directed by F.W. Murnau, on Thursday, Oct. 28, at 7:30 p.m. at the Rex in Manchester, featuring live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis. Admission $10.
Featured photo: Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. Courtesy photo.
On Saturday, clad in lederhosen, To Share Brewing Co. co-owner Aaron Share and his team will be pouring their seasonal German-style beer release and serving bratwurst, sauerkraut and pretzels while oompah music plays in the background — yes, it’s Oktoberfest season.
Since the very first event in early 19th-century Germany, the fall tradition has grown into a worldwide phenomenon celebrating Bavarian culture through its beers and foods. This will be To Share Brewing’s third Oktoberfest, one of many similar celebrations taking place across the Granite State over the next several weeks.
The centerpieces of nearly every Oktoberfest are German-style beers, among some of Share’s favorites to drink this time of year.
“I love beer in general, but I really enjoy a good clean malty lager,” he said. “A lot of the German styles have this nice sweet, bready maltiness to them. … Especially when the weather starts to cool off and it’s a little crisp in the air, it’s just perfect.”
Several local breweries this fall are either taking part in an Oktoberfest celebration or hosting their own, as well as introducing limited beer releases. Some restaurants are also joining in on the fun with their own seasonally inspired menus of German food items, from bratwurst, schnitzel and sauerkraut to Bavarian-style pretzels, specialty dessert stations and more.
So what exactly is defined as an Oktoberfest beer, and where did this tradition come from, anyway? We spoke with local brewers, chefs and restaurateurs to get some answers.
Bratwurst from Bavarian German Restaurant. Courtesy photo.
“March beer”
The most common beer style traditionally associated with Oktoberfests is known as a märzen, a lager that is characterized by its malty flavor and deep golden or amber color.
“Classic German beers are very simple compared to what we brew here in the States today. They would use malt and whatever hop variant they had from the harvest, and that was the basis of it,” said Dennis Molnar, co-owner of Concord Craft Brewing Co. “[A märzen style] is a little maltier in flavor than what we’re probably used to thinking of as an American Pilsner lager, like a Budweiser or something. … It’s hopped a little bit more as well, but because there’s a bit of a maltier backbone, it doesn’t necessarily taste more hopped than any other simple yellow beer.”
Even though the style is synonymous with Oktoberfests, the word “märzenbier” actually means “March beer,” as it was historically brewed in the spring. According to The Oxford Companion to Beer, an encyclopedia edited by Garrett Oliver and published by Oxford University Press, a Bavarian decree issued in the year 1553 by the duke at the time prohibited new beer from being brewed between the dates of April 23 and Sept. 29. This was due in part to the risk of fires, in addition to the threats of wild yeasts and bacteria, during the hot weather. As a result, märzens would be brewed in March and lagered, or stored, until the end of the summer.
Last week Concord Craft Brewing Co. brought back its Oktoberfest release, a märzen-style lager that Molnar said he expects will last through about mid-October. Other local brewers, like Kelsen Brewing Co. of Derry and Great North Aleworks of Manchester, have märzen-style releases of their own — the latter’s, called “Märzen Rover,” goes light on the hops, with a breaded, honey-like flavor from a blend of a few different malts.
But Oktoberfests don’t have to strictly be märzens, either. Derry’s Rockingham Brewing Co. recently debuted “For Better or For Wurst,” a German-style festbier that co-owner Ali Leleszi described as being similar to a märzen but with a slightly lighter color and more hop bitterness. They have it on draft now, and they’ll also be pouring it at an Oktoberfest celebration on Saturday, Oct. 2, at Twin Barns Brewing Co. in Meredith, she said.
Henniker Brewing Co. also has a seasonal lager inspired by the modern festbier. Teresa Pominville, director of events and marketing, said the brewery’s “Wurst Bier” adds a little bit of rye to help complement the malts and the spicy herbal notes from the German hops used.
To Share Brewing releases a German-style altbier, or “alt,” during Oktoberfest season, using a recipe dating back to Share’s time as a homebrewer.
“An alt is one of those weird hybrids between a lager and an ale. The main difference between lagers and ales are the yeasts that you use and the temperatures in the fermentation process,” Share said. “So an alt is pretty similar to a märzen in terms of the flavor profile. Just a really easy-drinking, clear amber beer that’s perfect for when the weather gets colder.”
In Dover, Garrison City Beerworks will be introducing two new beers to be released the day of its Oktoberfest celebration on Friday, Sept. 24 — Glean is a lager brewed with Maine-grown grain, while Jet-Setting is a New England IPA dry-hopped exclusively with German hops.
“It’s got the smooth, bright haze of the New England IPA style, with some really interesting melon and farmhouse notes from the … hops,” co-owner Andy Gray said of Jet-Setting.
A glossary of terms
This list contains various terms you may encounter at local Oktoberfest celebrations or on German restaurant menus, including seasonal food options, beer styles and traditions.
• Altbier (or Alt): A German-style amber-colored beer that To Share Brewing Co. co-owner Aaron Share described as a hybrid between a lager and an ale, with a balance of malty sweetness and bitterness from its hops. This is the third year the brewery has released an Oktoberfest alt. • Apfelstrudel: Bavarian-style apple strudel. You can find this homemade dessert on the menu at Bavaria German Restaurant in Hooksett, or at the annual Oktoberfest celebration at Mile Away Restaurant in Milford on Sunday, Oct. 3. • Blaukraut: Red cabbage cooked with apple. • Bratkartoffeln: Bavarian-style roasted potatoes. • Bratwurst: German sausage, most commonly made with pork, veal or a combination of the two, according to Monika Berger, co-owner of Bavaria German Restaurant in Hooksett. • Brezn: Bavarian-style pretzels, which are characterized by their crisp, dark exterior and soft interior, according to Matt Brown, owner of The Salted Knot in Rollinsford. • Dunkel: A German-style lager characterized by its dark brown color and malty flavor. • Festbier: A German-style lager similar to a märzen, but with a slightly lighter color and more hop bitterness, according to Ali Leleszi of Rockingham Brewing Co. in Derry. • Hefeweizen: A German-style wheat beer. Daydreaming Brewing Co. of Derry will have “Daydreaming of Martha,” its hefeweizen in collaboration with Martha’s Exchange & Brewery of Nashua, at its Oktoberfest celebration on Saturday, Sept. 25. • Hunter’s Stew: A savory brown sauce-based stew with pork, beef, veal and vegetables. Mile Away Restaurant in Milford will be serving hunter’s stew during its Oktoberfest event on Sunday, Oct. 3. • Märzen: A malty German-style amber lager most commonly associated with Oktoberfest celebrations. Several local breweries, including Concord Craft Brewing Co., Kelsen Brewing Co. of Derry and Great North Aleworks of Manchester, have their own märzen-style releases this time of year as an ode to the classic Germanic style. • Masskrugstemmen: A beer stein hoisting competition, typically held at Oktoberfest events. • Rinderroulade: Rolled slices of tender beef, filled with mustard, onions, bacon and pickles. • Sauerbraten: Traditional German pot roast, featuring marinated, roasted beef boiled in a wine-based sauce and topped with gravy. Sauerbraten is available at Bavaria German Restaurant in Hooksett with homemade spätzle and red cabbage. It will also be on the menu during Mile Away Restaurant’s Oktoberfest celebration in Milford on Sunday, Oct. 3. • Sauerkraut: Sour fermented cabbage. • Schnitzel: Literally translating to “cutlet,” schnitzel is a thin slice of meat, usually pork, that has been breaded and fried. Bavaria German Restaurant in Hooksett has multiple schnitzel options available on its menu that also feature the option to substitute pork for veal. • Schweins haxn: Bavarian-roasted pork shank. • Spätzle: Bavarian-style egg noodles.
Bavarian bites
German beers may be the stars of the show, but Oktoberfest season is also a great opportunity to try all kinds of authentic foods. At Mile Away Restaurant in Milford, for instance, a special menu will be served during its 15th annual Oktoberfest event on Sunday, Oct. 3. Dinner plates featuring items like schweineschnitzel (pork schnitzel) and sauerbraten (German pot roast) will be available, in addition to a dessert station with items like apfelstrudel (apple strudel).
Share said the brewery will be offering a shareable snack board all day during its Sept. 25 event, featuring bratwurst with sauerkraut, plus pretzels courtesy of The Hop Knot.
Speaking of pretzels, be on the lookout in the coming weeks for Matt Brown of The Salted Knot, a Rollinsford-based Bavarian-style pretzel company launched earlier this year. Brown has a full schedule of events he’ll be serving his pretzels at, including the Powder Keg Beer Festival in Exeter on Saturday, Oct. 2, and the Great Oktoberfest at Anheuser-Busch Tour Center & Biergarten in Merrimack on Saturday, Oct. 16. He’ll also appear at Henniker Brewing Co. on Sunday, Oct. 10, during its two weekend-long Fall Fest.
Brown received training from another German-style pretzel maker while staying in Pennsylvania, a state he said is known for its pretzels and German ancestry. Now he works for himself, also selling his pretzels at farmers markets and via a few wholesale accounts.
“My pretzels are a lot darker and they tend to be more crispy than soft pretzels you might get at the mall,” Brown said. “The way I shape them, the middle is the thickest part.”
At Twin Barns Brewing Co.’s Oct. 2 event, food options will be served courtesy of The Silo, an onsite food trailer in collaboration with Osteria Poggio restaurant in Center Harbor. Options will likely include different plays on authentic items like bratwurst or pierogi.
“We’re probably going to be doing some German-style tacos, so basically like a sauerbraten taco with braised beef, and then maybe things like sweet cabbage and apple,” Osteria Poggio chef Kaylon Sweet said. “We’re just trying to find ways to make it more approachable to people.”
Pats Peak Ski Area in Henniker will have seasonal specials of its own during its annual Oktoberfest on Sunday, Nov. 7. Led by chef Guy Pelletier, its in-house kitchen team will be preparing items like bratwurst, hot German potato salad and braised red cabbage.
If you want to try German food but can’t wait to attend an Oktoberfest event, Bavaria German Restaurant in Hooksett has authentic options year-round, made fresh daily from family recipes. They also currently have Spaten Brewery’s Oktoberfest — touted as “the world’s first Oktoberfest” beer — and Weihenstephaner’s wheat beer available on tap.
The eatery has been owned and operated by Anton and Monika Berger since March 2010. Anton Berger has more than four decades of experience as a chef, including at a more than 200-seat restaurant and outdoor beer garden in Munich, Germany.
Bavaria’s schnitzel is one of its most popular items, and there are multiple varieties. The jägerschnitzel, for example, features a boneless strip of pork that’s topped with a scratch-made mushroom cream sauce. It’s then served with spätzle, or Bavarian-style egg noodles.
Bratwurst selections, according to Monika Berger, can be ordered with pork, veal, or a combination of the two. They are served with either homemade sauerkraut or a potato salad.
Specials are occasionally featured as well, like schweins haxn (Bavarian-roasted pork shank).
The first Oktoberfest
The origins of Oktoberfest can be traced back to Munich, Germany, during the early 1800s. The first event was not even organized as a beer festival — rather, it was a wedding.
According to the official Oktoberfest website, King Ludwig I of Bavaria married Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen on Oct. 12, 1810. The couple was wed at the site of what would later become known as Theresienwiese, the official Oktoberfest grounds in Munich. Their celebration included a large horse race and was so well-received that the demand for more events immediately grew. Soon it became an annual destination for agricultural entertainment.
A major defining year for the festival was 1841, when Spaten Brewery introduced its amber märzen at the event. By 1872 Spaten was the first brewery to call it an Oktoberfest beer.
Today the Munich Oktoberfest has grown into a massive, multi-week affair, spanning 16 to 18 days from mid-to-late September to early October and attracting more than six million visitors from around the world. Plans are already underway for the event to return in September 2022, after the pandemic forced its cancellation in both 2020 and 2021.
Stein hoisting competitions
Among the traditions of several Oktoberfest celebrations is a stein hoisting competition — or, as it’s known in Germany, masskrugstemmen (pronounced “MAHSS-kroog-stem-men”). Participants are given a stein filled to the top with beer that they must hold by the handle out in front of their bodies for as long as possible. The person who can hold it for the longest amount of time without breaking form or spilling their stein is declared the winner.
According to the U.S. Steinholding Association’s official rules, you must only grip the handle of the stein with one hand. The current national record is 21 minutes and 17 seconds, set in 2018 by Michael Tyler at the Central Park Oktoberfest in New York City.
To Share Brewing Co. in Manchester will hold a stein hoisting competition at 6 p.m. during its annual Oktoberfest on Sept. 25. The winner, co-owner Jenni Share said, will receive a Mug Club membership to the brewery, or beers out of a 22-ounce mug for the price of a pint.
“You hold your stein out at a 90-degree angle, so your body has to be straight and your arm is perpendicular, and you hold it as long as you can,” she said. “You cannot spill any beer.”
Stein hoisting competitions have consistently increased in popularity in recent years as strength endurance contests. The U.S. Steinholding Association, founded in 2015, promotes the sport by providing training tips and resources on where you can go to compete.
Upcoming Oktoberfests and other beer festivals
Upcoming Oktoberfests and other beer festivals
A stein hoisting competition will take place at Garrison City Beerworks in Dover on Sept. 24. Courtesy photo.
Check out this list of Oktoberfest celebrations and fall-themed festivals at local breweries, as well as other upcoming beer festivals happening across the state. Do you know of an Oktoberfest event coming up soon that isn’t on this list? Let us know at food@hippopress.com.
• Friday, Sept. 24: Garrison City Beerworks (455 Central Ave., Dover) will hold an Oktoberfest from 4:30 to 10 p.m. featuring two new beer releases and a German-inspired food menu with options like pretzels and house mustard, smoked sausages and sauerkraut and potato pancakes. A stein hoisting competition is also planned. Visit garrisoncitybeerworks.com.
• Saturday, Sept. 25:Join To Share Brewing Co. (720 Union St., Manchester) for its third annual Oktoberfest, happening from 1 to 9 p.m. There will be a food special featuring a shareable snack board with meats and cheeses, bratwurst and sauerkraut, and pretzels courtesy of The Hop Knot, plus beer releases and two stein hoisting competitions (at 1 p.m. for Mug Club members and at 6 p.m. for the public). Reservations are requested for parties of four or more. Visit tosharebrewing.com.
• Saturday, Sept. 25:Daydreaming Brewing Co. (1½ E. Broadway, Derry) will hold its second Oktoberfest at 1 p.m., with several specialty beers available, including a hefeweizen brewed in collaboration with Martha’s Exchange & Brewery of Nashua. Visit daydreaming.beer.
• Saturday, Sept. 25:Northwoods Brewing Co. (1334 First New Hampshire Turnpike, Northwood) is holding its inaugural Fall Fest, featuring a trunk show from 10 am. to 3 p.m. with more than 20 New England-area businesses and live music throughout the day. Also planned are the releases of the brewery’s new Oktoberfest-inspired lager, specialty fall cocktails from its sister establishment, Johnson’s Seafood & Steak, and brewery specials, like bratwurst with homemade slaw, pretzels with beer cheese, and a savory autumn pizza. Visit northwoodsbrewingcompany.com.
• Saturday, Sept. 25: The Kingston Brewfest returns for a second year from noon to 4 p.m. at 148 Main St. in Kingston. The event will feature a variety of local beer and food options as well as live music. Tickets are $35 per person for full access to the beer tastings, or $5 for designated drivers. Donations to the Kingston Volunteer Fire Association will also be accepted. Visit kingstonbrew.com or follow the event on Facebook @kingstonbrewfest.
• Sunday, Sept. 26: Osteria Poggio (18 Main St., Center Harbor) will host an Oktoberfest from 2 to 6 p.m. featuring various German-style foods and pourings from several local breweries. Visit osteriapoggio.com.
• Saturday, Oct. 2: New England’s Tap House Grille (1292 Hooksett Road, Hooksett) will hold an Oktoberfest patio event from 5 to 7 p.m. featuring a seasonally inspired food menu, a stein hoisting competition and music from The Rebel Collective, with proceeds benefiting CASA of New Hampshire. Visit taphousenh.com.
• Saturday, Oct. 2:Join Twin Barns Brewing Co. (194 Daniel Webster Hwy., Meredith) for an Oktoberfest celebration from noon to 10 p.m. There will be live music, seasonal pourings from six guest breweries, and a German-inspired food menu courtesy of The Silo, an onsite food trailer in collaboration with Osteria Poggio in Center Harbor. Commemorative event mugs will also be for sale, with proceeds benefiting the New Hampshire Brewers Association. Visit twinbarnsbrewing.com.
• Saturday, Oct. 2:The Powder Keg Beer Festival returns to Swasey Parkway in Exeter. Ticketholders have two sessions to choose from, either from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. or from 2 to 4 p.m., when samples of more than 200 different beers, ciders and hard seltzers will be available. In place of the chili, which is normally a staple of the festival, this year food trucks offering all kinds of options will be attending. Tickets are $35 per person or $10 for designated drivers. Visit powderkegbeerfest.com.
• Sunday, Oct. 3:Mile Away Restaurant (52 Federal Hill Road, Milford) will be hosting its annual Oktoberfest from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. Dinner plates are available for $17 per person, featuring sauerbraten (German pot roast), schweineschnitzel (pork schnitzel), hunter’s stew, or spicy beef and sausage chili with cheddar cheese, along with two sides (German potato salad, sea salt chips and sauerkraut, braised red cabbage, pickled beets or applesauce). There will also be a dessert and pretzel station with additional a la carte items, like pumpkin pie, Black Forest cake, flourless chocolate torte and more. Live music will be featured from the TubaFrau Hofbräu Band, a Waltham, Mass.-based German oompah band. There is a $20 parking fee per car. The event is cash only and first-come, first-served. Visit mileawayrestaurantnh.com.
• Sunday, Oct. 3:Stripe Nine Brewing Co. will present a Brew Fest in the Orchard at DeMerritt Hill Farm (20 Orchard Way, Lee) with general admittance from 1 to 4 p.m. and VIP admittance at noon. More than 25 local breweries are expected to attend, and there will also be seasonal food options and live music from Matty & the Penders. Tickets are $45 general admission, $75 VIP admission and $15 for designated drivers. See “Stripe Nine’s 2021 Brew Fest in the Orchard” on Eventbrite to purchase tickets.
• Saturday, Oct. 9:Join the Bektash Shriners of New Hampshire (189 Pembroke Road, Concord) for an Oktoberfest from 5 to 9 p.m. featuring bratwurst, potato salad, pretzels and more. Visit bektashshriners.org or call the office at 225-5372 to RSVP.
• Saturday, Oct. 9: The New Hampshire Brewfest returns to Cisco Brewers (35 Corporate Drive, Portsmouth), with general admittance from 1 to 5 p.m. and VIP admittance at noon. Admission ranges from $50 to $65 and includes access to tastings from a variety of New England-area craft breweries. Food options from local food trucks will also be available at an additional cost. Visit nhbrewfest.com.
• Saturdays and Sundays, Oct. 9-10 and Oct. 16-17:Henniker Brewing Co. (129 Centervale Road, Henniker) will hold its annual Fall Fest over two weekends this year, from noon to 7 p.m., on Saturdays, Oct. 9; Sunday, Oct. 10; Saturday, Oct. 16, and Sunday, Oct. 17. In addition to pourings from the brewery’s Wurst Bier seasonal festbier, there will be food options from The Salted Knot and The Russian Dumpling Co., plus stein hoisting competitions and live music. Visit hennikerbrewing.com.
• Saturday, Oct. 16:Anheuser-Busch Tour Center & Biergarten (221 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack) will host the Great Oktoberfest featuring more than two dozen fall and winter brews that will be available to taste, including several authentic German varieties. There are two sessions to choose from, either from noon to 3 p.m. or from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. The festival will also feature European-style food from several local food trucks, games, live music and more. Tickets start at $45 general admission and $15 for designated drivers, with proceeds supporting the Merrimack Rotary Club. Visit greatoktoberfest.com.
• Sunday, Oct. 31: The Manchester Brewfest returns for the first time since the summer of 2019 to Arms Park (Commercial Street, Manchester) with general admittance from 1 to 4 p.m. and VIP admittance at noon. Tickets are $40 general admission, $50 VIP admission and $15 for designated drivers. Visit manchesterbrewfest.com.
• Sunday, Nov. 7:Pats Peak Ski Area (686 Flanders Road, Henniker) will host its annual Oktoberfest celebration in conjunction with its ski and snowboard sale, happening from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event will feature live music from The Bavarian Brothers, plus a beer garden with Harpoon Brewery, games, a stein hoisting competition, and authentic German food options prepared by Chef Guy Pelletier and his team. Foods will include bratwurst, hot dogs with a side of hot German potato salad, and braised red cabbage with baked apple. Admission is free and foods are priced per item. Visit patspeak.com.
• Saturday, Nov. 20: Join Pipe Dream Brewing (49 Harvey Road, Londonderry) for a Fall Fest from noon to 10 p.m., when there will be a special festbier release, bratwurst and sauerkraut food specials, and live music from the reggae band Slack Tide from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Visit pipedreambrewingnh.com.
Featured photo: Aaron Share of To Share Brewing Co. in Manchester. Courtesy photo.
Concord arts scene on display at Capital Arts Fest
Concord’s arts scene will be bustling this weekend, both downtown and at locations throughout the city, as Capital Arts Fest kicks off Friday, Sept. 24, with a salsa lesson, dance performance, art exhibit and outdoor movie at Kimball Jenkins School of Art.
The three-day event also features the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s juried Fine Art and Craft Fair on Saturday and Sunday, theater performances, author and poet readings, live music and more throughout the event — which, this year, is also a celebration of the capital city’s ability to thrive during tough times.
“We wanted to showcase our region as a cultural center for the state and also celebrate things getting more or less back to normal after a hellacious period of time with Covid,” said Tim Sink, president of the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce, which co-sponsors the event along with the League of NH Craftsmen and the Capitol Center for the Arts. Despite the recent spike in cases, “We’re still looking forward to a fantastic event,” he said, with much of it being outdoors and safety precautions in place.
Capital Arts Fest started five years ago, when the city had completed its Main Street renovation, as a partnership between the Chamber of Commerce and the Cap Center.
“It was meant to be a one-time celebration of the reopening of downtown Concord,” Sink said. “We had lots of cultural organizations … and huge bicycles with fire-breathing dragons, [which] was a sight worth seeing. … It was a day-long event, and it was meant to be a one-shot deal.”
The next year, he said, the League wanted to host a fair on South Main Street and asked if they could use the Capital Arts Fest brand.
“They ran a mini version of the Sunapee fair,” Sink said. “Then last year [we] said, ‘It would be cool to supersize this event. … [Now] the craft fair is the anchor on South Main Street. … That’s what we’ve built around, but we’ve built a lot around it. … We’ve got lots of events focused on downtown, and then we’ve got a lot of satellite [locations] participating.”
The satellite location kicking everything off Friday is Kimball Jenkins, with a faculty art exhibit, a salsa lesson, a performance from Ballet Misha and an outdoor showing of Moonrise Kingdom presented by Red River Theatres. Those events are free; also happening that night are a couple of ticketed events: Eaglemania at the Capitol Center for the Arts and Blaggards at the Bank of NH Stage.
On Saturday and Sunday, the juried Fine Art and Craft Fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (4 p.m. Sunday), with tents lining South Main Street. Also in the downtown area will be outdoor music starting at 11 a.m. and a beer garden. Gibson’s Bookstore will host poetry readings, there will be historical tours at the Statehouse, and the Bank of NH stage will feature performances from NHSCOT and Fruit Flies Like a Banana, plus Strike Anywhere Soundpainting Ensemble’s interactive musical improvisation.
Over at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center there will be two art projects available: nebula spin art and straw rockets.
“They’re sort of intertwining arts culture with science,” Sink said. “This is hands-on stuff for people to do. … A lot of the things that are going on are going to be participatory.”
Also on the schedule is an improv workshop at Hatbox Theatre, a chance to do some community art at NHTI and activities hosted by the Concord Community Music School, like Music & Movement and a folk jam. Ticketed events include David Sedaris at the Cap Center Saturday night; White Rabbit Red Rabbit at Hatbox Theatre, and Canterbury Shaker Village’s Artisan Market, featuring live music, food and handmade crafts.
Sink said schedules of all activities and shows taking place during the event will be available at the visitors center downtown, with QR codes for more information.
Capital Arts Fest
Where: Downtown Concord and various satellite locations throughout the city When: Friday, Sept. 24, through Sunday, Sept. 26, with events starting at 6 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday Cost: Most activities and performances are free, with some ticketed events. See the full schedule at visitconcord-nh.com/capital-arts-fest.
Featured photo: Diana Beaulieu and customers. Courtesy photo.
Information from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services
Covid-19 news
As of Sept. 20, there were 3,769 active infections of Covid-19 in New Hampshire and 139 current hospitalizations. All 10 counties still showed substantial community transmission levels.
During a Sept. 15 press conference, state epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan reported that New Hampshire has averaged more than 400 new infections of the virus per day over the previous seven-day period, while hospitalizations and deaths have also continued to creep up in recent weeks. “The vast majority of these infections … are occurring in people who are unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated,” he said. “In fact, since the end of January when we started tracking vaccine-breakthrough infections, only about 3 percent of the infections that we’ve identified have been in people who are fully vaccinated. … Low vaccination is contributing to continued spread of Covid-19 in our communities.”
State Department of Health & Human Services Commissioner Lori Shibinette also provided an update on state officials’ findings and lessons learned from their Aug. 30 trip to Kentucky, one of the hardest-hit states in the country by the pandemic. “One of the things that was really noteworthy was that … their surge was largely due to outbreaks in the rural areas that had low vaccination rates, and their small rural hospitals couldn’t manage that load so they would transfer their patients into the city centers,” she said. “So what we did … is we very, very clearly did a strategy to target all of our communities with a vaccination rate of under 50 percent. … So what you’re going to see is mobile clinics and vaccine vans that are going out working with Town Hall officials, local fire and EMS, and trying to raise the vaccination rates in those towns and cities.” Shibinette also pointed out that ongoing staffing challenges in Kentucky’s health care system have mirrored those in New Hampshire’s. To combat this, Gov. Chris Sununu announced a few solutions, including continuing to issue temporary licenses for 120 days to out-of-state health care workers with licenses in other states; issuing student nursing licenses to New Hampshire students in their last year of their RN or LPN programs; and reissuing licenses to retired or inactive health care professionals, which would be valid through Jan. 31, 2022. “We’re going to keep doing whatever we can … but right now, expanding and maintaining a healthy and vibrant health care workforce is one of the top priorities in the state, without a doubt,” he said.
Pfizer and BioNTech announced “positive, topline results” for its vaccine trials in children ages 5 to 11, according to a Sept. 20 press release, and plans to share its findings with the FDA “as soon as possible” to obtain authorization. “Since July, pediatric cases of Covid-19 have risen by about 240 percent in the U.S., underscoring the public health need for vaccination,” Pfizer chairman and chief executive officer Albert Bourla said in a statement. According to the release, trial results for children under the age of 5 are expected as soon as the fourth quarter of this year.
Fighting violent crime
Federal, state and local agencies are stepping up efforts to fight violent crime in Manchester, and they want the public to stay informed about what they’re doing. After a scheduled press conference to address these efforts was canceled last week, a press release was issued instead to provide an update to the community. According to the release, Manchester started using the CompStat 360 program earlier this year, a national initiative that focuses on reducing violent crime and addressing public safety issues. As part of the program, Manchester police have held community meetings and created a community-centered Problem Solving Team that includes law enforcement partners, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the County Attorney’s Office, community leaders, public health officials, public works personnel and community organizations. The purpose of the team is to discuss and develop responses, including non-law enforcement responses, to these issues, according to the release. In addition, Manchester police, New Hampshire State Police and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office have increased officer presence and community engagement in the neighborhoods that need it most, conducting more than 4,000 directed patrols. “For most residents of Manchester, these efforts should be a message of hope for the future,” Acting U.S. Attorney John J. Farley said in the release. “But for those who choose to pursue a path of violence, I have a different message. We will not tolerate violent crime in our community. We will investigate you. We will prosecute you. And you will go to federal prison.” Partners in these initiatives will continue to update the community about their ongoing efforts, the release said.
ATC options
The New Hampshire Therapeutic Cannabis Program announced last week that New Hampshire-registered patients can now make purchases at any alternative treatment center in the state. Previously, patients were restricted to purchasing from a single ATC, according to a press release, and this change results from the passage of SB 162 earlier this year. “Patients have been requesting this reform for many years, and it’s great to see that it is finally becoming a reality,” Matt Simon, Director of Public and Government Relations for Prime Alternative Treatment Centers of NH, said in the release. “Allowing more options for patients can only be a good thing as the program continues to grow and mature.”
StubHub settles
Last week New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella announced a settlement with StubHub, one of the biggest ticket reselling companies in the country. New Hampshire, along with nine other states and Washington, D.C., has resolved a complaint with the company regarding its refusal to pay refunds to consumers for concerts, sports events and other events that were canceled as a result of the pandemic. According to a press release under its “FanProtect Guarantee,” StubHub offered consumers full refunds of the purchase price and fees they paid for tickets if their events were canceled, but in March 2020, after the entertainment industry shut down, it stopped honoring its refund guarantee and instead told customers that they would receive account credits equal to 120 percent of their purchases to be used for future events. As part of the settlement, StubHub has reversed its decision and notified its customers that if they purchased tickets prior to March 25, 2020, and their events were canceled, they would receive full refunds unless they elected to retain their account credits. This includes 2,175 consumers residing in New Hampshire or purchasing tickets for an event in New Hampshire, according to the release.
The New Hampshire Veterans Home in Tilton will hold an outdoor craft fair on Saturday, Sept. 25, according to a press release. There will be more than 80 vendors, a raffle and a white elephant table. The craft fair supports the NHVH Resident Benefit Fund.
“Stuff-A-Cruiser” with non-perishable food donations at two locations in Concord as the New Hampshire Food Bank and the Concord Police Department team up for Hunger Action Month in New Hampshire. According to a press release, there will be a police cruiser at Shaw’s on Fort Eddy Road on Friday, Sept. 24, and one at Hannaford on Fort Eddy Road on Saturday, Sept. 25, with donations being accepted both days from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will also be a food collection box at the Concord Police Department on Green Street.
Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on Sept. 20 for the city’s planned solar array at the former landfill on Dunbarton Road. According to a press release, the more than 8,000 panels will supply approximately 3.8 million kilowatt hours of clean energy to the power grid on an annual basis once it’s completed.
Clarity Community Connections in Londonderry is hosting its first annual fundraiser car show on Saturday, Sept. 25, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Matthew Thornton Elementary School (275 Mammoth Road, Londonderry). There will be cars, food trucks, local artisans, a bake sale, kids’ activities, vendors, raffles and more. The cost is $3 per person or $10 for a family bundle, and veterans get in free. All proceeds benefit Clarity Community Connections. Find the event on Facebook.
An interesting change has been taking place in New Hampshire politics. Towns that were once solidly Republican have either switched over to competitive towns or are now tilting toward Democrats.
A recent example of this was the special election in Bedford for a state House seat. There was a time when that would be a safe Republican seat. But no more. Republicans lost the seat in a very close election. With that win, Democrats hold two of Bedford’s five seats. And almost a year ago in 2020, Bedford went for President Joe Biden over former President Donald Trump. In 2008, a year that saw President Barack Obama win New Hampshire and both U.S. House seats go to Democrats, Bedford elected all Republicans and in the presidential race went for Republican John McCain.
The same trend has been happening in other suburban towns. In Amherst, Democrats control all of its state House seats, just as they do in Bow. In Hollis, Democrats control one of two seats. The same trend has been happening on the Seacoast. Towns such as Rye, North Hampton and Hampton are electing more and more Democrats.
In the larger cities such as Manchester, Nashua, Concord and Portsmouth, Democrats have a near sweep of House seats.
Republicans continue to hold tight to Londonderry, Derry, Windham, Salem, Atkinson, Hudson and some smaller rural towns.
Parties tend to win because of a couple factors: changes in the party itself and changes in the electorate. Since Democrat Jeanne Shaheen was elected governor, Democrats have been careful to broaden their appeal, staying away from unpopular issues like statewide income taxes. This effort to broaden the appeal of the party has been very successful, creating a nearly unbroken 20 years of Democratic control of the governor’s office. Republicans were only able to take back the governor’s office with a centrist candidate, Chris Sununu. Sununu, for example, was able to win in Hampton, North Hampton and Rye, all towns his predecessor Maggie Hassan also won. He then helped Republicans take back the state House and Senate in 2020.
So what happened in Bedford and is it a wake-up call for Republicans or just a fluke?
It’s likely that voters, especially those in suburban towns like Bedford and Amherst, got more than they bargained for with the Republican legislature, a group that tilted far more right than the governor and took highly polarizing votes on abortion, public funding of private education and vaccinations. These are issues that might appeal to a vocal slice of the party, but they alienate voters in the suburban towns who will decide who controls the next legislature. To win elections, parties need to broaden their appeal.
Gin Blossoms singer Robin Wilson knows his band’s odds of making the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame are slim — “There’s a pretty deep bench you gotta work your way through before you get to us,” he said in a recent phone interview. It’s OK, though; the music HoF in Wilson’s home state of Arizona inducted them in 2017. Better still, the ’90s band is buzzing in the current zeitgeist.
They were name-checked on the season opener of Apple TV+’s hit show Ted Lasso and drafted into a Twitter war during the Phoenix Suns’ NBA playoff run. The Lasso mention was especially gratifying for Wilson. “‘Hey Jealousy’ is the best Gin Blossoms song,” the American football turned English soccer coach played by Jason Sudeikis said, “but ‘Follow You Down’ is my favorite.”
The latter song came at a critical juncture in the band’s career. After their major label debut New Miserable Experience went multiplatinum, Gin Blossoms founder and creative leader Doug Hopkins was consumed by addiction, left the band, and later died by suicide. “Follow You Down” was the lead single of their 1996 follow-up, Congratulations I’m Sorry. It would be their first and only Billboard No. 1.
“That helped legitimize the rest of the band,” Wilson said. “If that hadn’t happened, we would have been living in Doug’s shadow forever. ‘Follow You Down’ and ‘Till I Hear It From You’ — those songs were our opportunity to really prove that we had what it took … then for Ted Lasso to say it’s his favorite song 30 years later, it’s pretty … cool.”
“Follow You Down” came late in the process, recalled Wilson, when their record label demanded another hit.
“They were perfectly clear that they didn’t want just another song,” he said. “That’s about as much pressure as any band can ever be under; trying to follow up a multi-platinum debut, and then being told you’re not quite there yet. … I take an immense pride in what we did … but it’s not like we cured cancer; we just wrote a good song.”
Their first two albums represented a commercial pinnacle, and the group disbanded in 1997, but a reunited Gin Blossoms has continued to make new music since the early 2000s. Their most recent, 2018’s Mixed Reality, is a gem. For Wilson the creative spark is always around.
“It’s a deep ingrained passion I’ve had my whole life,” he said. “The first time I ever wrote a song, I think I was in the third grade, writing about UFOs and stuff. … It’s easy to perform, it’s easy to write. The hard part is being in a band and compromising with your bandmates, finding the middle ground, and even that isn’t as difficult as a lot of other things.”
Wilson is working on a solo project, Poppin’ Wheelies. It’s currently a soundtrack to an animation series that he hopes to place on Cartoon Network, Netflix or a similar platform. A video for one of the songs, “Little Stars,” is up on YouTube and has an unmistakable Gin Blossoms sound.
“My vision is Scooby Doo in outer space with great humor, retro ’70s, Saturday morning nostalgia,” he said. “On top of that it would be full of just great animation, and the music video sequences would be the standout moments. I’d like it to basically be like Spinal Tap in outer space.”
Perhaps he should pitch to Apple, given the Ted Lasso connection?
“That’s definitely one of my targets, but my agent is saying he’s not sure they’re really interested in animation … but a big part of Poppin’ Wheelies is guest stars and licensed music; in that sense I think they’d really get it. Clearly they have the budget we’d be hoping for, and it’s a prestige network.”
Gin Blossoms & Vertical Horizon When: Saturday, Sept. 18, 1 p.m. Where: Anheuser-Busch Brewery, Merrimack Tickets: $29 and up at ticketmaster.com More: 16 and over unless accompanied by a parent. Children under 5 not permitted.
After a brutal attack, a woman finds herself seeing through the eyes of a killer in Malignant, an unexpected bit of horror from director James Wan.
Wan’s filmography, according to IMDb, includes “story by” credits on some of the Saw movies, some of the Conjuring universe movies, Aquaman and this movie, and he directed the first Saw, some Insidious movies, two Conjuring movies, Aquaman and its upcoming sequel. This movie fits well in that mix — it’s very “1980s classic horror”-styled horror with some, I don’t know, humor, I guess. I’m not saying Malignant is funny but it does have some moments of real kookiness.
Madison (Annabelle Wallis) comes home from work suffering from some pregnancy achy-ness. She is also suffering from having a violent jerk as a husband — Derek (Jake Abel), who takes time out of his busy afternoon of lying around to first harangue Madison about working while pregnant and then slam her head against a wall. Madison uses his run to get her some ice for her bleeding head wound to lock him out of the bedroom. He eventually falls asleep on the downstairs sofa, only to wake to the sound of someone in the kitchen. When he goes to investigate, he first finds the blender on, then the refrigerator door pops open, etc., in the manner of Spooky Things Messing With You so familiar in these movies. This spooky thing, which appears to us as a kind of a shadow person, doesn’t waste time escalating the Messing With Derek and pretty quickly clobbers him (the visuals and foley work here — and in the rest of the movie — are extravagantly “ew”).
Madison wakes up, tentatively coming out of the room, sees Derek’s very lifeless body and is then attacked herself and left unconscious in the nursery. She comes to in the hospital and is devastated to learn that she has lost the baby and falls into a stupor, with younger sister Sydney (Maddie Hasson) having to do the talking for her to Detective Kekoa Shaw (George Young). Shaw isn’t sure what’s happening but his partner Detective Regina Moss (Michole Briana White) thinks that Madison probably has something to do with Derek’s death. Then other people start dying and Madison, recovered enough to go home but still quite shaken, goes to the detectives to report that she can see the murders — she’s doing her laundry in her house, for example, when she suddenly finds herself watching the crime as if she were there.
For a while I found myself wondering if this movie was just a study in spooky atmospherics. There’s a lot of “room bathed in red light” and “crime scene in the rain” and “barely lit hospital/police station” and a few stretches shot in the Seattle Underground (a real thing, according to Wikipedia, where streets and first-story storefronts from ye olden times, now below the ground level, can be visited as a tourist attraction). And all of this is scored to some pretty top-notch “you are watching a modern riff on classic horror” style music, all screaming strings and anxiety synth. It’s cool but, like, why, I thought. Why are we spending time in a bunch of very familiar “movie like this” setups with some very “sure, I believe these people as people” characters who are otherwise not terribly memorable, I thought.
Initially.
When you realize the “why” — well, the movie takes on a whole new vibe. I’m still not exactly clear on where we, as a culture, landed with the whole “what is camp” discussion. I feel like, OK, maybe Malignant isn’t camp, per se, but it’s not totally not camp. It’s a crazy little ride, this movie, one that had me checking my watch initially but ultimately left me more amused than not.
I think, if you at all like horror, if you at all enjoy a late night and a bowl of popcorn and a feeling that maybe there should be more lights on in the house, this movie is probably a fun Saturday night in. B-
Rated R for strong horror violence and gruesome images, and for language, according to the MPA on filmratings.com. Directed by James Wan with a screenplay by Akela Cooper, Malignant is an hour and 51 minutes long and distributed by New Line Cinema. The movie is available on HBO Max through Oct. 10 and in theaters.
Red River Theatres 11 S. Main St., Concord 224-4600, redrivertheatres.org
Regal Fox Run Stadium 15 45 Gosling Road, Newington regmovies.com
Rex Theatre 23 Amherst St., Manchester 668-5588, palacetheatre.org
The Strand 20 Third St., Dover 343-1899, thestranddover.com
Wilton Town Hall Theatre 40 Main St., Wilton wiltontownhalltheatre.com, 654-3456
Shows
• David Byrne’s American Utopia (NR) will screen at O’neil Cinemas in Epping on Wednesday, Sept. 15, at 7 p.m.
• The Card Counter (R, 2021) will screen at Red River Theatres in Concord Friday, Sept. 17, through Sunday, Sept. 19, at 12:45 p.m., 3:45 p.m. and 6:45 p.m.
• The Alpinist (PG-13, 2021) will screen at Red River Theatres in Concord Friday, Sept. 17, through Sunday, Sept. 19, at 1:15 p.m., 4:15 p.m. and 7:15 p.m.
• Drifting (1923), starring Anna May Wong, Priscilla Dean and Wallace Beery, a silent film with live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, will screen Sunday, Sept. 19, at 2 p.m. at Wilton Town Hall Theatre. A $10 donation is suggested.
• Hedwig and the Angry Inch (R, 2001) at Rex Theatre on Tuesday, Sept. 21, at 7 p.m. with a portion of the proceeds going to Motley Mutts Rescue. Tickets $12.
• Serial Mom (R, 1994) at Rex Theatre on Wednesday, Sept. 22, at 7 p.m. with a portion of the proceeds going to Motley Mutts Rescue. Tickets cost $12.
• National Theatre Live Follies,a broadcast of a play from London’s National Theatre, screening at the Bank of NH Stage in Concord on Sunday, Oct. 3, at 12:30 p.m. Tickets cost $15 ($12 for students).
• National Theatre Live Cyrano de Bergerac, a broadcast of a play from London’s National Theatre, screening at the Bank of NH Stage in Concord on Sunday, Oct. 17, at 12:30 p.m. Tickets cost $15 ($12 for students).
• Frankenweenie (PG, 2012) at the Rex Theatre on Sunday, Oct. 17, 7 p.m. with a portion of the proceeds going to Motley Mutts Rescue. Tickets cost $12.
• The Nightmare Before Christmas (PG, 1993) at the Rex Theatre on Monday, Oct. 18, 7 p.m. with a portion of the proceeds going to Motley Mutts Rescue. Tickets cost $12.
• The Phantom of the Opera (1925), a silent film starring Lon Chaney, with live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, on Thursday, Oct. 21, at 6:30 p.m. at the Flying Monkey in Plymouth. Tickets start at $10.
• Nosferatu (1922), a silent film directed by F.W. Murnau, on Thursday, Oct. 28, at 7:30 p.m. at the Rex in Manchester, featuring live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis. Admission costs $10.
• The Big Parade (1925), a silent film with live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, on Thursday, Nov. 10, at 6:30 p.m. at the Flying Monkey in Plymouth. Tickets start at $10.
• National Theatre Live No Man’s Land a broadcast of a play from London’s National Theatre, screening at the Bank of NH Stage in Concord on Sunday, Nov. 21, at 12:30 p.m. Tickets cost $15 ($12 for students).
• National Theatre Live The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time a broadcast of a play from London’s National Theatre, screening at the Bank of NH Stage in Concord on Sunday, Dec. 5, at 12:30 p.m. Tickets cost $15 ($12 for students).
• An evening with Chevy ChaseA screening of National Lampoon’sChristmas Vacation (1989, PG-13) plus Q&A with audience on Saturday, Dec. 11, 7 p.m. at the Cap Center. Tickets start at $59.50.
• Elf screening at Christmas Break on a Budget on Saturday, Dec. 18, at noon at The Strand in Dover. The afternoon will include storytime, family activities and the movie. The cost is $20 for a family of four or $8 each.
