Category: This Week

Big Events November 4, 2021 and beyond

Friday, Nov. 5

Symphony New Hampshire will present “Suites and Schubert” at St. Mary and Archangel Michael Coptic Orthodox Church (39 Chandler St. in Nashua) tonight at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $30 ($25 for seniors; children 18 or younger get in free).

Saturday, Nov. 6

Get a little more Halloween fun at the Halloween Trivia Extravaganza at Liquid Therapy (14 Court St. in Nashua; 402-9391, liquidtherapynh.com) today at 1 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 6

With November comes craft fair season. Today, find the Village Craft Fair at the First Congregational Church (15 Lawrence Road in Salem) from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a snack bar that closes at 3 p.m. Admission and parking are free. The Lakes Region Fall Craft Fair will run today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Tanger Outlets in Tilton. The fair will feature 90 exhibitors; see joycescraftshows.com. The Knights of Columbus will host the Merrimack Craft Fair today from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (and also on Friday, Nov. 5, from 5 to 8 p.m.) at Mastricola Upper Elementary School (26 Baboosic Lake Road in Merrimack), where, in addition to handmade crafts, you can find a bake sale, food concessions and a chance auction, according to kofc6725.org. The Hampstead Mothers’ Club will hold their annual craft fair today from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Hampstead Middle School (28 School St.) with more than 80 crafters, a raffle and a food court, according to the group’s Facebook page. St. Jude’s Women’s Guild will hold its 42 annual Country Christmas Fair today from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at St. Jude Community Parish (435 Mammoth Road in Londonderry). The event will feature hand-crafted items, a quilt raffle, a bake sale and more. Coe-Brown Northwood Academy (901 First NH Turnpike in Northwood; coebrown.org) will hold its craft fair today from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. St. Luke the Evangelist (8 Atkinson Depot Road in Plaistow; stlukenh.org, 382-8324) will hold its Christmas Craft Fair from 9 am. to 3 p.m. featuring more than 20 vendors, a silent auction, jewelry table, raffles, “Cookie Heaven,” breakfast and lunch items available for purchase, live entertainment and children’s entertainment (including possibly photos with Santa from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.), according to the church’s website. Do you know of a craft fair this season? Let us know at [email protected].

Sunday, Nov. 7

See Kathryn Lewek, a coloratura soprano called “the Metropolitan Opera’s reigning Queen of the Night” in a press release, at the Dana Center (Saint Anselm College, 100 Saint Anselm Drive in Manchester; anselm.edu/dana-center-humanities) today at 4 p.m. She will be accompanied by pianist Elizabeth Blood and by opera tenor (and Saint Anselm College professor) Sean Parr, who wrote the book Vocal Virtuosity and will offer historical commentary, according to a press release. Tickets cost $45.

Save the Date! Nov. 19

You may still be snacking on trick-or-treat candy but the season of The Nutcracker is nearly here. The Southern New Hampshire Dance Theatre will present its production of the classic Christmas ballet at the Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org, 668-5588) Friday, Nov. 19, through Sunday, Nov. 21. Shows are Friday, Nov. 19, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 20, at 11 a.m., 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 21, at noon and 4:30 p.m. Tickets cost $25 to $46.

Featured photo: Kathryn Lewek. Courtesy photo.

Big Events October 28, 2021 and beyond

Thursday, Oct. 28

Nothing but treats for lovers of classic horror and Halloween-y themed movies at Red River Theatres (11 S. Main St. in Concord; 224-4600, redrivertheatres.org) starting tonight with The Thing (1982) at 7 p.m. Then tomorrow (Friday, Oct. 29) catch The Shining (R, 1980) at 2 and 6:30 p.m. and A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (R, 1987) at 2:30, 5 & 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, Oct. 30, it’s The Witches (PG, 1990) at 1, 4 and 7 p.m. and Psycho (R, 1960) at 2, 5 & 8 p.m. And on Halloween, Sunday, Oct. 31, check out The Exorcist (R, 1973) at 2 and 5:15 p.m. and Night of the Living Dead (1968) at 1:30 and 4:30 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 28

Or go for some horror from the silent film era withNosferatu (1922), directed by F.W. Murnau, tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Rex Theatre (23 Amherst St. in Manchester; 668-5588, palacetheatre.org). The screening will feature live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis. Admission costs $10.

Friday, Oct. 29

Catch Adam Ezra Group tonight at 7:30 p.m. (doors open at 6 p.m.) at the Flying Monkey (39 Main St. in Plymouth; flyingmonkeynh.com, 536-2551). Tickets start at $25.

Sunday, Oct. 31

Were Ross and Rachel truly on a break? Perhaps the issue will be debated tonight at Friends The Musical Parody, a live show presented this afternoon at 2:30 p.m. (doors open at 2 p.m.) at the Capitol Center for the Arts (44 S. Main St. in Concord; ccanh.com, 225-1111). Tickets cost $35 to $55 (plus a fee).

Sunday, Oct. 31

Buy some candy and turn on those porch lights for trick or treat today — for the most part. Get a rundown of when area towns are holding their trick-or-treats (some do it on Saturday) in last week’s (Oct. 21) issue of the Hippo on page 11. Find an e-edition of the paper at hippopress.com.

Wednesday, Nov. 3

The Millyard Museum (200 Bedford St. in Manchester; manchesterhistoric.org, 622-7531) is holding an open house and beer tasting tonight from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $15 and can be purchased online or by calling the museum. The evening will feature live music by Alli Beaudry, eats and brews from Lithermans, To Share Brewing, Woodstock Inn Brewery, Great North Aleworks and more, according to the website.

Save the Date! Nov. 6

Catch the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra playing the music of Duke Ellington on Saturday, Nov. 6, at 7:30 p.m. at the Dana Center (Saint Anselm College, 100 Saint Anselm Drive in Manchester; anselm.edu). Tickets cost $40.

Featured photo: Adam Ezra Group. Courtesy photo.

Big Events October 21, 2021 and beyond

Saturday, Oct. 23

Magnifico! Catch Almost Queen today at 7:30 p.m. at the Capitol Center for the Arts (44 S. Main St. in Concord; 225-1111, ccanh.com). Tickets

Saturday, Oct. 23

The town of Raymond is holding a Fall Family Festival today from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Lamprey River Elementary School (33 Old Manchester Road in Raymond). The day will include a 1K and 3K run/walk (registration starts at 9 a.m.), the Girls Scouts STEM dinosaur van, pumpkin painting, concessions available for purchase, family rail bike tours and more, according to raymondnh.gov/fallfamilyfunfestival.

Saturday, Oct. 23

The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center (2 Institute Dr. in Concord; starhop.com, 271-7827) will hold a James Webb Space Telescope Pre-Launch party, all about the telescope scheduled to launch later this year, today at 1:30 p.m. The celebration will include information about the Webb telescope and its mission and STEM activities, according to the Center’s website. The center is open Fridays through Sundays and visitors can purchase tickets for a morning (10 a.m. to 1 p.m.) or afternoon (1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.) time slot. Admission costs $11.50 for adults, $10.50 for students and seniors, $8.50 for children ages 3 to 12 and free for children two and under, and tickets can be purchased in advance on the website.

Saturday, Oct. 23

Chunky’s Cinema Pubs in Nashua (151 Coliseum Ave.) and Manchester (707 Huse Road) are each offering two screenings of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the PG 2001 movie that kicked off the franchise. The first screening is today at 6:30 p.m. and the second is tomorrow, Oct. 24, at 6 p.m. Tickets cost $5.99 per person and dressing up in Hogwarts fashion is encouraged, according to chunkys.com.

Saturday, Oct. 23

Catch BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet today at 7:30 p.m. at the Dana Center for the Humanities at Saint Anselm College (100 Saint Anselm Drive in Manchester; anselm.edu/dana-events, 641-7000). The Dana Center’s website describes them as “making some of the most popular Cajun music on the planet with their distinctive sound distilled from the spirits of New Orleans jazz, blues, rock, folk, swamp pop, Zydeco, country and bluegrass.” Tickets cost $45.

Save the Date! Oct. 31

Think of it as grown-up trick-or-treating: the Manchester Brewfest will run from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 31, (with VIP admission at noon) in Arms Park in Manchester. Tickets cost $40 for general admission, $50 for VIP admission and $15 for designated drivers (and bring money for the restaurants that will set up stations to sell food). Around 20 breweries will be on hand to offer tastes of their beers, according to Matt Ingersoll’s story about the event on page 26 of the Oct. 14 issue of the Hippo (find the e-edition at hippopress.com).

Featured photo: Almost Queen. Courtesy photo.

Big Events October 14, 2021 and beyond

Friday, Oct. 15

It’s a big weekend for local theater with two plays on the schedule up in Concord. Catch the Community Players of Concord’s presentation of Barefoot in the Park, the play by Neil Simon, at the Concord City Auditorium (2 Prince St). The shows are tonight and tomorrow, Oct. 16, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 17, at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $20 for adults and $18 for youth and seniors; see communityplayersofconcord.org. And beginning a two-weekend run at the Hatbox Theatre (270 Loudon Road in Concord; hatboxnh.com, 715-2315) is American Son, a play by Christopher Demos-Brown. Tonight’s show is at 7:30 p.m., as are shows on Oct. 16, Oct. 22 and Oct. 23. Sunday shows (Oct. 17 and Oct. 24) are at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $22, $19 for students and seniors.

Friday, Oct. 15

Today is also the kickoff of a multi-week run of Mamma Mia!, the ABBA musical, at the Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org, 668-5588). Tonight’s show is at 7:30 p.m. The play runs through Nov. 14 with shows at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays, 2 and 7:30 p.m. on Saturdays and noon and 5 p.m. on Sundays (most weeks). There will also be Thursday shows on Oct. 28 and Nov. 11. Tickets cost $25 to $46. And if you can’t get enough ABBA, head to the Capitol Center for the Arts (16 S. Main St. in Concord; ccanh.com, 225-1111) on Wednesday, Oct. 20, for ABBA the Concert, a tribute concert to the Swedish pop group, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $29.50 to $49.50 (plus fees).

Saturday, Oct. 16

The New Hampshire Philharmonic Orchestra will begin its new season with a show “From Darkness to Hope” presented tonight at 7:30 p.m. and tomorrow, Sunday, Oct. 17, at 2 p.m. at Seifert Performing Arts Center at Salem High School (44 Geremonty Dr. in Salem). The concerts will include performances of music by Beethoven, Samuel Barber and Tchaikovsky and will be conducted by Mark Latham. Tickets cost $30 for adults, $25 for seniors, $8 for students and $5 for Salem K-12 students. A livestream pass for $15 is also available for Sunday’s show.

Saturday, Oct. 16

Giant pumpkins! Seaworthy pumpkins! Falling pumpkins! The Goffstown Giant Pumpkin Weigh Off and Regatta has all sorts of pumpkin entertainment planned for this weekend, starting today and continuing through tomorrow, Sunday, Oct. 17, when the actual regatta of pumpkin watercraft will hit the Piscataquog River at 3 p.m. See the weigh-off of the giant gourds today at 10:30 a.m. at the Common in Goffstown. The day will also include vendors and demonstrations, a doggie costume contest (at 10 a.m.) and fireworks (at dusk). Find out more in Angie Sykeny’s story on page 12 in last week’s (Oct. 7) issue of the Hippo; find the e-edition at hippopress.com.

Save the Date! For wine in November

The Lakes Region Uncorked will be held at Church Landing at Mill Falls (281 Daniel Webster Hwy. in Meredith) on Thursday, Nov. 4, at 5 p.m. and feature tastings from more than a dozen area craft breweries and wineries as well as food, a silent auction, music and more. General admission costs $50; a premier ticket (which includes a celebrity chef cooking demonstration) costs $90. See lakesregionuncorked.com. The Chase Home’s 7th Annual Wine & Chocolate Tasting fundraiser will be held Wednesday, Nov. 10, at Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club (135 Congress St. in Portsmouth). The event will run from 6 to 9 p.m. and feature food, a live and silent auction and more. Tickets cost $75; see chasehome.org.

Featured photo: Giant Pumpkin Regatta. Courtesy photo.

Big Events October 8, 2021 and beyond

Friday, Oct. 8

The Milford Pumpkin Festival has all kinds of gourd-ertainment planned (see the story about the event on page 10) including live music. Tonight, catch Shawna Deeley, Kayla Helmig, Tony Patterson, Macy Rae, Nick Zumbo and Drewosity all on the Oval Stage starting at 5 p.m. followed by Murphy Clark Band at 7:15 p.m. On the Community House Lawn Stage, catch 13 Steps (5:30 p.m) and Up Chuck Kreek (7:30 p.m.). On Saturday, 14 acts are scheduled to play on two stages from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. including Swipe Left (5:30 p.m.) and Tumbletoads (7:30 p.m.) on the Community House Lawn Stage and Russell Hill (5:30 p.m.) and Ballou Brothers (7:30 p.m.) on the Oval Stage. On Sunday, the music runs from around 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on both stages. Also on the schedule is Justin Cohn, slated to play Saturday at 10 a.m. on the Oval Stage. Justin was one of the artists featured in Michael Witthaus’s Sept. 30 story rounding up New Hampshire artists nominated for a New England Music Award. Cohn is nominated in the “Best in State” category (find the e-edition at hippopress.com; the story starts on page 32)

Saturday, Oct. 9

Oktoberfest celebrations continue this weekend with Bektash Shriners of New Hampshire’s Oktoberfest today from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Bektash Shrine Center (189 Pembroke Road in Concord; bektashshriners.org). The event will feature bratwurst, pretzels and more; call 225-5372 to RSVP. Find more Oktoberfest fun in Matt Ingersoll’s story about the celebration of German beer and eats in the Sept. 23 issue of the Hippo (find the e-edition at hippopress.com; the story starts on page 18).

Saturday, Oct. 9

Work up an appetite for the brews and eats at the Oktoberfest 5K beginning and ending at the Backyard Brewery & Kitchen in Manchester today at 9 a.m. Onsite, same-day registration starts at 7:30 a.m. or register in advance at millenniumrunning.com/oktoberfest. The fees are $30 for racers age 21 and over; $20 for racers 20 and younger.

Saturday, Oct. 9

Symphony New Hampshire kicks off its 2021-2022 season with a concert tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Keefe Center for the Arts (117 Elm St. in Nashua). See symphonynh.org for tickets and for safety rules. The evening will feature Frank Ticheli’s “Rest,” Mozart’s “Sinfonia Concertante for Four Winds” and the concert chamber orchestra suite of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. Roger Kalia will conduct.

Wednesday, Oct. 13

If the snap of fall weather and the return of the The Great British Baking Show has inspired you to hold your own Bread Week, check out the Decorative Focaccia Bread cooking class tonight at 6 p.m. at LaBelle Winery (14 Route 111 in Derry; labellewinery.com, 672-9898). The class costs $49.05; reserve a spot in advance online.

Save the Date! Oct. 15

Mamma Mia!, the joyful ABBA jukebox musical, will kick off a multi-week run at the Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org, 668-5588) on Friday, Oct. 15, with opening night show at 7:30 p.m. The show will run Fridays (7:30 p.m.), Saturdays (2 and 7:30 p.m.) and Sundays (noon and 5 p.m., most weeks) through Sunday, Nov. 14, with Thursday shows on Oct. 28 and Nov. 11. Tickets run $25 to $46.

Featured photo: Symphony New Hampshire. Courtesy photo.

Big Events September 30, 2021 and beyond

Thursday, Sept. 30

The Deerfield Fair kicks off today and runs through Sunday, Oct. 3, at the Deerfield Fairgrounds (34 Stage Road). The fair is open today through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and on Sunday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tickets cost $12 for adults (kids 12 and under get in for free). Today’s schedule includes a super pumpkin/squash weigh-off at 6 p.m. The fair also features daily animal shows and demonstrations, amusement park rides, music and other performances on five stages as well as strolling performers. Find the schedule, directions and a map of the fairgrounds at deerfieldfair.com.

Thursday, Sept. 30

Head to the Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St. in Manchester; 669-6144, currier.org) today from 5 to 8 p.m. for the weekly Art After Work program, when admission to the museum is free and you can catch a live musical performance (this week it’s Lauren Miller). Today’s exhibition tour will focus on “WPA in NH: Philip Guston and Musa McKim,” a two-piece exhibit that opened on Sept. 16.

Friday, Oct. 1

Described as “two men, twenty characters, satirical comedy ‘guaranteed,’” Greater Tuna opens today at the Hatbox Theatre (Steeplegate Mall, 270 Loudon Road in Concord; hatboxnh.com). Today’s show is at 7:30 p.m.; shows continue through Oct. 10 with shows on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $22 for adults.

Saturday, Oct. 2

It’s another big weekend for food fests. Matt Ingersoll looks at the Applefest in Nashua and the Powder Keg Beer Fest in Exeter in the food section (see page 18 in this week’s paper) and in last week’s issue about Oktoberfest listed several celebrations of German food and beer this weekend (go to hippopress.com to find the e-edition; the story starts on page 18 in last week’s paper). And for even more apple fun, head to Apple Harvest Day in downtown Dover today from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The day includes a 5K, live music at two stages, an apple pie contest, two food courts and more, according to dovernh.org/apple-harvest-day.

Saturday, Oct. 230

Do a little shopping at Henniker Handmade & Homegrown, which runs today from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Henniker Community Center Park (57 Main St.). Find artisans, farmers and food makers selling their goods — everything from jewelry and birdhouses to sausage subs and candied apples, according to a press release. The day will also feature live music from Walker Smith, The Complete Unknowns and Beechwood.

Saturday, Oct. 2

Richard Dowling kicks off the Concord Community Concert Association’s season with a performance of “The World’s Greatest Piano Masterpieces” today at 7:30 p.m. at the Concord City Auditorium (2 Prince St. in Concord; 344-4747, ccca-audi.org). Tickets cost $20 at the door or $23 online.

Save the Date! Oct. 7

Some Halloween-themed movies to look forward to: Red River Theatres (11 S. Main St. in Concord; 224-4600, redrivertheatres.org) will host a scary film series Thursdays in October starting on Thursday, Oct. 7, with George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968). Other films include William Castle’s House on Haunted Hill (1959, starring Vincent Price) on Oct. 14; Frenzy (1972), directed by Alfred Hitchcock, on Oct. 21, and John Carpenter’s The Thing on Oct. 28. Films start at 7 p.m.

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.