The other day someone asked Jessica Livingston if she planned weddings. “Absolutely not,” was her smiling reply. However, as leader of the Concord Arts Market, Livingston achieves something close to it when, before each event, she maps out where a gathering of art vendors will share space.
It’s something she’ll do Oct. 10 in Rollins Park, at the season-ending Arts in the Park.
“I know all of the artists, but they don’t necessarily know each other; I know who’d be a good fit,” she said recently. “Sometimes I’ll do the layout and I’ll be like, ‘Oh, I bet they’re going to really hit it off.’ Then I look forward to the end when I find out that they became best friends.”
Livingston took the reins at Concord Arts Market in the fall of 2024, after years of selling there.
Like any good reception planner, Livingston juggles more than personalities. Setup times are staggered, so morning doesn’t become a traffic jam. She also ensures soap makers aren’t in direct sunlight, and that older vendors have a shorter walk to their booth.
“I enjoy doing it,” she said, adding, “Sometimes it’s challenging.”
Though not all the crafty wares are handmade, everything must be created by vendors in some way, from pottery to digital art. Livingston tries to book diverse vendors and plan for contingencies. When, say, several potters sign up, she makes sure their styles differ and they’re spaced apart.
Liz McBride of Elm Art, Livingston’s elementary school art teacher and always Mrs. McBride, is known for goddess mugs shaped like a woman’s body. McBride also makes earrings from clay scraps. In a similar vein, Emerson Street Pottery offers feminist pieces. “They’re a little irreverent but really popular,” Livingston said.
Danbury Woodworking will offer handmade wine bottle holders and seasonally appropriate wooden pumpkins. At an early market his booth neighbor, a maker of wooden jewelry, became one of his customers. Freddie’s Toy Box has feline toys and a cat with an Instagram account (@fred.e.meowcury) lounging on the merch table.
Some pairings have become fixtures.
Livingston points to Saad Hindal, an Iraqi-born painter whose whimsical scenes of Concord have made him a local icon, and painter Jeff Newman.
“I always put them next to each other, because they have such good synergy,” she said. “They’ll do paintings of each other … it just creates a nice little energy for the market.”
It’s connections like that, more than any single moment, that are most satisfying for Livingston. “Friendships and the opportunity to be part of a community that people love,” she said, adding she does love the work. “It’s not a bad day if you have to sit out in a sunny park all afternoon on a Saturday. There are worse jobs.”
As someone who began as a vendor, Livingston makes a point of bringing new artists into the fold. First-timers get their initial booth free, and newbies frequently end up nearby.
“At my first market, I had no idea what I was doing,” she recalled. “So I usually put them next to me so that I can help them out throughout the day.”
Music and charity are also part of the final market. Celtic band Cara will play, and the New Hampshire Immigrant Mutual Aid Fund will sell donated handmade goods to raise money for legal help for immigrants facing court dates. Livingston will also collect food and snack donations to distribute where they’re needed.
Finally, a group of South End neighbors who treat Rollins Park as a sanctuary will lead a session on putting a garden to bed and saving seeds for flowers to feed bees and butterflies when spring comes. The group had struggled to get permission to gather in the park, so Livingston invited them to join the market under its existing permits.
The market runs rain or shine, mostly. Her first solo Arts in the Park in 2025 was beset by flooding downpours, and Livingston nearly threw in the towel. She powered through, though, also learning to respect genuine weather threats like high winds or lightning. “Knock on wood, it’s going to be beautiful,” she said.
Arts in the Park When: Saturday, Oct. 10, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Where: Rollins Park, Concord (parking at 33 Bow St.) More: concordartsmarket.org
Cheesy dips and tasty accompaniments to make any snack session a party
In October, the MLB post-season, NBA pre-season and season start and WNBA playoffs share the airways with NFL and college football, professional and college soccer and the NHL. Game days are a great excuse for a game-day spread of eats — not quite a meal but still hearty and delicious.
CHEESY DIP
It’s hard to go wrong with cheese, and that theory extends to dips.
At Firefly Bistro in Manchester the most popular dish has long been an appetizer that works on the melty cheese and dippable item principle. And it proves that even a funkier cheese can make a crowd-pleasing dip.
“The dish is called Gogo Bread,” said David Becker, the chef and owner of Firefly Bistro. The appetizer is a Gorgonzola fondue served with warm garlic bread.
“It’s been on the menu since we opened, and it’s been consistently the best-selling menu item we’ve had in the 17 years we’ve been open,” he said.
“It’s a warm and comforting dish,” Becker said. “The bread itself is a rustic loaf bread. It’s studded with whole cloves of roasted garlic. We slice that thin and we grill it up and we serve that to be dipped into the Gorgonzola fondue. The Gorgonzola fondue itself is basically a bechamel sauce with a whole bunch of Gorgonzola folded into it. It’s not just a pile of melted Gorgonzola. We make it with milk and butter and flour and other ingredients. So it sort of mellows it out a little bit and makes it a little more user-friendly. And I think it would be kind of like a bit of a kick in the face if it were just a ramekin full of just straight melted Gorgonzola.”
Parmesan Basil Dip
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, cubed
4 cloves of garlic, minced
8 ounces (225 g) shredded Parmesan or Romano cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper — regular fresh-ground black pepper will work just as well, but white pepper makes for a prettier color
2 teaspoons hot honey
1/2 cup (115 g) whole milk
A large handful of fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
Melt the butter over medium heat in a saucepan. When it gets foamy, whisk in the garlic, then the cream cheese. Keep whisking until it has all melted together.
Whisk in the Parmesan or Romano cheese, salt and pepper, then whisk that until they have melted and/or incorporated, and drizzle in the milk and hot honey. Reduce the heat to low, and continue whisking until the mixture is creamy and not quite simmering. Remove from the heat, and stir in the basil.
Serve warm.
CHEESE & BEER
Davis Smith is a chef and bartender with Bert’s Beer & Wine in Manchester.
“This is the time of year when we [make] warm dips of various types,” he said, adding that beer and cheese have a natural affinity.
“Beer and cheese go together perfectly for a lot of reasons,” Smith said “Most folks think that the best pairing out there is wine and cheese. Fun fact — actually not. Beer pairs better because it has more of those savory fermented notes than wine typically does. Both [beer and cheese] go through the same process, fermentation, when you produce them. So they have a lot of the same complementary notes, but they also mirror each other in certain ways that they just pair perfectly.”
Beer is thus a good accompaniment to cheese, both as a beverage and as an ingredient.
“Whenever you’re looking at just the cheese on its own,” Smith said, “you usually want to try and have something that will balance it out. So one of the best things out there, if you are trying to make a very sharp cheddar cheese-based thing, is a hoppy beer like an IPA. The hops balance out that sharpness and the sharpness of the cheddar cuts through the funk of the hops. So that’s why I recommend always a good IPA with a cheeseburger. It cuts through the fattiness and it works well with the cheese that’s on it. If you’re looking for something a bit lighter, something like a more traditional, like light-bodied beer cheese or queso, something like a light lager might be a better fit because there’s less going on there. The cheese is more forward. The beer lets the cheese do the talking. So it really depends on what you’re going for.”
“So,” he said, “I think for a classic tavern beer cheese, you cannot go wrong with a good quality mild cheddar. You don’t want to go all the way to sharp. You want to have it still be a little bit rounded. And a good, slightly hoppy IPA. because you’re looking to have something that is warm and inviting and tasty without being in-your-face, taking over the meal. You want to look out for something like a single-hopped IPA. If you really want to push the envelope a little bit, you can go to something like a double IPA that will have a richer depth of flavor.”
The sharper the cheese, the more hops and bitterness it can work with, he said.
Cheese and Beer Dip
Cheese and Beer Dip is a pub classic. This dip goes well, drinking-wise, with beer, of course, and, dipping-wise, with soft pretzels.
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour
3/4 cup (170 g) whole milk
2/3 cup (150 g) beer — what kind of beer depends on how sharp the cheese is. If you use a mild cheddar, use a slightly hoppy IPA (if the label just says “IPA” or “single IPA”, that’s what you’re looking for). The sharper the cheddar, the hoppier the beer can be. Some beers label themselves as “double” or even “triple-IPA.” If you’re just using regular Pilsner, go with a mild cheddar.
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard — this is what is called an “emulsifier”; it helps oily/fatty ingredients mix together with water-based ones, like in a salad dressing.
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
Pinch of salt
Shred your cheddar.
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour and let it cook, stirring more or less constantly. You are making what is called a “roux..” This will thicken your dip. The darker you cook it, the less it will thicken the liquid, but the more flavor it will have. Let it darken at least a little. A good rule of thumb is that it should be the same shade you like your toast.
Whisk in the milk, and continue whisking until the mixture thickens and comes to a simmer (not quite boiling). Whisk in the beer and the seasonings (everything but the cheese).
Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the shredded cheese. Keep stirring until it has all melted and been incorporated into the sauce. Which is now a dip.
CHEESE, MEET SPINACH
While you can always serve a cheesy dip with vegetables for dipping purposes, there is also tastiness to be had from introducing veggies to the dip itself.
Jon Carnevale is proud of his espinaca. He is the owner of the Shorty’s Mexican Roadhouse restaurants in Nashua and Manchester, and he said the Tex-Mex spinach dip is one of the most popular items on their menu.
Espinaca from Shorty’s Mexican Roadhouse. Courtesy photo.
“We have a lot of stuff on the Shorty’s menu that kind of caters to that [warm, creamy texture]” Carnevale said. “No. 1, we’ve got our espinaca that’s been kind of world famous for 40+ years now. It’s been kind of a staple. It’s really our signature item here at Shorty’s. People have tried to recreate it, but never quite exactly the same. We’ve got the patent on that. Some of it has to do with the fact that it’s been around for so long and it’s familiar; a lot of people like that — it brings back a lot of good memories for a lot of people, and, you know, they tend to come back over and over again just to kind of have that happen. And then, you know, it’s just delicious. It’s warm. It’s got a little bit of heat to it. It’s got a lot of different factors in the flavors that are really, really desirable this time of year.”
The secret to a good spinach dip, Carnevale said, is to use the spinach itself as a supporting ingredient.
“There’s not too much spinach in [our espinaca], but there’s enough to feel good about yourself when you’re eating it,” he said. “I think it just adds a little bit of focus to the dip, so it’s not too overpoweringly fatty or cheesy. It really kind of brings [the dish] into focus.”
Carnevale said fall is a good time to introduce new, warm dips at his restaurants.
“We have a specials menu coming out that’s going to have kind of a variant on [our espinaca],” he said. “We [make] a street corn dip as well. Just like everything else at Shorty’s, we roast our own street corn in-house. We roast it off with some garlic, some cotija cheese and some mayo. We add a little bit of espinaca to it and a little bit of cream cheese, just to give it that roundness. We serve it with chips, and it’s great. It’s warm. It’s filling and comforting. You get a little crunch from the chips. It’s just a good, a great fall dish.”
Espinaca
This is not the recipe for Shorty’s espinaca, but a DIY homage to it.
16 ounces (450 g) white American cheese or Velveeta, chopped or cubed
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
1/2 cup (10 ounces, or 280 g) frozen, chopped spinach that has been thawed and squeezed dry
1 10-ounce can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies, drained
1/2 cup (115 g) whole or evaporated milk
1/2 medium white or yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cubes of chicken bouillon
1/4 cup (2 Tablespoons) minced jalapeño chilis
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Cayenne pepper to taste
In a large saucepan, combine the cheese and milk over medium-low heat, and stir until it is completely melted, combined and smooth. Stir in the chopped onion, drained tomatoes, bullion cubes and minced chilies. Continue to stir, until the bullion cubes have dissolved completely.
Fold in the spinach, garlic powder and cayenne pepper, and bring to a serving temperature, not a boil. Serve immediately and hot, with tortilla chips.
Spinach and Artichoke Dip
This is possibly the queen of warm dips.
1 8-ounce package of cream cheese
1/4 cup (57 g) mayonnaise
1/2 cup (50 g) grated Italian cheese — Parmesan, Romano, or a mixture
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder — this will give you a second type of garlic flavor
1 teaspoon of dried, aromatic herbs — basil, thyme, sage, etc.
Salt and pepper to taste
1 14-ounce can of artichoke hearts or bottoms, drained and chopped
1/2 cup (100 g) frozen, chopped spinach that you have thawed and squeezed the liquid out of
1/2 cup (55 g) shredded (by you) mozzarella cheese
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Grease a small baking dish.
In a mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, mayonnaise, grated cheese and seasonings. An electric mixer or a wooden spoon will work for this.
Gently mix in the spinach and chopped artichokes. This should be done by hand. Spoon. Whatever. An electric mixer would pulverize them. Transfer the mixture to the baking dish, and sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese on top.
Bake for about 25 minutes, until the top is slightly browned.
THE DIPPABLES
Chips — corn and/or potato, depending on your preference and the flavors you’re working with — serve as a time-tested dip delivery method. Here are some more items that can stand up to a hearty dip.
Bagel Bites
Baking a really good homemade pretzel is a specialized skill. But a fried bagel piece is a solid alternative if you’re looking for something chewy to dip.
Savory bagels — This actually works with any variety of bagel, but since the goal here is to make something to dunk into cheese dip, you’re probably better off using onion or sesame bagels.
Some sort of spreadable fat — It could be margarine. If you’re feeling indulgent, butter is the classic choice. If you’re feeling adventurous, it could be mayonnaise. If you’re feeling indulgent and adventurous, bacon grease will be another revelation.
Cut each bagel into eight pieces. Cut it once horizontally across the middle, like a hamburger bun, and then vertically into quarters.
Spread the flat, cut surface of each piece with the fat of your choice (see above).
Heat a skillet to medium heat, then fry the bagel pieces, face-down, like you would a grilled-cheese sandwich. Do not crowd the pan, which will change its temperature unpredictably. Do not be impatient and use too high a heat; neither you nor your smoke detector want to deal with burned butter or, worse, bacon fat.
Use tongs to check each bagel piece. When it is golden-brown and super-tempting, set it aside and replace it with one of the others that you have waiting to fry.
Serve these warm from the pan.
Toasted Ravioli
This is fast and flavorful and will bring you a shocking amount of validation from your friends and unexpected guests.
1 package of frozen mini-ravioli — how big a package is a matter of personal judgment. These tend to get snapped up pretty quickly, so you might want to buy a larger package than you initially think prudent.
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon butter
Smoked salt, optional — This is one of those ingredients that you might not have on hand, but if you ever run across some you should definitely pick some up. Unlike many spices, it will never go bad, and it makes a tomato sandwich sing.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat, then add the vegetable oil and butter.
Add “some” ravioli to the heated pan. This will work well with thawed ravioli, but surprisingly, frozen ravioli will work almost as well. Don’t crowd the pan, so you can keep the heat consistent. After a few minutes — four, to pick a number out of the air — check the bottom of each raviolo, and flip it when it is golden brown. As with the bagel bites, replace each raviolo with a raw one from the bullpen.
Season these with smoked salt, if you have it, then serve them warm and toasty, with any dip.
Kimchi Pancakes
Pancake batter made from your favorite mix
1/2 to 3/4 cup of your favorite kimchee, chopped. This will vary, depending on your favorite type, brand and intensity of kimchee.
1 large shallot, finely chopped
Gochujang, a Korean hot condiment, to taste — optional
Vegetable oil for frying
Make a batch of pancake batter the way you normally would.
Add the chopped shallot, kimchee and gochujang, then stir thoroughly to combine.
Oil the pan and make pancakes, exactly as you would on a Sunday morning, just without the expectation of adding butter and maple syrup. Fry them a little more than you might normally, so they are a little darker than usual and crispy around the edges.
Before serving, cut the pancakes into cracker-sized pieces.
BALANCE
Those grocery store veggie trays are made for moments like these, when you need something crisp and not fried to balance melty cheese and fried or toasted dippable items. Round out your offerings with something that brings a little hit of sourness to your party.
Pickled apple slices
1 cup (225 g) water
1 cup (225 g) cider vinegar
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
2 teaspoons pickling spice
1/2 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt
2 to 3 sweet, firm apples — I like Jazz or Fuji
2 cinnamon sticks
2 stars of star anise
Combine the water, vinegar, sugar, pickling spice and salt in a saucepan, and bring it to a simmer. Stir it occasionally, to make certain that the sugar and salt have completely dissolved.
Meanwhile, peel and slice the apples the way you would for your kids’ lunch box or soccer game. Place the slices in a mixing bowl and set them aside.
At about this time, your pickling liquid should be ready. If it has come to a boil, set it aside to cook for a couple of minutes.
Pour the pickling liquid through a strainer onto the apples.
Stir the apple slices to make sure that they are all completely covered with very warm pickling liquid. Add the cinnamon sticks and star anise.
The apple slices will probably want to float. Weigh them down with something — perhaps a slightly smaller mixing bowl half-filled with water.
Let the apples soak for at least half an hour — ideally longer — then strain them and serve them with your other dippables.
Jim Henson’s Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock Live will be presented at the Capitol Center for the Arts’ Swope Theater, 44 S. Main St., Concord, today at 7 p.m., according to ccanh.com, where you can purchase tickets.
Friday, Oct. 9
Between the Lines Jr., a Fall Youth MainStage production presented by Peacock Players (peacockplayers.org), opens this weekend at Janice B. Streeter Theatre, 14 Court St., Nashua, and will run from Friday, Oct. 9, through Sunday, Oct. 18, with shows at 7 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays (as well as a 10 a.m. performance on Thursday, Oct. 15), according to the website, where you can purchase tickets. “Between the Lines Jr. is an empowering and enchanting musical for anyone who has struggled to find their place in the world. An outsider in a new town and a new school, Delilah seeks comfort in the pages of her favorite book, where she feels heard and understood by the handsome Prince Oliver. But as the lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur in extraordinary ways, Delilah realizes her dreams in the real world are worth fighting for,” the website said.
Saturday, Oct. 10
It’s an arts tour weekend! Monadnock Art Open Studio Tour runs today through Monday, Oct. 12, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily with at least 84 artists in 65 studios in Peterborough, Dublin, Jaffrey, Sharon, Harrisville, Hancock and Marlborough, according to an email from Monadnock Art and monadnockart.org, where you can find a map of participating locations and see works from the artists. The New Hampshire Wool Arts Tour will run today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 11, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at five farms in Deering, Antrim, Bennington, Greenfield and Lyndeborough and will feature demonstrations (creating yarn, weaving, knitting, felting and more), live music, live animals, food vendors, fiber vendors, artists and crafters set up at the farms and more, according to woolartstournh.com, where you can find locations and descriptions of participating farms.
Saturday, Oct. 10
A Fall Fair at Joppa Hill Educational Farm in Bedford will take place today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and will feature hayrides, farm animal meet-and-greets, vendors, live entertainment, food trucks, apple cider doughnuts and more, according to jhef.org, where you can purchase tickets.
Saturday, Oct. 10
See the works of artists June Latti, Ben Wymer, Mark Ruddy, Scarlet Hao, Darren Taylor, Erica Bodwell and Robyn Witney Fairclough at the Oct. 9 through Nov. 9 Show at Glimpse Gallery, 4 Park St., Concord, which is open by appointment, according to its website. There will be an opening reception today from 5 to 7 p.m., according to theglimpsegallery.com, where you can RSVP to attend.
Sunday, Oct. 11
The Not Afraid To Fail Fest, held by Queerlective (queerlective.com), will take place today at 1 p.m. at BNH Stage in Concord, according to the website. “This benefit and variety show brings together first-time performers, emerging artists, and community members willing to step outside their comfort zones and try something big. Expect comedy, music, poetry, storytelling, drag, performance art, creative experiments, and ideas we may not have imagined yet,” according to the website, where you can purchase tickets.
Monday, Oct. 12
Indigenous People’s Day at Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum in Warner on Monday, Oct. 12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. will feature free admission and hands-on activities, according to indianmuseum.org.
Save the Date! Saturday, Oct. 17 The 2026 Mount Uncanoonuc Brewfest will take place Saturday, Oct. 17, from 1 to 5 p.m. at Mountain Base Brewery, 553 Mast Road in Goffstown, which cohosts the 21+ event along with the Worker Bee Fund. The day will feature breweries and other beverage purveyors, food vendors, live music and more, according to Mountain Base Brewery’s Facebook page, where you can find a link to purchase tickets.
The Big Story – Sox Go Down Hard:Well, the Red Sox season ended pretty much the way it started — badly — as they were swept out of the playoffs for the second year in a row by the Yankees. Making it worse was being run over by Boston area products their local scouts whiffed on, BenRice and CamSchlittler, who they’ll now have to deal with for years, along with looking so overmatched against a team missing AaronJudge and GiancarloStanton.
In the end it left all wondering who they actually were. The team that burned through most of June and July? Or the one that went 15-15 in their last 30 games?
See you next spring.
Sports 101: Who holds the NFL career record for most receptions by a non-drafted player?
News Item – Pats Beat Bills 26-24
Phew! That was close. But amid an up-and-down start they finished where they needed to be after their tough opening four games at 2-2.
Biggest highlights: (1) Drake Maye had a couple of scary plays, but in throwing for 268 yards and three TDs he looked back on track. (2) Spectacular one-handed catches by RomeoDoubs and EftonChism on the Pats’ last two TDs. (3) Decent job by the D containing JoshAllen without the ChristiansBarmore and Gonzalez.
Special teams: Bad all day by allowing several big kickoff returns and the punter kept killing the net gain by sending booming punts into the end zone rather than dropping them inside the 20.
The Numbers:
17 – catches by Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb for 189 yards in Dallas’ comeback 36-30 win over Houston.
94.8 – the average mph of all 2026 MLB pitches according to MLB Statcast, up from 91.9 mph when tracking began in 2015.
658 – days (and 643 attempts) between interceptions before MinkahFitzpatrick got one to end the Jets’ 21-game streak without a pick. Though they’re still the Jets, who lost 23-12 to a Bears team using their third-string QB.
… Of the Week Awards:
• Thumbs Up – Drake Maye: Patriot Nation gets to breathe easier since he returned to normal on Sunday.
• Thumbs Down – U of Texas DE Colin Simmons and RB Raleek Brown: For their vulgar on-field “celebrations” during the top-ranked Longhorns win over Tennessee.
• Quote of the Week: Texas AD ChrisDelConte wrote“… it was embarrassing to our proud and widely respected football team…” in a blog post apologizing for his nitwit players. Nice, but a two-game suspension would have been better.
• Play of Week – IgorShesterkin: The New York Rangers have had 93 goaltenders since entering the NHL in 1926-1927. And none had scored a goal until Thursday when Shesterkin buried an empty netter in NY’s opening night 5-1 win over Tampa Bay.
Sports 101 Answer: With 903 WesWelker has the record for most NFL receptions by an undrafted player.
Final Thoughts – On The Red Sox’ Demise
• Chad Tracy: He deserves much credit for righting the ship after taking over for Alex Cora. But, while they still would’ve lost, he turned manageable deficits into full Yankee blowouts by panicking to yank PaytonTolle and especially SonnyGray far too early.
• Roman Anthony: Lost year for a guy who many thought was on track to be Yaz-like. He’ll be more of a question mark next spring because after missing most of 2026 and with his first two seasons ending early he’s starting to look brittle.
• Early Signings Strategy: With Anthony missing most of the year, BrayanBello being so awful he got sent to AAA in June and KristianCampbell still buried there, the “let’s sign the young guys early” strategy to lower their cost as the career progresses ain’t working out too well.
• Off-Season Work Ahead: To start, they need; a BIG bopper to hit fourth, to re-sign Gray and a permanent second baseman.
According to a September briefing from 20 Windham lake-front abutters, presented to the Windham Board of Selectmen on Sept. 27, Canobie Lake’s water level is historically low. According to graphs presented to the Board which you can see at windhamnh.gov/DocumentCenter/View/21010/Canobie_Lake_BOS_Presentation, the lake has historically been considered full when water levels reach 220 feet. This year, the presenters said, “The lake peaked at 218.76 ft on May 1 — the lowest spring peak in the 2022–2026 record — then fell 1.40 ft over eleven weeks to 217.36 ft.” The group pointed out that water consumption from the lake has outstripped the area’s population growth. “Population has grown roughly 10% since 2000. Water demand grew more than four times as fast — 42% — in just the last eight years alone.”
QOL score: -1
Comment:Some concerns stemming from the lake’s lower water levels include “higher algae risk, reduced spawning habitat, reduced waterfront [property] value, lower marketability, docks losing water access, and lower long-term tax revenue.”
Cooking and heating and apparently fire season
Oct. 4 through Oct. 10 is Fire Prevention Week, according to an Oct. 5 press release from the Red Cross of Northern New England. So far in 2026, its volunteer disaster teams have responded to 129 home fires “assisting more than 530 Granite Staters,” the release said. “Cooking and home heating are two of the leading causes of home fires,” the release said. Get a free smoke alarm from the Red Cross by going to RedCross.org, and scrolling down to the “Fire Prevention” icon, which takes you to a page with fire prevention tips and a link via “Smoke Alarms” to a page to sign up for a smoke alarm installation.
QOL score: +1 for the help
Comment:The fire prevention page also features a fun video with cooking fire related tips featuring the advice “keep an eye on what you fry.”
A water bragging rights upset
According to a Sept. 30 Concord Monitor online article, “Concord was disqualified from a state drinking water taste test.” For the past eight years, according to the Monitor article, Concord “brought home the title of best-tasting tap water in New Hampshire in six of the annual state competitions.” In the blind taste-test of drinking water from towns across the state conducted by the New Hampshire Drinking Water Coalition at its annual festival, the rules state that all water samples must be fresh tap water, served at room-temperature, the article said.. This year, Concord’s sample was noticeably cooler than samples from other towns. Though Concord’s water was tasted, ultimately, “contest officials ended up disqualifying it for being too cold.”
QOL score: -1
Comment:Plymouth was victorious after Concord’s disqualification, the article said.Oh well, there’s always next year.
QOL score last week: 63
Net change: -1
QOL this week: 62
What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at news@hippopress.com.
Edward Aloise, the Manchester restaurateur who opened Republic Cafe & Bistro and Campo Enoteca and before that Café Pavone and Milltowne Grille, died on Sept. 25 at the age of 72, according to his obituary at the Connor-Healy Funeral Home website, connorhealy.com.
Aloise is survived by his wife, Claudia Rippee, with whom he owned and operated the restaurants, the obituary said. His family also includes his brother and sister-in-law, nieces, great-nieces and -nephews, cousins “and many dear friends,” the obituary said.
“Eddy lived every day to the max, including Friday when he left us after his final bike ride that morning. Please keep Eddy in your thoughts and hearts to keep him alive forever,” Rippee said in part in a post on her Facebook page.
A statement posted on the Facebook page for Campo Enoteca, which Aloise and Rippee sold when they retired from the restaurant business, reads: “Stepping into Campo Enoteca means stepping into an environment created by Ed and Claudia. On a nightly basis, you will hear reminiscing, laughter, and stories about Ed and Claudia and what they meant to each and every one of you. The impact they’ve left on our community is deeply cherished and unmatched. Their love for life is truly inspiring. Claudia — our deepest condolences to you and your family. You always have a home here. Ed — your enjoyment of travel created a unique menu that our guests today still love. Every touch thoughtfully created, which made you the legendary chef that you are. We honor you. RIP Chef Ed Aloise”
“A gifted writer, Ed had two books of short stories published and was completing a novel at the time of his passing,” the obituary said. Those books are The Boardroom and Other Stories, published in 2025, and The Muse and Other Stories, published in May 2026, according to their Amazon listings.
In a December 2022 story in the Hippo when Aloise announced plans to sell what was then “Republic of Campo” — both Campo Enoteca and Republic operated out of 969 Elm St. since August 2020 — Aloise described meeting Rippee in Boulder, Colorado, in the late 1970s.
“Claudia was a cocktail waitress and I was a bartender,” he said. “It was an over-the-bar love affair.” (Find that story, which looks back at Aloise and Rippee’s time as Manchester restaurant owners, in the Dec. 15, 2022, issue of the Hippo, in the digital library at hippopress.com.)
The obituary said a party “celebrating Eddy will be held at Republic Brewing Company, 72 Old Granite St., Manchester” on Tuesday, Nov. 10, from 4 to 8 p.m. “Memorial donations in honor of ‘White Wing’ may be made to the NH Audubon Massabesic Center, 26 Audubon Way, Auburn, NH 03032, nhaudubon.org/center-and-events/massabesic-center-auburn. The Connor-Healy Funeral Home and Cremation Center, 537 Union Street, Manchester, NH has the honor of assisting the family. For more information or to sign the online guest registry, please visit www.connorhealy.com,” the obituary said.
The Manchester Garden Club will meet on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 12:30 p.m. at St. Hedwig Church Hall, 17 Walnut St. in Manchester, and feature “Amy Cardello, a ‘Proven Winner’ representative from Pleasant View Gardens,” who will “explain what it means to be a ‘Proven Winner’ plant and also give information as to what is new for 2027,” according to an email from the club. See manchesternhgardenclub.webly.com.
According to a sign on the property, Flatbread Co., which has locations in Portsmouth and North Conway as well as in other New England states and in Hawaii, will open a location in Bedford at 224 S. River Road, the former spot of the IHOP. See flatbreadcompany.com.
The United Way of Greater Nashua will hold its Care-E-Oke 2026 fundraiser on Friday, Nov. 6, from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Nashua Center for the Arts, 201 Main St. in Nashua, according to a press release. “Those interested in competing are encouraged to sign up early to secure their place on stage before the roster fills. Contestants will perform in front of a live audience and panel of celebrity judges while competing for bragging rights, community recognition, and the title of Care-E-Oke Champion,” the release said. “For tickets, contestant registration, sponsorship opportunities, or more information, contact United Way of Greater Nashua at info@unitedwaynashua.org or 603-882-4011 or visit unitedwaynashua.org/event/care-e-oke.”
