A taste of what’s to come

A look at the food scene in 2020, plus a preview of 2021

In what has been a tough year for the industry, New Hampshire restaurateurs were forced to pivot their operations in all kinds of ways to stay afloat, from increased or extended outdoor dining to a greater emphasis on takeout and prepared meals.

But as we get ready to turn the page on a new year, immediate relief may be in sight. A $900 billion Covid-19 relief package passed by Congress on Dec. 21 has several special provisions for the food service industry, including a second round of Paycheck Protection Program [PPP] funds that would be tax deductible. Restaurants in particular can also seek the funds at 3½ times their monthly payroll, compared to 2½ times that amount for all other types of small businesses.

The bill would be a crucial lifeline in getting restaurants in the Granite State through to the spring, said Mike Somers, president of the New Hampshire Lodging & Restaurant Association. Up to October, the industry has been down more than $600 million in combined gross sales for the calendar year, according to Somers, while food service jobs in the state still remain down between roughly 10,000 and 15,000 from where they would normally be.

With 2021 on our doorstep, here’s a look at some of the biggest restaurant trends of the past year in New Hampshire and how they’ll continue in the months ahead.

Moving outdoors

The first significant blow to businesses came in mid-March when, on the day before St. Patrick’s Day, Gov. Chris Sununu issued an emergency order limiting all restaurants and bars in New Hampshire to takeout, delivery and drive-thru only. The original order was only set to last through April 7, but as cases of Covid-19 in the state continued to climb, an extension was soon put in place that ended up lasting an additional month and a half.

On May 18, New Hampshire eateries were given the green light to reopen for outdoor dining only. Even as reopening at a limited capacity indoors became allowed the following month, in mid-June, outdoor dining became a major trend throughout the summer and fall in the Granite State, with restaurants utilizing their space in ways they never had before.

At the Tuscan Kitchen and Market in Salem, outdoor patio seating was extended all along its center piazza under a large open-air tent, complete with a pizza oven and a pop-up container bar. The company’s new “al fresco” dining model was so successful, Joe Faro Jr. of the Tuscan Brands marketing team said, that a winterized version with outdoor heated igloos and even a synthetic ice skating rink was recently unveiled. The Winter Giardino at Tuscan Village officially opened on Dec. 12 and will continue well into the new year, Faro said.

The rink itself is in the parking lot in front of the Tuscan Market building and is open for public skating from Wednesday through Sunday, featuring skate rentals available from TSR Hockey & Lacrosse. Since its launch, Faro said, a few special events have been held, like skating with Santa Claus and an ’80s and ’90s themed skating party. As for the igloos, those are located exactly where the open-air tent had been during the summer months, with two-hour dining times available to parties of between two and six diners who reserved them.

“We’ve obviously done things outdoors, but we’ve never taken it this far before,” Faro said of the igloos and the skating rink. “We’ve consistently been trying to get better at providing our guests with fun and exciting things to do in this new environment, and we’ve had a good time doing just that.”

Also in December, the Bedford Village Inn announced it will be offering outdoor dining in several heated igloos on its patio. According to sales and marketing director Melissa Samaras, the plan to bring an “igloo garden” to the Inn was in the works even before the pandemic hit, as the company was looking for a replacement for its annual Ice Bar event in February. The igloos can be reserved for dinner nightly, or brunch on the weekends, and special Valentine’s Day packages are already being booked now, Samaras said.

In Brookline, Averill House Vineyard went from gearing up at the beginning of 2020 for what would have been the biggest tour season of its history to changing almost everything about its business model by year’s end. Owner Bob Waite said the vineyard recently unveiled the “Vine to Wine” igloo and gazebo experience, which allows guests to safely enjoy private wine tastings with charcuterie boards in small groups inside of heated igloos. Each igloo, Waite said, has a Norwegian theme with soft wood furniture.

Waite added that the vineyard has also introduced several new products over the course of this year that have been a hit, like multiple flavors of single-serve “wine cream,” or wine-mixed ice cream from a partnership with Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream of Nashua, as well as mulled wine. They can also be enjoyed inside the igloos.

“The wine creams have been a real hit, especially for someone who’s not a big wine drinker but they like ice cream,” Waite said.

Larger cities in the state even opened up public sidewalks and parking spaces downtown to accommodate additional outdoor dining space for restaurants, another defining theme for much of 2020. In Concord, new outdoor dining permits for 2021 will become valid on April 1, according to city health and licensing officer Gwen Williams.

Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig had issued an announcement back in mid-May allowing restaurants to also expand dining into privately owned parking lots, as long as business owners had written permission to use the space from the property owner. Jersey barriers were in place for much of the summer and fall along Elm Street before they were all removed by the first significant snowstorm of the season earlier this month.

According to Lauren Smith, chief of staff for Mayor Craig, a similar program may be returning next spring or summer for downtown business owners who again want to take advantage of additional outdoor seating. In the meantime, the possibility of utilizing certain parking spaces as 15-minute curbside pickup locations during the winter is being considered.

Nashua also had parking restrictions along Main Street for much of the year, and city economic development director Tim Cummings said there is an ongoing discussion to have them return in 2021. Meanwhile, on Dec. 22, the Nashua Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted against implementing a 9:30 p.m. curfew at city bars and restaurants, despite a unanimous recommendation from the Nashua Board of Health to do so.

The year of takeout

Ordering takeout also became an inevitable trend for local eateries in 2020 as a result of the pandemic, even for those that had previously only generated a small percentage of overall revenue from it, or had not been set up for takeout at all.

Restaurants like Greenleaf in Milford, Revival Kitchen & Bar in Concord and the Hanover Street Chophouse in Manchester, all of which had regularly drawn in an in-house dining crowd and had special attention to detail in the presentation of their plates, were among those that especially felt these impacts. They and many others across the state had to change or significantly scale down their menus to provide more takeout-friendly options. To help restaurants bring in a little bit more revenue with just takeout, Sununu would also issue an emergency order on March 18 to temporarily authorize those with a liquor license to sell bottled or canned beer and wine with all food orders.

Early on, Greenleaf introduced a new menu of takeout-friendly options like sandwiches, soups, and small plates, many of which included previews of its sister restaurant, Culture, which would open in August. Though it recently has been open for dine-in eating most days of the week, Greenleaf owner and chef Chris Viaud announced Dec. 28 that the restaurant will suspend dine-in service starting Jan. 3 and will revert back to a takeout-only model.

The Tuscan Kitchen and Market, according to Faro, launched an online grocery service, allowing its products to be shipped all over the country.

“That’s really been our biggest saving grace throughout this whole time period,” he said. “That arm of the company that we started has been doing unbelievable for us.”

Revival, owner and chef Corey Fletcher said, has returned to an emphasis on takeout since the summer ended, featuring options like hand-cut steak and wine pairings for two. The Hanover Street Chophouse also found success with takeout through its weekly “pop-up butcher shop” events, selling a variety of its house-cut meats and fresh sides a la carte.

Keep on brewing

Local breweries have been hit hard this year too, sustaining large losses in sales due to the closures of tasting rooms and the suspensions of growler fills.

As 2020 comes to an end, however, the craft beer community is coming away with a significant win. A permanent extension of the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act, passed by Congress on Dec. 21 as part of its stimulus package, will provide major tax relief for breweries and thus save the industry millions of dollars.

According to C.J. Haines, executive director of the New Hampshire Brewers Association, the bill makes the federal excise tax rates of $3.50 per barrel permanent. Without the legislation, the rates would have gone back up to $7 after Dec. 31.

At the state level, Haines said the Association was able to secure $3.9 million in aid from Gov. Sununu’s Main Street Relief Fund in the pockets of local brewers, all while holding several virtual events and fundraisers throughout the year. New Hampshire Craft Beer Week, she said, is indeed due to return in 2021 with tentative dates of April 7 to April 17, but details on what it will look like are still being ironed out.

“We’ve also had conversations about potentially doing something at the end of summer or maybe mid-fall, kind of like a seated festival where you purchase a table space, share beer samples and brewers would walk around and talk to you about them,” she said. “Everything’s up in the air.”

More upcoming foodie happenings

Food festivals across New Hampshire were either reimagined virtually or canceled altogether throughout much of the spring and summer, but a few are already eyeing a return in 2021.

At Anheuser-Busch Tour Center and Biergarten in Merrimack, the New Hampshire Bacon & Beer Festival is scheduled for May 22, with tickets due to go on sale in mid-February, while the Great American Ribfest & Food Truck Festival will take place on June 18, June 19 and June 20, Jeremy Garrett of the event management company J2L Events confirmed. Both festivals had been canceled this year due to the pandemic.

To maximize social distancing, Garrett said, all parking and entry tickets will need to be purchased in advance for both events, as there will be no shuttle services. All of the vendors will be spread out, and masks will be required while waiting in lines. The Bacon & Beer Festival typically brings together around 40 craft breweries with 20 locally made bacon dishes, while the Ribfest and Food Truck Festival has between 20 and 24 food vendors.

“Almost all of the [barbecue vendors] and food trucks that had committed to the 2020 Ribfest are returning,” Garrett said in an email, adding that he doesn’t expect to add many more. “More trucks is good for attendees, but not for the trucks themselves, and they need the help next year.”

Held virtually back in late March, the SouperFest, a soup tasting fundraiser for the Concord Coalition to End Homelessness, is also scheduled to return live, according to office administrator Teri Gladstone. Eight Concord-area eateries will be offering homemade soups for you to order in advance and pick up at White Park on March 20, from 3 to 5:30 p.m.

Several local eateries are also scheduled to open for business in 2021. In Milford, Taco Time Cocina & Cantina Mexicana, a brick and mortar restaurant from the owners of the Milford-based food truck Taco Time, will be opening soon. Trio’s Cafe & Cantina is also on the way, on North Broadway in Salem, while in Derry, LaBelle Winery is expanding its business to include a new Champagne house, restaurant and retail marketplace by the summer, in the former space of Brookstone Events & Golf on Route 111.

A Year in the Kitchen: 2020 edition
The Hippo’s In the Kitchen Q&A series continued throughout 2020, featuring dozens of diverse voices of the state’s food scene over the course of the year, from restaurant chefs and food truck owners to homestead bakers and other business owners.
One question we always ask our industry experts, “What is the biggest food trend in New Hampshire right now?,” yielded a variety of answers depending on the time of year it was. Plant-based foods, craft breweries and food trucks were all recurring answers throughout the year, but especially as the impacts of the pandemic drew on, the most common trends we heard about had to do with shopping and eating local, takeout and online ordering at restaurants, and returning to the simplicity of home-cooked meals.
“Family meal deals from local restaurants … help alleviate the enormous tasks of working from home while homeschooling children,” Elizabeth Silva of Cafe El Camino in Plaistow told the Hippo in May. The eatery, which specializes in authentic Puerto Rican cuisine, has continued to offer family-sized meals throughout the summer and fall and into the holiday season, featuring meats, rice, vegetables and more that can be ordered online for pickup.
We also had a number of people tell us that artisan doughnuts have been a recent trend. Other answers we received for specific foods included gourmet burgers, street tacos, grain or rice bowls and salads, chicken tenders, chili dogs, and steak and cheese subs.
A fun question we also ask, “What celebrity would you like to see eating at your restaurant?” or “What celebrity would you like to have a meal with?,” always produces a wide array of answers, and this year was no exception, with several musicians, Hollywood actors, athletes and celebrity chefs all receiving mention. The No. 1 answer of 2020 was Gordon Ramsay, of the hit cooking competition television series Hell’s Kitchen, followed closely by actor, comedian and New Hampshire native Adam Sandler. Actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and chef Paul Hollywood of The Great British Bake Off also received multiple answers.
“If I’m going to be criticized by anyone for my cooking, I would want the most critical person, and it’s [Ramsay],” Ken Mosher of The Country Chef in Wilton told the Hippo in April.

Featured photo: An igloo at Averill House Vineyard in Brookline. Courtesy photo.

The Weekly Dish 20/12/31

News from the local food scene

• Free coffee for health care workers: Now through Jan. 31, participating Aroma Joe’s locations across New Hampshire are offering free daily coffee to health care workers, according to a press release. The Portland, Maine-based company had previously run this promotion, which featured a free 16-ounce cup of hot or iced coffee every day to health care workers, resulting in more than 50,000 cups of free coffee, according to the release. Aroma Joe’s, known for its handcrafted coffees and espresso drinks, has 72 locations, a majority of which are in New Hampshire and Maine. Visit aromajoes.com/locations to find the shop closest to you.

• Pipe bursts at Revival: A heating pipe at Revival Kitchen & Bar in Concord burst early in the morning on Dec. 21, causing extensive damage to the restaurant’s dining space and forcing its temporary closure. According to a post on Revival’s Facebook page, the burst pipe also significantly damaged the space inside Angelina’s Ristorante Italiano, just next door. Since Revival’s kitchen space was unaffected, all holiday take-and-bake orders were expected to be fulfilled with no issues, according to the post. “Clean-up crews were quick to respond and have begun cleaning the space, assessing damages and creating a plan to move forward and get the door back open,” the post read. “We will know more as the days continue, so stay tuned for updates.”

• Hospitality fund gets a boost: The New Hampshire Hospitality Employee Relief Fund, which provides grants of $250 to hospitality employees in the state who have been impacted by the pandemic, recently received a $5,000 donation in local grocery store gift cards, according to a press release from the New Hampshire Lodging & Restaurant Association. The donations, featuring several $50 or $100 gift cards, came from the Beer Distributors Association of New Hampshire, in partnership with Anheuser-Busch, Molson Coors and the National Beer Wholesalers Association, and will be distributed throughout the fund. “We wanted to help in some small way, so we rallied our member companies from across the state and joined forces with a few of our key partners to support workers in need before Christmas,” New Hampshire Distributors President and CEO Chris Brown said in a statement. According to the release, the fund has distributed more than $164,000 in direct aid to state restaurant and hospitality workers since its formation in March.

Kiddie Pool 20/12/31

Family fun for the weekend

Fun at the museum

The iBOT wheelchair is SEE’s newest demonstration. Photo courtesy of SEE Science Center.

Watch a special demonstration of an iBOT at the SEE Science Center (200 Bedford St., Manchester, 669-0400, see-sciencecenter.org), which is open Thursday, Dec. 31, Saturday, Jan. 2, and Sunday, Jan. 3, with sessions from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. or 2 to 5 p.m. The iBOT wheelchair is SEE’s newest demonstration and shows how technology can help people with limited mobility do things they could never do in any other wheelchair. The demonstration is part of regular museum admission, which is $9 per person for ages 3 and up. Registration is required to reserve a time during one of the sessions; register online or via phone. SEE will be open each weekend in January, as well as on Monday, Jan. 18.

The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St., Dover, 742-2002, childrens-museum.org) will be open for a couple more days before winter break ends. Reserve a play session Thursday, Dec. 31, or Saturday, Jan. 2, from 9 to 11:30 a.m. or 1 to 3:30 p.m. either day. The cost is $11 for adults and kids older than 1 and $9 for seniors 65 and older. Reservations are required and can be made on the museum website.

Sweet game

Chunky’s Cinema Pub is hosting a family-friendly Theater Candy Bingo event on Friday, Jan. 1, at 6 p.m. at its Manchester location (707 Huse Road); on Saturday, Jan. 2, at 6 p.m. at its Nashua location (151 Coliseum Ave.), and on Sunday, Jan. 3, at 6 p.m. at its Pelham location (150 Bridge St.). Purchase a ticket online to reserve a spot; for $4.99 you get a ticket and a box of Chunky’s theater candy. Players will turn in their candy to the host to get a bingo card, then play a few rounds to try to win some of that candy as well as other Chunky’s prizes. Visit chunkys.com.

Live performance

There’s still time to catch a performance of the holiday classic The Nutcracker at The Music Hall Historic Theater (28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth) on Saturday, Jan. 2, at 2 and 6 p.m., and Sunday, Jan. 3, at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Seating is socially distanced. Tickets cost $50 for adults and $45 for seniors and children. Visit themusichall.org or call 436-2400.

Pops of color

How to make cut flowers last

Snow is finally here in Cornish Flat. The cardinals and blue jays are providing a little color to an otherwise unremarkable world. The sun is lurking behind gray clouds, and on a good day we get nine hours of light. I do miss the colors of summer. I still keep fresh cut flowers on our table — just not flowers from my garden.

Cut flowers are among modern America’s true bargains. For the price of a bottle of wine — or a few cups of fancy coffee — you can buy flowers that will grace your table for up to three weeks. But there are some things you should know about getting good table-life for your investment.

Where you buy your flowers may affect how well they last. A floral shop or a good Food Coop has trained personnel who trim each stem in the store every other day. And someone who regularly changes the water to keep it fresh. Chain grocery stores probably count on you buying their flowers before the flowers need to be trimmed or their water changed.

In either case, you should cut off half to three quarters of an inch from each stem before you put them in a vase, and change the water regularly. Never let leaves sit in the water. Leaves will rot, promoting growth of bacteria, which will impede water take-up. Ask for the little packets of powder that florists provide, and add that to the water to prolong the life of your flowers. A couple of drops of chlorine bleach may work, too.

Keep your arrangement cool if you can. Putting it near a radiator or woodstove will shorten its life. If you’ve invested in roses or tulips, you may wish to move the vase to the entryway or mudroom at bedtime to keep the flowers extra cool during the night.

Some flowers are better picks than others if you’re on a budget and can’t afford to buy new flowers every week. Here are my recommendations for good cut flowers:

Alstroemeria: Each long stem has clusters of two-inch lily-like blossoms in pinks and reds, with yellow throats. Very long-lived. Great value. Most grocery stores sell them inexpensively.

Chrysanthemums: These come in a variety of sizes and colors, from the huge spider mums to little guys. I love the scent of the flowers — it’s not overpowering, but it’s there if you sniff them.

Lisianthus: These look like silk flowers to me: perfect white, pink or lavender-colored bell-shaped flowers on long stems. Tough to grow in the garden, they are perfect in a vase — I’ve kept them for up to 3 weeks.

Miniature carnations: Each stem has two to four blossoms. They come in a variety of colors. Mix dark red “minis” with red roses to make a bouquet of roses look fuller. And even after the roses go to Valhalla, the carnations will still be good!

Baby’s breath. Tiny white pompoms are great on their own or mixed with colorful flowers. I have kept them in a dry vase for months.

Statice: I grow these for use as dry flowers, which tells you that they really do last forever, even out of water. They come in blue, purple, pink and white. You can put them in a dry vase and they will last all winter.

Spray roses: Instead of a single blossom per stem, these have two to five blossoms, giving you more bang for your buck. Will last about a week with proper care.

Orchids: While not cheap, orchids can last up to a month. I love dendrobiums, though they are not common, even in floral shops. Cymbidiums have bigger blossoms but also last extremely well. And of course you can buy potted ones, which bloom even longer and can be coaxed to rebloom next year if you put in the effort to keep them happy.

Kangaroo paws: These Australian natives are fuzzy and cute. They come in pinks, reds and browns, and last very well. Not every florist will have them. I grew them in a pot on the deck one year and love them — like teddy bears on a stem!

It’s possible to change the colors of cut chrysanthemums. Here is what has worked for me: leave a few stems of a white mum out of water for 12 hours, then cut off two to three inches and put it in water with food coloring. Try it with a few stems, to see if you like the results. Put eight drops of food coloring in a glass with just an inch of water.

When I tried it with blue food coloring, my white mums had turned color — but not the true blue I wanted, more of a ghastly greenish blue. Still, if you want to have some fun with your kids, this is an easy way to show how water and dye move up a flower’s stem.

Everyone loves to receive the gift of cut flowers, even guys. So treat your loved one — or yourself — to fresh flowers this winter. They’re cheerful, and can make winter less oppressive for gardeners.

Featured Photo: I grew Kangaroo Paws in a pot last year, and they are fabulous. Courtesy photo..

The Art Roundup 20/12/31

The latest from NH’s theater, arts and literary communities

• A gift from the harp: Salem resident Dr. Diana Kolben has donated her harp to the Manchester Community Music School. Kolben, who studied music at Oberlin College and worked as a music educator throughout her life, has owned the harp for more than 50 years. No longer able to play it, she reached out to the New Hampshire Philharmonic Orchestra about finding the instrument a new home, and The Phil coordinated the donation to MCMS. “We are so happy to continue working with MCMS and its own mission to change lives through the power of learning, sharing and making music,” The Phil music director Mark Latham said in a press release. “We hope and anticipate that one day a student from MCMS, having studied on Diana’s harp, will perform … with The Phil.” The 1938 Lyon and Healy Model 23 concert grand harp was refurbished in 1983 and was freshly restrung before it was given to the school.

• Live performances on hold: The Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord announced in a newsletter that it has extended its suspension of in-person performances, originally set to end Jan. 15, through March 1, at which point it will resume a limited schedule of in-person performances. All in-person performances and events that were scheduled between Jan. 15 and Feb. 28 have been canceled or will be rescheduled. “Although we are encouraged by the new vaccines being distributed, the risk of indoor performances at this time remains higher than we would like,” the newsletter said, adding that a schedule for a new virtual series of performances including concerts, comedy, theater and dance will be announced in mid to late January. Call 225-1111 or visit ccanh.com.

• NHAA new member exhibit: The New Hampshire Art Association will highlight 35 of its new members in an exhibit titled “A New Day,” viewable online, in the front windows at the NHAA’s Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery (136 State St., Portsmouth) and at the gallery in person by appointment from Jan. 6 through Jan. 31. “We are thrilled to welcome so many talented artists into NHAA and are happy to provide them opportunities to show and sell their work,” NHAA board president Renee Giffroy said in a press release. “The fresh perspectives they bring help everyone in our community continue to grow.” Among the featured artists are Carla Zwahlen, a landscape painter from Mont Vernon; John Kessler of Windham, an oil painter of landscapes and still life; and Howard Muscott, a nature photographer from Amherst. A virtual opening reception for the exhibit will be held on Thursday, Jan. 7, at 6 p.m. on Zoom. NHAA’s next jurying opportunity for new members is scheduled for March. “We look forward to having more local artists join us next year,” Giffroy said. Call 431-4230 and visit nhartassociation.org.

• Still time to see The Nutcracker: Catch a live performance of The Nutcracker by Safe Haven Ballet at The Music Hall Historic Theater (28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth), with showtimes on Saturday, Jan. 2, at 2 and 6 p.m., and Sunday, Jan. 3, at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Safe Haven Ballet is a nonprofit that provides trauma-sensitive ballet, art and movement opportunities for survivors of sexual assault and trauma. Seating will be socially distanced. Tickets cost $50 for adults and $45 for seniors and children. Visit themusichall.org or call 436-2400.

If you’d rather enjoy The Nutcracker from home, the Northeastern Ballet Theatre of Wolfeboro is streaming a video of its 2019 performance of The Nutcracker now through Sunday, Jan. 3. Virtual tickets cost $8. Visit northeasternballet.org or call 834-8834.

• Virtual author events: New Hampshire author KJ Dell’Antonia will present her new novel, The Chicken Sisters, which was chosen as the December book of the month for Reese Witherspoon’s Reese’s Book Club. Dell’Antonia’s friend and the producer for NHPR’s The Exchange Jessica Hunt will join the conversation. Then, on Thursday, Jan. 7, at 7 p.m., K Woodman-Maynard, formerly of Concord, will provide a look at her graphic novel adaptation of The Great Gatsby. Concord novelist Virginia Macgregor will join Woodman-Maynard in the discussion. The events will be held on Zoom, and registration is required. Visit gibsonsbookstore.com or call 224-0562.

Featured photo: Harp donated to the Manchester Community Music School. Photo courtesy of Toni DeGennaro and the NH Philharmonic Orchestra.

Art adapts

2020 became a year of unexpected innovation for arts organizations

In 2020, we saw art galleries and performance venues closed, shows and festivals canceled and classes and programs suspended. But in the face of the many challenges brought about by Covid-19, the New Hampshire arts community did what it does best: It got creative.

“Many New Hampshire arts organizations and artists are finding creative ways to engage the public during the pandemic, reimagining events and activities in both physical and virtual spaces,” said Ginnie Lupi, director of the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts.

Performance venues erected new outdoor stages and spaces to welcome socially distanced audiences; theater companies, musicians and authors accommodated audiences at home through livestreamed and recorded shows and discussions, and educators in the arts carried on with classes and lessons remotely.

Now, as a Covid vaccine brings hope that a return to normalcy is on the horizon, artists and arts organizations are reasoning that the solutions they improvised to get through the pandemic may still have merit in a post-pandemic world.

“We expect many of these changes to become permanent,” Lupi said. “Many organizations are finding that online performances and activities are reaching more diverse and distant audiences.”

Living room theater

The Majestic Theatre in Manchester is one of many local theater companies that installed new video equipment to offer virtual performances.

“The virtual component has been a valuable tool to share our performances with those who are homebound,” artist director and CEO Rob Dionne said. “Now, a virtual component will be a part of most of our shows moving forward.”

Genevieve Aichele, executive director of New Hampshire Theatre Project in Portsmouth, said that purchasing new video, audio and computer equipment and hiring a part-time associate producer for media was an advantageous use of the CARES relief funds it received.

“The board and staff of NHTP views this as an investment for the future,” she said. “NHTP will be continuing to offer programs online for the foreseeable future.”

Though New Hampshire Theatre Project is presenting in-person performances again, it and many other theater companies that are able to do so are now using both formats, giving audiences the flexibility to experience theater in a way that meets their needs and comfort level. Aichele said the virtual option remains the most popular, noting that New Hampshire Theatre Project’s November production of The Adventures of Sleepyhead brought in 36 tickets for the in-person show and 245 tickets for the virtual one.

Matt Cahoon, artistic director of Theatre Kapow in Manchester, said the company’s “significant [investment in] time, energy and money” to offer virtual performances will “define this company for the next decade.”

“I would hate to see us just leave that behind,” he said. “I imagine that some of the technology will come back with us, and that we will find ways to meld together the live and virtual experiences.”

Unexpectedly, Cahoon said, the virtual format has given Theater Kapow the opportunity to enhance the theater experience for audiences by incorporating storytelling elements that aren’t feasible on a live stage. For example, the use of cameras allows him to draw the audience’s attention to small details that they might miss in person.

“The audience’s perspective of the actors was closer than ever,” he said. “It seems impossible to me to go back to a time where we say to audiences, ‘OK, you sit over there in the dark and we will be up here with the lights on us.’”

Art on screen

The visual arts have also found a new place in the virtual realm, with many arts organizations and art galleries shifting to an online format.

Lauren Boss, co-president of the Nashua Area Artists’ Association, said the Association moved its operations online when the months-long closure of its brick-and-mortar art gallery, ArtHub, limited members’ opportunities to sell their art.

“The pandemic forced us to figure out how to make e-commerce work for us,” she said. “This is something that will definitely remain after the masks are gone.”

The League of New Hampshire Craftsmen made a successful transition online after Covid made it impossible for the League to host its annual Craftsmen’s Fair in-person. The nine-day arts and crafts fair held in August at Mount Sunapee Resort typically draws 20,000 paying attendees, provides 80 percent of the League’s yearly operating income and is the largest opportunity for more than 300 local and regional artisans to sell their work; canceling the event altogether, League executive director Miriam Carter said, was simply not an option.

The League held the fair virtually on its website by providing links to the artisans’ online shops as well as a virtual exhibition tour and exclusive video content including craft demonstrations, musical performances and guided try-at-home craft projects for all ages.

While the virtual fair was a success in that artisans were still able to sell their work, it also had some silver linings that extended far beyond the fair itself, Carter said.

“[It] inspired 80 of our craftsmen to create websites or online sales capability for the first time,” she said. “This is a significant and welcome culture shift in a membership that is generally slow to adopt technological innovation … [and gives] craftsmen online tools they need to sustain their business through the Covid era and beyond.”

Carter said the League plans to make virtual elements a permanent feature of the Craftsmen’s Fair moving forward.

Learning from home

During the pandemic, many local arts organizations started offering classes, lessons and educational programs remotely, with students and educators meeting over video conferencing apps like Zoom, and some plan to continue offering remote education as an option indefinitely.

New Hampshire Writers’ Project hosted its annual 603: Writers’ Conference, normally held in Manchester in the spring, remotely in October. The reimagined 603: Writers’ “Sit and Click” Virtual Conference featured most of the same activities as the in-person conference, including panels, classes and a keynote speaker, accessible live on Zoom and through recordings that were available to participants for 90 days following the conference.

“We also have become more creative with our programming,” New Hampshire Writers’ Project board chair Masheri Chappelle said.

Many of New Hampshire Writers’ Project’s regular programs are now offered virtually, which has increased membership and participation, including writers from as far as Utah and Australia.

Peggy Senter, president of Concord Community Music School, said there has always been a number of students who travel from out of state to participate in the school’s programs as well as students who discontinue their education after moving farther from the school. Remote classes and lessons have eliminated that barrier, she said, and have proven to be “a wonderful opportunity for people who live far away and otherwise wouldn’t be able to participate.”

“Going forward, we will most likely offer remote learning to those who would be unable to participate due to distance, illness or adverse weather,” she said.

Additionally, virtual student recitals have given students a chance to share their musical abilities with people who would not be able to attend the recital in person.

CCMS has produced 11 student recitals on YouTube since March, Senter said, the most recent of which featured 40 students.

“Going forward, we will look forward to in-person recitals again, but also having a recorded version is allowing friends and family to access these performances from around the country and the world,” she said.

Supporting the arts

Lupi said that while the creativity exhibited by the New Hampshire arts community to keep the arts alive has been “encouraging” and “speaks to the value of the arts,” local arts organizations aren’t out of the woods yet.

“The pandemic will definitely have an ongoing, long-term impact on New Hampshire’s arts sector,” she said. “Some organizations and businesses may not survive, and those that do will have a long financial and programmatic recovery. … More aid to the sector will definitely be necessary for 2021 and beyond.”

Featured photo: Peter Josephson in Theater Kapow’s virtual production of A Tempest Prayer in November 2020. Photo by Matthew Lomanno.

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