Page 877

Best of 2021

Best of 2021

Despite the challenges of the past year, there’s still plenty to celebrate about living in New Hampshire. Readers voted on their favorite people, places and things in the Granite State; now, check out the results and make some plans to grab a winning bite, take a mini hike or enjoy a night of comedy or live music from some of our best local talent.

Also on the cover, immerse yourself in verse during Poetry Month, p. 24. New Hampshire breweries celebrate Craft Beer Week, p. 30. And springtime means spring wines, p. 35.

Hippo Best of 2021

This week’s issue is a celebration of many of the things that make up what many of us have come ...

News & Notes 21/04/01

Covid-19 updateAs of March 22As of March 29Total cases statewide80,75083,340Total current infections statewide2,3342,785Total deaths statewide1,2171,237New cases1,937 (March 16 to March ...

Ainge behind Celtics mess

I said last week I don’t think Danny Ainge realizes how much trouble the Celtics are in. And that was ...

Quality of Life 21/04/01

Making a case for the daring jumping spider The daring jumping spider A third-grade environmental science class from Hollis Primary ...

Fine lines

New Hampshire celebrates National Poetry Month From writing prompts to readings and workshops, New Hampshire poets and poetry lovers will ...

The Art Roundup 21/04/01

The latest from NH’s theater, arts and literary communities • Currier reopens: The Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St., ...

Stems, branches and weeds

How to create early spring arrangements I miss being able to go to my garden and pick flowers for the ...

Kiddie Pool 21/04/01

Family fun for the weekend Easter fun! Follow the Bunny in downtown Concord on Saturday, April 3! The free event ...

The Weekly Dish 21/04/01

News from the local food scene • Get ready for Easter: Visit hippopress.com for our annual Easter listings (available for ...

Keep on brewing on

New Hampshire Craft Beer Week returns New Hampshire Craft Beer Week, an annual celebration dedicated to highlighting brewery culture in ...

Madeline Rossi and Olivia Lenox

Madeline Rossi and her wife Olivia Lenox are the owners of New Roots Meals (newrootsmeals.com, and on Facebook and Instagram ...

Spring Sunshine

So, apparently, it’s springtime. The snow is gone. We’ve switched over to daylight saving time. My road is a morass ...

Spring rosés

Time to stop and sip the wine It’s spring and perhaps Mother Nature may cooperate and provide us with continued ...

Album Reviews 21/04/01

Dan Blake, Da Fé (Sunnyside Records) Fourth full-length from bandleader Blake, a Brooklyn-based sax player and board member of Buddhist ...

Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro

Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro (Knopf, 303 pages) If you tell Alexa to turn on your lights, have ...

The Father (PG-13)

Anthony Hopkins is heartbreaking and Olivia Colman is heartbroken in The Father, a sad but excellent movie that is nominated ...

The Music Roundup 21/04/01

Local music news & events • Maine man: Even with a socially distanced crowd, comedian Bob Marley can fill a ...

Staying live

Man plays guitar on stage with colorful background

Playing through, and past, the pandemic If a Concord bar is offering live music, there’s always the possibility that Andy ...

Best of 2021

Let’s try something new. As with every year, the Best of 2021 Hippo Readers Poll offers lots of ideas for ...

Click to read our E-Edition PDF for FREE.
Our advertiser supported e-edition will always be free to view and download.

The Art Roundup 21/04/01

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

• Currier reopens: The Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St., Manchester) is reopening to the public on Thursday, April 1, with several new exhibitions on display. “The Body in Art: From the Spiritual to the Sensual” provides a look at how artists through the ages have used the human body as a means of creative expression; The Tomie dePaola exhibition celebrates the illustrator’s life and legacy through a collection of his original drawings; and “Critical Cartography: Larissa Fassler in Manchester,” features immersive large-scale drawings that reflect the Berlin-based artist’s observations of downtown Manchester while she was an artist-in-residence at the Currier Museum in 2019. Tickets cost $15, $13 for seniors age 65 and up, and must be booked online. Museum hours are Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. (free after 5 p.m.); and Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the hour of 10 to 11 a.m. currently reserved for seniors and museum members. Call 669-6144 or visit currier.org.

• Growing up wild: The Walker Lecture Series continues with a virtual author event featuring Michael Tougias (michaeltougias.com) on Wednesday, April 7, at 7:30 p.m. Tougias will discuss his new bestselling memoir The Waters Between Us: A Boy, A Father, Outdoor Misadventures and the Healing Power of Nature, which chronicles his experience growing up and exploring nature in the 1960s and ’70s. “I was a wild kid by nature and choice who sought out wild places,” Tougias said in a press release. “I feel lucky to have grown up in a time when a kid could spend the entire day on their own in the great outdoors with no parental interference.” The memoir also looks at his complex relationship with his father, Tougias said. A recording of the event will be available to watch starting the following day. The Walker Lecture Series will continue every Wednesday through April 21, with a travelogue about the deserts, coastline and safari parks of Namibia presented by Rick Ray on April 14 and a faculty concert by Concord Community Music School on April 21. Events are free and open to the public. Call 333-0035 or visit walkerlecture.org.

• Virtual screenings: The Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord presents a series of virtual screenings for a variety of performances. “Double Take,” a dance concert by Repertory Dance Theatre and Ririe-Woodbury Dance Co., will screen on Thursday, April 1, and Friday, April 2, at 8 p.m., and Saturday, April 3, at 4 p.m., for $25 per ticket. War Horse, a National Theatre Live Encore Presentation, is available on demand through Tuesday, April 6, for $15. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, filmed live in London, is available on demand now through Sunday, April 11, for $25. Finally, “The Art of Circus” will be screened on Thursday, April 8, at 7 p.m., Saturday, April 10, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, April 11, at 2 p.m., for $25 per ticket. Call 225-1111 or visit ccanh.com.

Fine lines

New Hampshire celebrates National Poetry Month

From writing prompts to readings and workshops, New Hampshire poets and poetry lovers will have all kinds of opportunities throughout April to celebrate National Poetry Month from home.

Now in its 25th year, National Poetry Month is an annual observance created by the Academy of American Poets to increase awareness and appreciation of poetry in the U.S. Schools, publishers, libraries, booksellers and poets all over the country are encouraged to host special events and activities to promote the literary art form.

In New Hampshire, the month’s festivities are spearheaded by state Poet Laureate Alexandria Peary, in partnership with New Hampshire Magazine, Concord-based publisher Hobblebush Books and others.

Peary has created 30 poetry writing prompts — one for each day in April — that will be posted on New Hampshire Magazine’s website and social media.

The prompts are meant to be “a reflection of the past year,” Peary said, particularly in regard to the pandemic, and will represent a wide variety of poetry styles. They may, for example, challenge participants to write a sonnet that mourns a loss or celebrates a recovery; a narrative poem about a pandemic moment; a persona poem from the perspective of a front-line worker; or an ode to a pandemic-related object.

“They’re just something to get people started,” Peary said. “You could look at the prompts and just see what comes to mind and do a free-write every day, or you could pick just one or two [prompts] and try to write a whole poem — whatever works for you.”

At the end of the month, there will be two free virtual workshops, led by two graduate students interning with Peary, where participants can receive feedback on their poems.

Now through May 15, original poems can be submitted for review and possible publication in an anthology of poetry about the pandemic experience in New Hampshire, to be edited by Peary and published by Hobblebush Books this summer. The anthology is a follow-up to COVID Spring: Granite State Pandemic Poems, published in September 2020, which features original poems submitted by 54 New Hampshire writers, providing “a thirty-day snapshot of what life was like in the Granite State in April of 2020” through topics such as Covid-related “job loss, loneliness and love, masks, social distancing, surreal visitors, uncertainty, graduations deferred, grief, neighborly and less-than-neighborly acts, observing the beginning of the pandemic and making projections about the future, recalibrating or confirming what it means to be human, to be a resident of this region,” Peary said in the anthology’s introduction.

Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord, in partnership with Hobblebush Books, will host free virtual poetry readings and conversations every Monday in April. The series will feature Granite State poets Maudelle Driskell, Meg Kearney, Martha Carlson-Bradley, Liz Ahl, Rodger Martin, Henry Walters, Margot Douaihy and Peary.

“[Participating in] one of these events might give you ideas for your own writing,” Peary said, “and I think it could also give you a sense that, with so many opportunities for engagement with the creative writing [community] in the state, it could become a really rich part of your life and social life.”

Peary said this month is a great time for people who are interested in poetry to give writing their own poetry a try, even if it’s short or in fragments.

“It doesn’t need to be something with a complete structure,” she said. “Try to maximize the distance between you and the critics in your head and just jot some stuff down, and be accepting of whatever that is.”

National Poetry Month in New Hampshire
Virtual poetry events and activities will be held throughout April. Visit newhampshirepoetlaureate.blogspot.com and hobblebush.com/national-poetry-month.

Writing workshops
Registration required.
• Sunday, April 25, 3 p.m., moderated by Lily Greenberg
• Tuesday, April 27, 7 p.m. moderated by Brooke Delp

Readings and conversations with Granite State poets
Weekly, Monday at 7 p.m., through April. Registration required.
• April 5: Maudelle Driskell and Meg Kearney
• April 12: Martha Carlson-Bradley and Liz Ahl
• April 19: Rodger Martin and Henry Walters
• April 26: NH Poet Laureate Alexandria Peary and Margot Douaihy

Featured photo: Alexandria Peary. Courtesy photo.

2021 Best of Readers poll – 04/01/2021

View entire selection throughout the years here

Quality of Life 21/04/01

Making a case for the daring jumping spider

A third-grade environmental science class from Hollis Primary School stood before the Senate Executive Departments & Administration Committee last week to push for the passage of HB 318, which would proclaim the daring jumping spider to be the state spider of New Hampshire, according to a press release. Tara Happy, the teacher who taught the spider unit to her class in October, told the Concord Monitor in December that the daring jumping spider won the school-wide election in part because it can jump really far, can withstand New Hampshire winters, isn’t harmful to people and is the size and shape of a button.

Score: +1

Comment: “Not only was their testimony educational and persuasive, it was a pleasure to hear about the ways in which teachers and their students have creatively adapted approaches to education during the pandemic,” Sens. Kevin Cavanaugh (D-Manchester) and Sue Prentiss (D-West Lebanon) wrote in a statement after the session.

Manchester PD takes 30×30 Pledge

The Manchester Police Department has announced a new initiative called the 30×30 Pledge, with the goal of increasing the number of women in recruit classes by 30 percent by 2030, according to a press release. The department will look at low- and no-cost ways to attract and retain female officers, who, according to the release, generally use less excessive force, are named in fewer complaints and lawsuits, are perceived as being more honest and compassionate by communities and see better outcomes for crime victims, especially in sexual assault cases.

Score: +1

Comment:“This pledge means that the Manchester Police Department is actively working to improve gender equity and identify any disparities that there may be,” Chief Allen Aldenberg said in the release. “The goal is to eliminate barriers and advance women in policing.”

Vaccination registration success!

It took until Phase 3, but New Hampshire’s vaccination scheduling system is now running smoothly — and QOL can vouch for that, as it took all of five minutes to sign up through the VINI website on Monday and find an appointment for later this week. According to a press release, almost 37,000 appointments were booked Monday by 5 p.m., as New Hampshire became the first state in New England to expand vaccine eligibility to residents 40 and over.

Score: +1

Comment: QOL felt bad for all of the people who previously struggled with scheduling problems in Phases 1 and 2 and spent hours trying to navigate an overwhelmed system but was relieved to get that appointment with no issues.

QOL score: 60

Net change: +3

QOL this week: 63

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at [email protected].

Ainge behind Celtics mess

I said last week I don’t think Danny Ainge realizes how much trouble the Celtics are in. And that was before Saturday’s absolutely appalling, ah, win against the G-League team in Oak City they call the Thunder that came from a fourth-quarter blitz after a total non-effort during the first three quarters, when somehow they let a guy I never heard of go for 17 points and a Wilt Chamberlain-like 19 rebounds by halftime. Throw in their mostly lethargic play since an 8-2 start, best exemplified by their two losses to Brooklyn as they got rolled by Kyrie Irving, and it tells all you need to know. A total lack of fight and pride.

But the bigger problem is the decision-making for personnel by Ainge, which after a long run of terrific moves has been mostly terrible for three years. It’s led to a major talent drain as Irving, Al Horford, Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier have walked while getting only the comparable, but oft injured, Kemba Walker back. This is compounded by an inability to build a stronger bench because of an irrational reluctance to part with his war chest of draft assets in deals. His many major draft misses over the last 10 years have led people to logically ask, if he can’t draft consistently, why not trade the picks for a guy you know can play in the NBA? Instead he keeps them, drafts badly and then is unable to get anything of value for players like Grant Williams and Aaron Nesmith because they are marginal players.

Not all of the decisions and draft picks have been bad, but many have. Here’s a summary.

2011-2012–Drafted: JaJuan Johnson (27th overall). Passed on: Jimmy Butler (29), Chandler Parsons (38). Coming and going: Big Baby Davis traded for Brandon Bass. End game: JaJuan lasted one year in the league, while Butler is a star and the kind of leader the Celtics lack.

2012-2013 –Drafted: Jared Sullinger (21) and Fab Melo (22). Passed on: Jae Crowder (34), Draymond Green (35), Khris Middleton (39). Coming and going: no one of consequence. End game: Sullinger was a serviceable player, while the late (not so) Fab actually outdid JuJuan by playing just six NBA games.

2013-2014 –Drafted: Kelly Olynyk (traded up to 13). Passed on: Giannis Antetokounmpo (15), Rudy Gobert (27). Coming and going: Nothing of any real consequence added or lost. End game: It’s hard to understand how Danny could be so in love with 3-point-shooting bigs, instead of 6’11” athletes who give 100 percent of their effort on every single play. The biggest mistake of the Ainge era.

2014-2015 –Drafted: Marcus Smart (6) and James Young (17). Passed on: Clint Capela (21), Nikola Jokic (41). Coming and going: A tank-athon season began with KG, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry being traded to Brooklyn. Trades of Jeff Green, Rajon Rondo and a draft pick brought back a first-round pick, Jae Crowder and Isaiah Thomas. End game:Thomas trade shockingly turned a team headed nowhere into a playoff team.They wasted the first Brooklyn pick on Young, but the trade eventually delivered Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Irving, so it was a major win. Despite going sixth Smart was the second best guy drafted after Joel Embiid.

2015-2016 – Drafted: Rozier (16) and RJ Hunter (28). Passed on: Montrezl Harrell (32), Norman Powell (46). Coming and going: No major moves. End game: Rozier showed promise, but Hunter wasn’t the knock-down shooter he was billed as, but sadly Powell eventually was/is.

2016-2017 –Drafted: Brown (3), Guerschon Yabusele (16), Ante Zizic (23). Passed on: Pascal Siakam (27), Malcolm Brogdon (36). Coming and/or going: Signed Al Horford as a free agent in a very good move. End game: Brown has been even better than expected. But with Yabusele looking 50 pounds overweight on draft night, it’s mind-boggling Ainge took him at all, let alone in Round 1. His worst pick ever and when you also know he also picked JaJuan, Fab and RJ Jr. that’s saying something.

2017-2018–Drafted: Tatum (3). Passed on: De’Aaron Fox (5), Donovan Mitchell (13), Bam Adebayo (14). Coming and going: Callously dumped Thomas in trade for Irving and with signing Hayward optimism ran amok until six minutes into the season when Hayward suffered a gruesome injury. End game:Came within a half of going to the NBA finals with both Kyrie and Hayward sidelined for the playoffs.

2018-2019–Drafted: Robert Williams (28). Passed on: Devonte Graham (34).Coming and going: No notable transactions.End game: A dumpster fire of a season from start to early finish. Time Lord looks like a gift at 28.

2019-2020 – Drafted: Romeo Langford (14), Grant Williams (22). Passed on: no one notable. Coming and going: Before the year Kyrie and Horford walked for nothing in return and the Rozier now scoring 20 per night went for injury-hampered Kemba Walker. End game: Much better year but should have stuck with Rozier and traded Kyrie a season earlier.

2020-2021 – Drafted: Aaron Nesmith (14), Payton Pritchard (26). Passed on: Saddiq Bey (19), Immanuel Quickley (25). Coming and going: Lost Hayward after passing on a deal for shot-blocking stretch 4 Myles Turner and Doug McDermott. Instead took a $28 million trade exception with 17 just sent for Evan Fournier. End game: Danny blew the deal for Hayward with Indiana. And while Fournier is solid, is using the valuable exception on a two-month rental a smart play by a team going nowhere?

How would the Cs look now if they got one or more of Butler, Green, Antetokounmpo, Jokic, Harrell and Siakam? Or by sending Nesmith, Lankford, Hunter, JuJuan and others away in deals for veterans when their value as draft picks is much higher than after being taken? Bottom line: Danny had better get it together because guys get fired for the kind of streak he’s on.

Best of 2021

The Art Roundup 21/04/01

Fine lines

2021 Best of Readers poll – 04/01/2021

Quality of Life 21/04/01

Ainge behind Celtics mess

Stay in the loop!

Get FREE weekly briefs on local food, music,

arts, and more across southern New Hampshire!