Tag: 250904

This Week 25/09/04

Friday, Sept. 5

The 36th Annual Hampton Beach Seafood Festival will kick off today from noon to 9 p.m. and continue Saturday, Sept. 6, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday, Sept. 7, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Ocean Boulevard (Center Beach) in Hampton Beach. The weekend will feature an extensive line-up of live music, kicking off with Mica’s Groove Train today at 1:30 p.m., a lobster roll eating competition on Sunday, fireworks Saturday evening, a 5K on Sunday, culinary demonstrations, a cornhole competition on Saturday, crafters and, of course, seafood, according to seafoodfestivalnh.com, where you can see the planned menus for the festival’s food vendors. Find multiple lobster roll and chowder vendors, as well as items such as a lobster slider from Charlie’s Tap House, Scallops wrapped in bacon from the Purple Urchin, fried lobster tails from Ray’s Seafood Restaurant and oysters from Swell Oysters, according to the website which also lists lots of non-seafood and dessert food options.

Friday, Sept. 5

The theme for September’s First Friday in downtown Concord is “‘Fall’ in Love with Concord.” The event takes place ,along Main Street from 4 to 8 p.m. Food trucks will be on site from Batulo’s Kitchen, Kona Ice, and Teenie Wienies. There will be free yoga on the Statehouse lawn, live music from Tyler Levs, and a children’s entrepreneur market. Visit firstfridayconcord.com/september.

Saturday, Sept. 6

The 20th annual Pedaling for Payson, a bicycle-centered fundraising event to benefit Nurse Navigation at the Payson Center for Cancer Care, takes place today starting in the morning at Elm Brook Park in Contoocook. There will be 16-, 30- and 50-mile road rides, 22- and 45-mile gravel rides, a mountain bike loop, a 2-mile short course, and a stationary spin ride. Visit runsignup.com/Race/NH/Contoocook/PedalingforPayson.

Saturday, Sept. 6

Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church (3 Peabody Row, Londonderry, 437-8333, stpeterslondonderry.org) is holding its 38th Fall Artisan Craft Fair today from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and tomorrow, Sunday, Sept. 7, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 6

The Humane Society for Greater Nashua hosts Wags to Whiskers Festival today from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the fields of Anheuser-Busch Brewery (221 DW Highway, Merrimack, 595-1202, anheuser-busch.com/breweries/merrimack-nh). This dog-friendly event will feature K9 demonstrations by the Merrimack and Nashua Police Departments, performances by Granite State Disc Dogs and adoption opportunities. Visit hsfn.org/wags-2025.

Sunday, Sept. 7

Guitarist Shaun Hague leads Journeyman,a tribute to Eric Clapton. Catch them today at 4 p.m., BNH Stage, 16 S. Main St, Concord, $35 and up at ccanh.com.

Save the Date! Monday, Sept. 15
The 2025 VoxPop Poetry Slam Finals will erupt onto the Bank of NH Stage (16 S. Main St., Concord, 225-1111, ccanh.com) Monday, Sept. 15, starting at noon. Prepare to be captivated as the city’s sharpest wordsmiths, fiercest spoken word artists and most captivating storytellers go head to head. Tickets are $20 each in advance through the Capitol Center’s website, or $23 at the door.

Quality of Life 25/09/04

Fashion-forward vultures

The New Hampshire Audubon Society announced in an Aug. 18 online article that it is celebrating its newest “”animal ambassador,” a turkey vulture, by sponsoring a T-shirt design contest. “We’re inviting artists, illustrators, designers, and creatives of all kinds to submit original artwork” the announcement read. “The winning design will be printed on the back of the T-shirt (with NH Audubon’s logo on the front) and offered in a variety of colors, like our previous Barred Owl artist-designed shirt.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: According to the announcement, his project is open to New Hampshire-based artists, and submissions must be original artwork and must include the label “Turkey Vulture” somewhere in the design. The deadline is Monday, Sept. 8. Visit nhaudubon.org.

Lights, camera, abduction!

New Hampshire Public radio reported in an Aug. 27 online article that the supposed alien abduction of Barney and Betty Hill in New Hampshire in 1961 is set to become the subject of a feature film starring Demi Moore and Colman Domingo, based on the podcast Strange Arrivals by New Hampshire podcaster Toby Ball. The Hills’ story was one of the first alien abduction stories to receive public attention.

QOL score: +1

Comment: This movie will be made by SeeSaw Pictures.

Colorful foliage predicted

An Aug. 19 forecast by NewEngland.com predicts an especially “vibrant foliage display in New Hampshire this autumn.” Apparently this is a result of this spring’s unusual weather. “It rained (or snowed) for 12 Saturdays in a row! Beautiful weather during the week, then … a wet weekend,” the report read. “If we get a string of warm, sunny days and crisp, clear nights leading up to the trees changing, it will set the stage for a spectacular color show,” the forecast concluded.

QOL score: +1

Comment: If dry conditions persist, the article reported, this foliage season will be brighter but shorter. Visit newengland.com/foliage.

QOL score last week: 66

Net change: +3

QOL this week: 69

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Great sports month ahead

The Big Story – Sept. 1: It’s hard to pick the top story this week because there are two. It’s the opening week of the NFL season and baseball moves into its final month of the pennant chase.

For Patriot Nation, thanks to having a new coach in Mike Vrabel and Drake Maye’s entering his Year 2 season, there’s the excitement of a new season, though it’s tempered by many locals’ having convinced themselves they’re better than they’ll actually be. For Red Sox Nation no other sport matches the day-to-day thrills and chills of a season’s final month when their team is in a heated pennant race, which is where the Red Sox find themselves. So buckle up, because this is the most fun part of the year.

Sports 101: Who returned the most kickoffs (two did it three times) and punts (four) for TDs in Patriots history?

News Item – 5 Keys to Patriots’ Season

Drake Maye: He needs to take a solid next step in his development.

Rookie Linemen: Will Campbell and Jared Wilson need to deliver on Day 1, which is a lot to expect from rookies.

The CB Are Keys to the Defense: Media maven Greg Bedard thinks the defense is the biggest problem area. He sees them more than me, but I think it’s the opposite, provided that Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis are healthy and can add the shutdown element that gives the improved pass rush more time to get to the QB.

TreVeyon Henderson: If he’s as good as he looked in pre-season it gives them a play maker and real depth in the backfield.

Milton Williams is worth the money.

News Item – Interesting 2025 NFL Stories to Follow

Travis Hunter:Can he play on both sides of the ball on this level?

The Coaching Hot Seat – Who Gets Fired First: BrianDaboll (Giants), Kevin Stefanski (Browns), Zac Taylor (Bengals) and others are in play. Having three disappointing season endings on the resume, my first choice, Miami’s Mike McDaniel, recently got an extension until 2028.

Pete Carroll in Las Vegas: It’s interesting minority owner Tom Brady passed on picking 73-year-old Bill Belichick to coach LV in favor of picking the even older by 200 days Carroll.

The Numbers:

22 – Maye’s rank among starting QBs to start the season in a recent poll by The Athletic of 40 NFL coaches and executives.

33 – career NFL wins Andy Reid needs to pass Belichick for second most all-time, which at the current Reid-Mahomes pace would happen sometime in 2028.

245 – career TD passes after eight seasons for soon to be 30-year-old Patrick Mahomes. Career TD leader Brady had 197 at the same point in his career.

… Of the Week Awards

Thumbs Down – Eliot Wolf: The latest evidence that the Pats’ VP of Personnel is completely asleep at the switch came last week when he let the Packers trade for unhappy Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons. They could/should have beaten the price of two first-round picks and DT Kenny Clark GB gave up to get him. And with the most cap room in the NFL they could have matched the whopping salary Parsons got as well. This is a much worse miss than Craig Breslow’s not getting a starter at the trade deadline, because nobody he was after was what Parsons is — a gettable franchise-changing talent.

Random Thoughts:

Can’t figure out who Efton Chisholm III reminds me of — Wes Welker or one-time Jets pain in the butt Wayne Chrebet.

Sports101 Answer: With four, Julian Edelman has the most punt returns for Patriots TDs. Raymond Clayborn (all in 1977) and Ellis Hobbs (2006, ’07 and ’08) are the TD kickoff leaders with three each.

Final Thought – Predictions

Biggest Surprise – Jacksonville: Because Trevor Lawrence finally has a season that lives up to the billing.

Biggest Disappointment:Thanks to its owner trading his best player too late to reap immediate benefits and the annual Dak Prescott injury, Dallas has my Cowboys-loving friend George Copadis in despair as they plummet to the bottom of the NFC East. But at least we’ll get to see how good Joe Milton actually is.

The Geezer QB Follies: We’ll see the Giants’ latest QB disaster, where the over-under for Russell Wilson’s benching is Game 10. Ditto for what’s likely a one and done season for Aaron Rodgers in Pittsburgh.

MVP:Unless he gets hurt from running too recklessly, Jayden Daniels.

Rookie of the Year: Defense, Abdul Carter (NYG).Offense, Ashton Jeanty (LVR).

Drake Maye:With 25 TD passes and 14 interceptions he comes close to Brady’s 28 and career-high 14 picks in Year 2 as a starter.

The Patriots: It won’t satisfy the media yackers who are expecting a 4-13 team to become a playoff team out of thin air. But they improve four games to 8-9 in Vrabel’s first year.

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

News & Notes 25/09/04

A hunting season

The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department issued a reminder for the furbearer hunting season, which opened on Sept. 1 in New Hampshire for some species, according to a press release at nhfishgame.com. “Furbearers with a hunting season include coyote, fisher, raccoon, red fox, gray fox, opossum, mink, weasel, skunk, and muskrat. Registration is now required only for furbearers taken by hunting and does not include animals taken by trapping, Wildlife Control Operators, or any other means of take,” the release said. The seasons for red and gray fox, opossum, skunk and racoon opened Sept. 1 and coyotes may be hunted year-round. The hunting season for other animals opens in October or early November and the fisher hunting season opens Dec. 1, the website said. See eregulations.com/newhampshire/hunting and wildlife.nh.gov/hunting-nh/furbearer.

Musicians help out

Musicians for Meals, a benefit concert for Meals on Wheels of Hillsborough County, will be held Saturday, Sept. 13, noon to 10 p.m., at Riley’s Place in Milford, according to a press release. Bands slated to appear include Granite Sunset, Creosote, Acoustic Beatles, Unnamed Trio, Violet Tendencies, ZeppHalen, Hot Velvet and Stone Hill Station, the release said. The event is free to attend with donations encouraged and the day featuring raffles as well as food available for purchase from Riley’s, the release said. See hcmow.org.

Break-ins

Manchester’s West Side saw break-ins to vehicles parked on at least 15 different streets between Aug. 4 and Aug. 26, according to an Aug. 26 press release from the Manchester Police. Items were taken from cars, some of which were unlocked, with most incidents occurring during the early morning hours, the release said. “During the course of the investigation, detectives also learned that security cameras in the affected neighborhoods were tampered with,” according to the release. Streets involved include Montgomery, Dubuque, Cleveland, Blodget, Amory, McGregor, Rimmon, Bremer, Putnam, Kelley, Boynton, Youville, Cartier, Alsace and Amory Court, release said. Police are asking residents in these areas to review any home surveillance footage for suspicious activity, such as individuals looking into vehicles or entering private property during the timeframe mentioned. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Manchester Police Department at 668-8711; Detective Amber Sosa-Aquino at 792-5513 or the anonymous Manchester Crimeline at 624-4040, the release said.

The Dover Public Library, at the McConnell Center, 32 St. Thomas St. in Dover, will hold a program about green burial practices and death doulas with Sarah Clark of Lotus and Lavender Natural Burial on Monday, Sept. 8, at 6:30 p.m., according to a library press release. The event is free.

The Derry Public Library will hold a Zoom program about Joan Chen, an actress whose work includes 2025’s The Wedding Banquet and 2024’s Didi as well as 1987’s The Last Emperor and the TV show Twin Peaks. Sign up at derrypl.org for the program on Monday, Sept. 15, at 6:30 p.m.

The Nashua Historical Society will hold an “Old Souls of the Old South Cemetery Tour” on Saturday, Sept. 6, from 10 to 11:30 a.m., featuring costumed reenactors portraying real colonial and Revolutionary War-era figures who are buried in the city’s oldest burial ground at 217 DW Highway in Nashua, according to a press release. The tour also includes a visit to the 1841 Suburban Red Brick Schoolhouse No. 1, the release said. The event is recommended for ages 10+ and tickets cost $20 per person, plus fees, at nashuahistoricalsociety.org/event-list.

Stay in the loop!

Get FREE weekly briefs on local food, music,

arts, and more across southern New Hampshire!