Tag: 250911

Sword-fighting and beer

Manchester Brewfest offers beer, cider and more

By John Fladd

jfladd@hippopress.com

Manchester Brewfest organizer Peter Telge hopes it doesn’t rain this Saturday. It messes up the medieval sword fighting.

“It’s very cool,” he said. “There are about 16 combatants and they come in here, they’re ex-military and they wear the armor, and they use real swords, and they beat the heck out of each other. They were here two years ago, but they didn’t show last year because it was pouring all day. They don’t really work well in the rain.” This is on top of the bagpipers, a live band and the ax-throwing.

Manchester’s Brewfest has a reputation as being a small but fun one among New England beer festivals.

“This is our 11th annual [festival],” Telge said. “It’s not going to be a huge brewfest, but it should be a really fun brewfest. We have a good band called Nefarious Motives playing, and we will have some giveaways and auctions; it just should be a pretty good, decent time.”

The participants in this year’s event are split evenly between breweries and other vendors. “We’ll be about 20 brewers and about 20 vendors,” Telge said. “With 20 breweries, each with four or five beers each, you’re looking at 80 to 100 different choices.”

More beverage producers than just breweries will be represented, he pointed out. “There will be two cider producers, and a couple of seltzers, too.”

The Sunstone Brewing Co. (298 Rockingham Road, Londonderry, 216-1808, sunstonebrewing.com) will be one of the breweries in attendance.

“We’re pretty excited,” said Sunstone brewer and co-owner Bryan Link. “We’ve been looking forward to getting our name out there a little more in the Manchester area, just looking for more exposure, and this is a great way to get it.”

Link said Sunstone is planning to bring two offerings to the Brewfest.

“One will be served on draft,” he said, and the other one comes in growlers [large glass jugs],” he said. “The draft that we’ll be bringing will be our Mai Tai Sour. We’ve added a little bit of grenadine to it to add a little color and to flavor it as well. It actually looks like a mai tai, as far as its golden color and then it separates [in the glass], and that little bit of grenadine sinks to the bottom and gives it a pink-red color. In growlers, we’re bringing our Arnold Hammer, which is like an Arnold Palmer seltzer. It’s not made with vodka or anything like that. It’s actually fermented out just like a beer, so it’s pretty much just a beer but not made with grains.”

2025 Manchester Brewfest to benefit Webster House

When: Saturday, Sept. 13, from 1 to 4 p.m.
Where: Arms Park, 10 Arms St., Manchester
Admission: General admission tickets are $50 each, VIP tickets are $60 (and allow VIPs to enter an hour early), and non-drinking Designated Driver tickets are $20.
More: manchesterbrewfest.com

Participating beverage producers will include Stark Brewing Co., Blue Water Brewery, Rhythm Cider, Samuel Adams, Woodland Farms Brewery, Three of Strong Spirits, Sun Cruiser Vodka Iced Tea, Mountain View Brewery, Omnium Brewing, Notch Brewing, Night Shift Brewing, Citizen Cider, Lithermans Limited, Sunstone Brewing, and Vermont Hard Seltzer.
Vendors will include The Rugged Axe, Dew Collective, The Potato Concept, North Hord, Darbster Animal Rescue, and Lola’s Lemonade & Dirty Pop

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

Glendi is back!

A weekend of Greek food and treats in Manchester

By John Fladd

jfladd@hippopress.com

One of the high points of Manchester’s food calendar, Saint George Greek Orthodox Cathedral’s annual Greek Food Festival, Glendi, will take place this weekend. According to festival co-chair George Skaperdas, a huge turnout is expected. His advice to a first-timer at Glendi is, “Get here early and get in line.”

“The strategy as far as I’m concerned,” he said, “is when you’re done eating, take a break and eat some more. Of course, we have the food line with all the great [prepared] food, but we have beer, wine and cold drinks in our Taverna, and inside the Community Center we have all the great desserts.”

For many Glendi-goers the main attraction is lamb.

“As always,” Skaperdas said, “we’ll have a barbecue pit to [cook] lamb barbecue and shish kebabs. We have 2,300 pounds of lamb shanks that we’re cooking.“ Because a shank comes from a hard-working area of the lamb, it requires long, slow cooking. “We’ll be here braising them all day and most of the night,” assured Skaperdas. “So there’s barbecue and then the barbecued lamb dinner of course, and we’ll have chicken dinners and a Greek meatball dinner.”

So what makes a meatball Greek?

“OK,” Skaperdas said. “You have an Italian meatball and you have a Greek meatball side by side. They have pretty much the same spice palette, but they’re mixed differently — how much oregano you put in versus how much thyme.” In any case, he said, there will be a lot of them. “We’re making another hundred pounds of meatballs today, because I thought we might be a little meatball-shy. There will be thousands of meatballs, probably 3,000 stuffed grape leaves, and 150 trays of a spanakopita [a layered dish of spinach, feta, and philo dough]; each tray has something like 48 pieces. The numbers are staggering. We will sell over five or six thousand pieces of the pita [spanakopita] over the three days. The amount of food is just crazy. It’s difficult to track the number of people, total, but we will serve probably 10,000 meals over three days.”

There will be gyros at Glendi, Skaperdas said, but not made from the cones of meat, rotating on a spit that many people expect.

“We just don’t have enough space to store the equipment, so we grill it instead. We’ve got a grill out there and the same team that’s been doing it for 25 years will be grilling it instead.

The other big draw at Glendi is the Greek pastries, Skaperdas said.

“We do have our ever famous loukoumades, which are the fried dough puffs. You can get them with honey. You can get them with powdered sugar, or cinnamon sugar, or syrup — Greek syrup, not maple syrup! We always have kataifi, which is shredded phyllo dough with walnuts and syrup. We’ll have baklava, of course, and we have volunteers here right now making finikia, which is a cookie that can be stuffed or unstuffed with a date. Then, of course, there are the kourabiedes, which are the Greek powdered sugar cookies, so we’ve got those going, too.”

All of this, Skaperdas said, is an expression of a core Greek value: hospitality.

“We do this to create income for the church and all that,” he said, “but in the end, it’s a celebration of heritage and culture. Greek people just love to share their hospitality. You can’t go into a Greek house and not get fed.”

46th Annual Glendi Festival

When: Friday, Sept. 12, and Saturday, Sept. 13, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday, Sept. 14, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Where: St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 650 Hanover St., Manchester; free shuttle service available from Derryfield Park
More: stgeorgenh.org/activities/glendi

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

The Weekly Dish 25/09/11

News from the local food scene

• New diner on North Elm: Brothers North End Diner is now open at 1361 Elm St. in Manchester, in the location that was formerly home to North End Bistro. The diner is open seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, and according to the owners will eventually have a full liquor license.

• Godspeed Dancing Lion: High-end chocolate shop Dancing Lion Chocolate (917 Elm St., Manchester, 625-4043, dancinglion.us) will have its final day of cafe service on Thursday, Oct. 2, with limited retail hours selling bars and other items “until we run out” Oct. 7 through Oct. 18, according to the shop website. In a statement on the website, owner Richard Tango-Lowy wrote, “Dancing Lion Chocolate is more than I ever expected it could be. But I always knew that it was in itself a piece of art and would one day be complete.”

• Food Network approved: As reported by Patch.com in an Aug. 27 online article, the Food Network put Alley Cat Pizza (486 Chestnut St., Manchester, 669-4533, alleycatpizzerianh.com) on its list of the best pizza in each state. The article “50 States of Pizza Slices“ at foodnetwork.com/restaurants praised “the impeccable thin-crust.”

• Four courses of coffee: LaBelle Winery Derry (14 Route 111, Derry, 672-9898, labellewinery.com/labelle-winery-derry) will host a four-course coffee-themed dinner Friday, Sept. 12, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Each course will be crafted to include coffee and will be paired with a different LaBelle wine. Tickets are $109 through eventbrite.com.

• Street cookies: Local Street Eats (112 W. Pearl St., Nashua, 402-4435, local-streeteats.com) will host a Posy Cottage Cookie Pop-Up on Tuesday, Sept. 16, from 6 to 8 p.m. Learn the art of cookie decorating with Posy Cottage Cookies — no experience needed. Everything will be provided: freshly baked autumn-inspired cookies, rich icings and step-by-step guidance. Tickets are $35 per person through the Local Street Eats website.

Kiddie Pool 25/09/11

Family fun for whenever

Season wrap

• The New Hampshire Fisher Cats will play their final series of regular season home games at Delta Dental Stadium in downtown Manchester against the Chesapeake Baysox through the game on Sunday, Sept. 14, at 1:35 p.m. Games (which started Tuesday, Sept. 9) leading up to that start at 6:35 p.m. At the game on Thursday, Sept. 11, there will be a koozie giveaway; on Friday, Sept. 12, Margaritaville Night will feature a Dri-Fit T-shirt giveaway, according to milb.com/new-hampshire, where you can find tickets.

More fair fun

• The Granite State Fair will run Thursday, Sept. 11, through Sunday, Sept. 14, and Thursday, Sept. 18, through Sunday, Sept. 21, at 72 Lafayette St. in Rochester. See granitestatefair.com for the lineup of midway rides (and their height rules). Grandstand events include Bus Derby, Demolition Derby, Car Soccer and ATV Drag Race; find specialty tickets and a schedule on the website. Catch Circus Hollywood shows daily throughout the run of the fair, see animal exhibits and the petting zoo (also open daily) and enjoy competitions such as the cornhole tournament (Fridays, Sept. 12 and 19, at 7 p.m.), the King Arthur Cookie Contest (Saturday, Sept. 20, at 1 p.m.) and the Miss Granite State Fair Pageant (Sunday, Sept. 21, at noon), according to the website, where you can purchase tickets.

More hometown fun

• The 2025 Auburn Day and 32nd Annual Duck Race will take place Saturday, Sept. 13, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Auburn Village on Hooksett Road between Raymond Road and Eaton Hill Road, according to auburnhistorical.org. The day’s highlight is the Duck Race, tickets for which will be on sale through 2:30 p.m. — $5 per duck or a quack pack of five for $20, according to the website. The 10 fastest ducks during the race receive prizes, according to an email about the event. Other fun on Saturday: The New Hampshire National Guard and a Black Hawk helicopter will be on the athletic field near Auburn Village School from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Ray Zerkle will perform music during the day; find local authors, demonstrators (with crafts such as spinning wool, blacksmithing, maple syrup making, apple cider pressing and pottery making) and balloon animals on Library grounds from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and find local artisans as well as nonprofit and sponsor booths throughout the event, the website said. An apple pie contest and kids’ cookie baking contest will take place, with winners announced at noon, the website said. The Parks and Rec department will offer activities including a climbing wall, cornhole and a petting farm, and there will be children’s games behind the library, the website said. The food vendor line-up features the Auburn Fire Department with sausage subs, the Auburn Police Department with french fries, Longmeadow Church with fried dough and food trucks including B’s Tacos, Bentley’s Famous BBQ, Squeeze the Day Lemonade, Ice Cream for You, The Wacky Candy Shack and Kona Ice, the website said.

• Pelham Old Home Day will take place Saturday, Sept. 13, with events starting at 7 a.m. (a pancake breakfast at Church Fellowship Hall) through 5 p.m. The day will feature a white elephant yard sale, a crafts-and-more vendor sale, food trucks, kids’ games, a 5K (10 a.m.), live performances throughout the day, a touch-a-truck (starting at 11 a.m.), a penny sale, a quilt raffle and a grand parade (2:30 p.m.), according to pelhamoldhomeday.org. Scheduled kids events include inflatable obstacle courses, face painting, pony rides and a petting zoo, the website said. Food trucks slated to attend include GKK Concessions (with sausage, hot dogs, french fries, chicken fingers and more), Kona Ice, Augusta’s Chicken on the Road, Thwaites Market (with meat pies), The Whoopie Wagon (with whoopie pies), Oh Sugar! (with lemonade, cannolis, cupcakes and more), ZW’s BBQ, Eggroll Cafe, TW Provisions (with sausage sandwiches), One Happy Clam and ABC Bowls (with acai bowls and dessert crepes), the website said.

Treasure Hunt 25/09/11

Hi, Donna.

I have nine big bins of Annalee dolls. Many are holiday-themed (Halloween, Christmas, etc.) and they all still have their tags. My late brother collected them from the late 1980s to mid-2000s. I’d like to sell them; the only problem is that they smell of mothballs. I’ve spent the summer adding baking soda to the bins. I’ve taken a few and aired them out, but they still have that mothball smell. There are so many dolls that I don’t know how to deal with this. I know some of them are valuable and I don’t want to throw them out. Any advice? Thanks!

April

Dear April,

Mothball smell can be a never-ending project to remove. Along with many at-home methods, there are many store-bought items that promise to remove mothball odor. I have never had much luck with any, especially when the items have been stored sealed. I might try airing them individually for long periods of time. But with them being collectible Annalee dolls you don’t want to damage them by trying to remove the smell. April, knowing the New Hampshire-made dolls are all different in demand and value, I think I also might try marketing them just the way they are. Let the collectors remove the smell. Try to figure out what might make you happy for a total value. Keep in mind the smell is very significant to values. If the smell stays even slight, it’s just a matter of finding someone who would love them and give them a new home.

Kids lit – not

Granite State native publishes tongue-in-cheek book

By Michael Witthaus

mwitthaus@hippopress.com

Microplastics Are Your Friends! is a new book that at first glance looks aimed at younger readers, but it decidedly is not children’s literature. Playfully illustrated, the colorful 30-pager is subversively hilarious as it depicts what might happen if the people behind a really bad idea tried to sell it as something to celebrate.

The central premise, delivered by a white-haired narrator named Professor McTegan, who looks a lot like Doc from Back to the Future, is that while microplastics contribute to all manner of maladies, they serve a higher purpose. Each teaspoon of deadly pixie dust in our brains is the only defense against a race of human-hunting demons called The Shalhoub.

Standing up to these “vicious hell beasts that will not rest until we’re completely eradicated from this mortal coil” is worth the cost of things like dementia and low fertility rates. Besides, forgetting the present to reminisce about the past is a good thing, right? And, the Professor adds, “look at our friends, solving the overpopulation problem for us!”

Prof. McTegan’s “odyssey of discovery as he explores the benefits of having microscopic bits of plastic inside you” came from the imagination of Mister Shushy, the nom de plume of a former standup comedian. He began with the idea of RFK Jr., or someone similar, deciding to sell microplastics as a positive and commission a children’s book.

“It is the kind of off-the-wall weirdo humor that I like,” he said by phone recently. His Mister Shushy’s Nightmare Box Substack contains examples of this, like Ask Cherk, an advice column run by an oversexed “debonair alien gonzo journalist” as well as the too-close-to-the-truth short story Flow Ryda Man, which includes equally funny context.

While he was a comic, the author appeared at the Shaskeen’s Wednesday night event and also ran a regular showcase at the Dover Brickhouse for “the majority of its lifespan,” he said. Despite successes like opening for Frank Santorelli, Mike Racine and others, however, he decided to leave. It turned out to be decent timing.

“I quit stand-up in, like, 2019, and then the pandemic happened,” he said. His day job also contributed to the decision. “I’m talking on the phone to people all day, and it’s mentally exhausting…. I didn’t have the mental energy to do that for eight or nine hours and then go out and do open mics.”

Zoom shows held no appeal, so he laid low for the next five years, but the November election changed that.

“Something snapped in me,” he said. “It was, like, I need a creative outlet, I need to not be just doomscrolling. It’s easy to be sick to your stomach and depressed if you’re just looking into this little infinite box in your pocket. So I started writing.”

The name of the demonic race to whom microplastics are Kryptonite was inspired by Dune, but the actor famous for Monk and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is there intentionally, and not altogether flatteringly. Don’t take it the wrong way, though.

“It’s a deep abiding love for Tony Shalhoub that he’s included in the book,” the author said.

While he works to get Microplastics Are Your Friends! into bookstores, the easiest way to read it is on a Kindle. For those who want a physical book, it can be ordered at Gibson’s in Concord and Manchester’s Bookery. He’s also working to get it into Eight Legged Octopus in Dover, Water Street Bookstore in Exeter and Jetpack Comics in Rochester.

It’s stocked in a store in the Massachusetts town the author now calls home, with a fun touch — in the nonfiction section. “Somebody has a great sense of humor,” a delighted Mister Shushy said, adding that while it’s technically a kids’ book, the real audience should be obvious.

“Sorry in advance if you’re upset,” he writes in an opening disclaimer. “But also, like, you saw a book with the title Microplastics Are Your Friends! and still bought it for your child, so hopefully this ends up being a teachable moment for you.”

Microplastics Are Your Friends! by Mister Shushy, Illustrated by Lucas D

Available on Amazon Kindle. Physical copies can be ordered at independent bookstores like Gibson’s in Concord and Bookery in Manchester. Works by Mister Shushy are compiled on mistershushy.substack.com. Follow him on Instagram @mistershushy.

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