Concord tree lighting
Head downtown for the annual lighting of the Christmas tree in City Plaza on Nov. 25 from 4 to 7 p.m. Several streets will be closed from 3 to 7:30 p.m. for the event, including Main Street, from Centre Street to School Street; North State Street, from Park Street to Capitol Street; Park Street from Main Street to North State Street; and Capitol Street from Main Street to North State Street.
Writing mindfully
Alexandria Peary will lead Present Moment, Prolific Moment: Using Mindfulness to Write on Nov. 28 at 6:30 p.m., hosted by Baker Free Library. This event is virtual.
Writing can become much more fulfilling if we think of it as happening right now. Much is lost when we overlook the present moment because we forfeit rewarding writing experiences in exchange for stress, frustration, boredom, fear, and shortchanged invention and creativity (it’s a poor bargain). Through mindfulness, we can reduce our writing apprehension and the writing blocks that come from future- or past-oriented thinking. Every moment can become a prolific moment: we can write more quickly and with greater ease of mind. In this presentation, we discuss writing tools that emerge when present time is highlighted: impermanence, audience demons, monkey mind self-talk, and preconceptions about writing ability and writing task. Participants will learn basic strategies to incorporate mindfulness into their writing lives.
Visit nhhumanities.org to register.
CBD workshop
Anchor Athletics in Concord is hosting Clearly Balanced Days for a free educational workshop on CBD on Nov. 29 at 6 p.m. Come see how CBD can help you maximize your fitness goals. This event is open to the public and is BYOC (bring your own chair), call or message Anchor Athletics to reserve a spot. We will be raffling off a gift basket of CBD products from Clearly Balanced Days, valued at $110, for those who sign up. For more information, visit facebook.com/Anchorathleticsnh.
Let’s cook soup!
Join the Concord Public Library team in the kitchen at the City Wide Community Center (14 Canterbury Rd.) on Nov. 29 at 6 p.m. to learn the basics of cooking the perfect fall soup: butternut squash. No experience is required, and materials will be provided. Registration required. Visit concordpubliclibrary.net/librarycalendar to register.
Presenting a poet
The Poetry Society of New Hampshire joins Gibson’s Bookstore to present poet Gabrielle Calvocoressi in an evening of verse on Dec. 1 at 5 p.m. This event is graciously made possible by the Rowe Family Charitable Fund.
Gabrielle Calvocoressi is the author of The Last Time I Saw Amelia Earhart, Apocalyptic Swing (a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize), and Rocket Fantastic, winner of the Audre Lorde Award for Lesbian Poetry. Calvocoressi’s poems have been published or are forthcoming in numerous magazines and journals including The Baffler, The New York Times, POETRY, Boston Review, Kenyon Review, Tin House, and The New Yorker.
Calvocoressi is an Editor at Large at Los Angeles Review of Books, and Poetry Editor at Southern Cultures. Works in progress include a non-fiction book entitled, The Year I Didn’t Kill Myself and a novel, The Alderman of the Graveyard. Calvocoressi teaches at UNC Chapel Hill and lives in Old East Durham, NC, where joy, compassion, and social justice are at the center of their personal and poetic practice.
The starry messenger
The Starry Messenger, presented by Michael Francis on Dec. 1 at 6 p.m. at Gilford Public Library, is a dramatic fun-filled adaptation of Galileo’s short treatise “Siderius Nuncius.” Galileo (dressed in 17th-century costume) arrives to present a public lecture on his most recent discoveries made using his newly-devised spyglass. As he describes those discoveries, Galileo’s new method of observation and measurement of nature become apparent. Throughout the presentation audience member s are actively involved in experiments and demonstrations. After the lecture, Galileo answers questions about his experiments, his life, and his times.
Merry at midnight
Midnight Merriment is returning to downtown Concord on Dec. 2 from 5 p.m. until midnight. Shop, enjoy the lights and sounds of the holidays and support local businesses. There will be s’mores, cocoa, music, and more (intownconcord.org).
