This Week in Concord History
Dec. 3, 1847: For $1,000, Edward H. Rollins buys R.C. Osgood’s drugstore on Main Street opposite the State House. Rollins will become a leading Republican, and the back room of the store will be his political headquarters, where policies are crafted and candidates made. Dec. 3, 1934: Orchestra leader Guy Lombardo plays to a sell-out audience at the Concord City Auditorium. The group arrived the night before and checked into the old...
Celebrate Public Works Week in Concord
It seems like every time Monday rolls around there’s another week celebrating something. For just May, we found information about weeks dedicated to nurses, teachers and school staff, nursing homes, police and craft beer. They’re celebrated across the country with events and things like gifts and food. This upcoming week is National Public Works Week, hosted by The American Public Works Association to promote the importance of public...
Book of the Week: ‘Make Time’
Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every DayJake Knapp and John Zeratsky2018, 287 pagesNonfiction Make Time is a must-read for anyone who feels overwhelmed with their to-do list. Too often our to-do lists keep growing like a life-sucking mole, yet what we accomplish isn’t what is most important. We spend our time on filler tasks, getting caught up in social media threads and binge watching Netflix, instead of focusing on the...
14 Purple Finches sing at nationals
Fourteen members of the Concord Community Music School’s Purple Finches Youth Chorus recently had a chance to sing on the national stage, as performers in the Organization of American Kodaly Educators (OAKE) National Conference Choirs. During their March trip to this year’s conference in Oklahoma City, students had the opportunity to connect with fellow highly motivated youth vocalists and to learn and perform under the direction of...
A full slate of Christmas concerts, plays and events is coming your way
The holiday season is already upon us, with Thanksgiving this week and Christmas only a month away. As the holidays get closer and closer, the seasonal entertainment schedule really picks up, with plays, concerts and assorted events popping up all over Concord over the next few weeks.We checked out all of the performance venues in the city and rounded up all of the holiday-themed shows and events we could find. The listings are...
McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center opening Math Moves on Saturday
The Mcauliffe-Shepard Discover Center invites visitors of all ages to fall in love with math as they welcome their newest exhibit, Math Moves. The exhibition opens Saturday, and will challenge visitors to work together in a playful, full-body exploration of ratios, proportions and other fundamental math concepts. Math Moves uses a variety of hands-on activities to make experimenting with concepts at the heart of math memorable and...
Concord Christmas tree to be lit Friday
The 34th annual Concord Christmas Tree Lighting Celebration will take place on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, by tradition in downtown Concord. The activities will begin at 3:30 p.m. on the State House plaza. Bruce Locke will return with two horse-drawn wagons on Capitol Street. A new petting zoo from Londonderry will be located on the grass on the State House grounds. Boys and girls will be able to feed and pet the various...
Bulletin Board: Trip to Thailand, hikes and grants for teachers
Final Crossroads Film series of year The Final Year is a unique insiders’ account of President Barack Obama’s foreign policy team during their last year in office. Featuring unprecedented access inside the White House and State Department, The Final Year offers an uncompromising view of the inner workings of the Obama administration as they prepare to leave power after eight years. The film will be shown May 30 at 7 p.m. at Red River...
Check out some of the wildest trees we found at the Feztival of Trees
The Bektash Shrine Center’s 19th annual Feztival of Trees is in full swing until Sunday, Dec. 1. This event is always a spectacle every year, with more than 100 elaborate, creative, funny and enticing artificial Christmas trees and gifts on display for all to see – and try to win.The Fezitval – which derives its name from the iconic fez worn by Bektash Shrine members – has become one of the highlights of the holiday calendar in...
Entertainment: A boatload of bands to rock Concord this week
In a somewhat unusual departure from the norm, it’s a relatively light week on the entertainment front in Concord. There are plenty of bands playing every night, but it’s not a heavy theater week, as Hatbox Theatre isn’t running any shows.Nonetheless, there’s plenty of fun to be had out there this week.MusicTuesdayPaul Lovely at Hermanos Cocina Mexicana at 6:30 p.m.WednesdayKid Pinky at Hermanos at 6:30 p.m.ThursdayRichard Gardzina at...
Holiday Cards 4 Our Military Challenge nets over 100,000 card donations
Mission Accomplished ( and then some)!More than 100,000 holiday cards were signed and sent to Laura Landerman-Garber of Hollis so she could bundle them up and mail them to our deployed troops as part of the Holiday Cards 4 Our Military Challenge. Members of all five branches of the military will once again receive messages of appreciation and holiday cheer, hopefully offering a taste of home to those warriors who are protecting our...
Memorial Day events in Concord and Bow
If you’re like us, you can’t wait for this weekend to get here. Sure, we could really say that about any weekend, but this one coming up is one of those special ones that includes a third day off. The Memorial Day long weekend is also the unofficial start of summer, but also a reason to pause and reflect. It’s a day to honor and remember those who died while serving in our country’s armed forces. You see a lot of parades featuring...
Entertainment: Dark Star Orchestra to rock the Cap Center
Music Tuesday Kid Pinky at Hermanos Cocina Mexicana at 6:30 p.m. Dark Star Orchestra at the Capitol Center for the Arts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $36 plus fees at ccanh.com. Open mic night for poets and writers at True Brew Barista at 6:30 p.m. Open mic with Mikey G at Tandy’s at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday Kid Pinky at Hermanos at 6:30 p.m. Freddie Partridge Band at Makris Lobster & Steak House at 7:30 p.m. Irish Music After Work at Area 23...
We found a couple plant sales coming up
With Memorial Day less than a week away, it’s time to start thinking about those gardens. On the previous page, we gave you a quick rundown of what you can find at a few local garden centers and nurseries. What we also found through our impeccable sleuthing skills is a couple of plant sales going on this week/weekend that will be beneficial if you’re trying to get your garden planted during what we’ve been told is the perfect weekend...
Bulletin Board: CASL applications open, tons of food donated
Apply for CASL through Dec. 9 The Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce announces that applications for the spring 2020 Capital Area Student Leadership program are now available. The CASL program is open to high school sophomores who reside in and attend school in the Greater Concord area. A long-standing component of the Chamber’s Business & Education Partnership, CASL encourages students to become active, effective participants...
Peak FC a new soccer and futsal club coming in June
Peak FC is a new nonprofit soccer and futsal club launching in June based out of Concord and Pembroke. Peak FC was formed by parents and coaches looking to get more out of the club experience at an affordable price point. This new club will be offering great coaching for all players and teams and will provide opportunities to advance and compete locally, regionally and nationally. “Our goal is to provide an environment for youth to...
City Manager’s Newsletter: Thanksgiving closures, city decorations, construction updates
The city manager’s office sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter last Friday. The full newsletter can be found by going to concordnh.gov and clicking the “Newsletter” button on the home page. Here are some highlights from last week’s letter: Thanksgiving closure notices All city offices will close at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday and will be closed all day Thursday and Friday in observance of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a trash holiday,...
Gibson’s Bookstore to host ‘Alive for Now’ author Jessica Murby next Tuesday
How would your life be different if you lived with mindfulness of your own inevitable death? Instead of that being a morbid question, the answer to it may be the most powerful means to get your actions in line with your truest priorities.Alive for Now is beyond a book – it is a guided journey in using action-based practices for thriving in life that are otherwise quite easily diverted for a lifetime. An unexpected and refreshing...
The Yogi: 45-year pull-up attempt leads to yoga class
His name was Paul. The last time I saw him, we were both in the gym, staring up at the pull-up bar. Paul leapt up and grabbed hold, hung for a few seconds and proceeded to bust out 18 pull-ups. He was huffing and puffing. He was fast and furious. He was amazing. He was 10 years old. I was stunned. I’d never seen anyone do that many pull-ups before. It was my turn. I jumped up, missed the grip and slipped off. I got up on the second...
SPCA to host open house, wish list drive on Thursday
It’s hard to believe that it has been four years since the Pope Memorial SPCA building was opened at 94 Silk Farm Road. But it must be true since the local spot that “cares for abandoned and homeless pets, protects and advocates for pets in need, and promotes the humane treatment of all animals” is hosting a summer open house and wish list drive on Thursday from noon to 2 p.m. to celebrate. There will be tours of the shelter, which if...
Food Snob: Tempura baby crab and chicken coconut soup from Siam Orchid
Looking back through the Food Snob archives, a shocking realization was made – we had never tried anything from Siam Orchid Thai Bistro before. The little Thai place has been a staple of the downtown Concord dining scene for years, but it somehow evaded The Food Snob all those years – until now. On a cold and gloomy day last week, I stopped in to the bistro to try a couple small dishes. After perusing the gigantic menu (literally –...
Brigade Lecture Series continues at Pierce Manse on Thursday
Art historian Cristina Ashjian will give a lecture at the Pierce Manse on Thursday evening entitled “Exemplary Country Estates of New Hampshire.” In the early 20th century, the New Hampshire Board of Agriculture launched a program to boost the rural economy and promote tourism through the sale of abandoned farms to summer residents. After introducing the country house movement, Ashjian focuses attention on some of the great country...
Burn off some calories before packing them back on at the Bishop Brady Galloping Gobbler 4-miler
Thanksgiving is Thursday, and most of us will no doubt spend the vast majority of the day getting sickly full on turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, candied yams, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, stuffing, wine, beer and anything else that happens to land on a table or counter.That’s all fine and good, and in fact encouraged – after all, it is Thanksgiving – but it might not necessarily be the best thing for your body. Luckily, you can take...
Lithermans releases special Quadracalabasia, Kashmir brews for holiday season
We’re well into fall now, and winter is clearly on the horizon. That means that by now, you’re probably all pumpkin spiced-out. From coffees to donuts to beers to air fresheners, everybody and their mother offers something with pumpkin spice around this time of year.Except Lithermans Limited.Lithermans is always working on some new concoction, but one thing they don’t bother with is a pumpkin spice beer. In fact, the brewery likes to...
Just a few days left for McGowan exhibit
Mill Brook Gallery Spring and Summer Through: Sept. 2 Outdoor Exhibit Through: Oct. 14 Reception: Sunday, 2 to 4 p.m. Location: 236 Hopkinton Road. Hours: Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. League of N.H. Craftsmen Fairy Tales and Fantasies Through: June 15 The Grodin Collection Through: Ongoing Location: 49 S. Main St., Suite 100 Hours: Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Kimball Jenkins Robert Dorr Through: May 31...
This Week in Concord History
Nov. 26, 1845: Five hundred twenty-five turkeys mysteriously pass through the streets of Concord, one day before Thanksgiving. Nov. 26, 1898: A giant snowstorm hits New Hampshire. Concord records 18 inches, Manchester two feet. “Along the coast the loss of life was appalling. More than 200 lives were lost and 200 vessels destroyed,” one local history reports. Nov. 26, 1900: “Uncle Ben” Davis dies. He was one of Concord’s most popular...
Celebrate the new emergency winter shelter
In case you missed last week’s Insider, we wanted to let you know about the event this Wednesday to celebrate the completion of the new emergency winter shelter behind the Concord Homeless Resource Center. If you happened to read Tim’s story, consider this a friendly reminder. After a few years of uncertainty with where the city’s homeless population would go on cold winter nights, the folks with the Concord Coalition to End...
Book of the Week: ‘Cold Storage’
Cold StorageDavid Koepp2019, 320 pagesFiction When Roberto Diaz was sent to the Australian Outback in 1987, he didn’t expect to find a terrifying fungus capable of zombifying its hosts. He and his team contained it then, to their cost. The Pentagon buried it in a forgotten sub-basement and believed it couldn’t escape.In 2019, it found its way out. The fungus is on a feeding frenzy, and Diaz is the only person who remembers how to stop...
Book of the Week: ‘The War That Saved My Life’
The War That Saved My LifeKimberly Brubaker Bradley2016, 316 pagesJuvenile fiction This work of historical fiction begins in the slums of London at the beginning of World War II. It is a touching story of 10-year-old Ada and her brother, Jamie. Ada was born with a clubfoot and her mother chose not to have it fixed. Ada has never left their apartment because her mother is too humiliated to let her outside. When her brother comes home...
A shop of custom creations comes to Concord
There is a corner of Paulette Boghosian’s store on South Main Street where customers can fill decorated bags with 10 cent Swedish Fish and FireBall candies. In another section, visitors sift through piles of patterned paper to make their own free, customized pins. She’s made shirts and postcards displaying images of local throwbacks, like the old Concord Drive-In Theatre and Janet’s Donuts. She has cards for sale of movie posters from...
