Spring is here, so it’s time to get outside and start cleaning up
We’re into late April now, and the snow and frost are hopefully gone for good – or at least until about October or so. That means there are no excuses left to avoid doing that essential spring yard work. While it might still be a little mucky out there in some spots, the spring thaw has been underway for some time now, and you’re probably already seeing some buds peek up through the soil. And, if you’re like me, you probably still...
Making Good Health Simple: 3 tips for taking a laissez-faire approach to gardening
April in New England is fickle. Freezing rain, snow squalls, wind storms and heat waves are just a few of the surprises Mother Nature has in store for us. From branches crushed by the weight of icicles, to green buds ready to pop up through the Earth, being a plant is confusing. Truthfully, humans don’t really know what to do either. Should I turn the heat on? Sleep in? Hit the slopes? Go for a jog? We have sneakers, rain boots and...
The ‘Insider’ gets a rare interview with World Series hero David Ortiz
It isn’t too often that the Insider gets the chance to interview a world champion. Sure, two-time NBA champion and Concord native Matt Bonner of the San Antonio Spurs famously hung out with the previous Insider regime in 2014, hitting up some of the basketball star’s favorite local spots with the championship trophy in tow. Bonner also invited the Insider to hang out with him in July 2015 during his youth basketball camp at Rundlett...
Concord musician Brad Myrick has a new album out, and an event coming up
Concord musician Brad Myrick lives a pretty busy life. When he isn’t managing operations at Strings & Things Music, he’s booking and promoting shows through his venture New Hampshire Music Collective. When he’s not doing that, he’s usually touring – here in the Granite State, in Italy, in India, in Chile. In between all that musical activity, he has also found time to hit the studio with his playing partner Nicola Cirpriani to...
Rob Azevedo to release book ‘Notes From the Last Breath Farm’ at NEC Concord
Fans and members of the local music scene are probably pretty familiar with Rob Azevedo. The Manchester resident does quite a bit – he hosts the Granite State of Mind radio show on WKXL, as well as the Listening Room Music Series at NEC Concord. He has also written music-themed columns for papers such as the Monitor, and he’s written six short films, including Muddy, winner of the Best of the Festival award at the 2011 SNOB Film...
City Manager’s Newsletter: Beaver Meadow opens, hydrant flushing and more
Last Friday, the city’s public information officer, Stefanie Breton, sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter. There was too much to fit into this space, but you can see the full newsletter by going to concordnh.com and clicking on the Newsletter button on the home page. Beaver Meadow Golf Course opens Last Tuesday night’s snowfall scuttled plans to open Wednesday, but Beaver Meadow Golf Course staff spent Thursday finishing...
Entertainment: A ton of live music to be heard in Concord this Easter week
From now on, there will be no intro to these entertainment listings. That’s all! Music Tuesday Kid Pinky at Hermanos Cocina Mexicana at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday Dave Gerard at Hermanos at 6:30 p.m. Open mic at Area 23 at 7 p.m. Voice department recital at Concord Community Music School at 7 p.m. Don White at Concord City Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Thursday Richard Gardzina at Hermanos at 6:30 p.m. Karen Grenier at Cheers at 5 p.m. Zooo Crew...
The Yogi: There’s a lot more to yoga than just stretching and holding poses
Mindful? Or Mind Full? Last week in this column, I wrote about yoga as movement, and the importance of moving your body in a modern life that has us stuck in a chair, slumped on a couch and staring at a screen. When asked, “What is yoga?” you might think about stretching, or holding a familiar yoga posture, or bending into an uncomfortable position – moving your body in ways or positions you may not think of as natural. As I wrote...
Bulletin Board: Spring leaf collection, Discover Wild NH Day and more
Discover WILD N.H. Day is Saturday Discover WILD New Hampshire Day, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s most popular free community event of the year, is set for Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the grounds of the Fish and Game Department at 11 Hazen Drive in Concord. Discover WILD New Hampshire Day is a fun way for the whole family to explore New Hampshire’s wildlife resources and legacy of outdoor traditions. Browse...
High school poets to be featured at Gibson’s Bookstore event
The Poetry Society of New Hampshire returns to Gibson’s Bookstore! This month, National Poetry Month, their meeting casts a spotlight on high school and middle school poets reading their work. Any middle/high-schooler is invited to come to Gibson’s on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. and read poems of their own choice – memorized poems, poems that they have written or poems that they like. (Please note, this open mic is for students to perform...
Book of the Week: Not a book review, but a review of RB Digital, an app for reading magazines
RB Digital app Online magazine reader Available for iOS, Android and Kindle Fire With 60-plus popular magazines to choose from, Concord Publi Library’s electronic magazine service through RB Digital has something for everyone. Some examples include Rolling Stone, Newsweek, Food Network, Highlights, National Geographic, ESPN and Cosmo. The magazines are always available, so no waiting in line, and there is no limit to the number of...
CYPN: Tabitha Dunn is the Young Professional of the Month
The Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce’s Concord Young Professionals Network introduces you to our Young Professional of the Month, Tabitha Dunn. Each month the CYPN Steering Committee recommends a young professional in the community it thinks readers would enjoy getting to know better.Where do you live? Tilton.Where do you currently work? Girls Inc. of NH. We are an after-school and summer camp facility, where we inspire girls to be...
This Week in Concord History
April 16, 1965: After a major organizing and fundraising effort by, among others, Dudley Orr, Russell Martin, Malcolm McLane and figure-skating Police Chief Walter Carlson, construction begins on the ice hockey rink that will become Everett Arena. April 16, 1967: The governor and Executive Council approve the state’s acquisition of 224.5 acres of marshland off Hoit Road in East Concord for a fish and wildlife preserve. April 17,...
Spring Guide Concord: Your guide to the capital city’s can’t-miss spring 2019 events
Welcome to the 2019 Spring Guide – Concord edition. Over the next two pages, you’ll learn about the signature spring events the capital city has to offer. These are all family-friendly activities, and several of them are completely free. This roundup focuses on seasonal events, so you won’t see traditional concerts or plays. The statewide guide can be found here. April 13 Spring Fair at United Church: The annual United Church of...
Spring Guide NH: Here are some spring highlights going on across the Granite State
Welcome to the 2019 Spring Guide – statewide edition. The following several pages lay out as many fun, springy events across the Granite State as we could find. This is by no means everything that is going on – it’s probably less than half – but we only have so much space. The events listed here are primarily seasonal, family-oriented, one-off events. In other words, you’ll find things like holiday meals, festivals, community...
Making Good Health Simple: Spring cleaning: It’s good for your health (it’s true!)
Just as bears hibernate for the winter, so does hardcore cleaning. The open-the-windows-because-it-smells-like-bleach kind of cleaning. I’ll admit it, when it’s dark before you drive home from work, it is natural to order take-out on the nights you’re not eating homemade mac and cheese. But, alas, spring is making its debut, and with natural sunlight comes the clarity of dust and cobwebs. The horrifying realization of how unclean your...
The Yogi: There’s never a bad time to get into yoga
Yoga or exercise: Which is it? The human body is designed to move. Our spines, like our bodies, are designed to move in all directions. Contrary to popular belief, our bodies are not really designed to sit on the couch on Sunday afternoons and watch the Patriots dismantle opponents. In fact, all that soft furniture on which we’re sitting and reclining is part of the problem. It’s a strange paradox in our modern world: as we get...
Bulletin Board: Comedy Club, cooking workshop and more
VNA offers Grief Goes to the Movies Concord Regional VNA and Concord Public Library offer a “Grief Goes to the Movies” program on Tuesday, April 9 at 2 p.m. at Concord Public Library. This evening’s movie is Collateral Beauty (1 hour, 37 minutes; rated PG-13). Join us as we learn about, explore, and discuss grief and its impact on our lives through the use of popular films. Movies are followed by a short discussion of food-for-thought...
Entertainment: Wild Kratts bring their wild antics to the Cap Center
With so much going on, there’s no room for a real intro! Music Tuesday Paul Lovely at Hermanos Cocina Mexicana at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday Kid Pinky at Hermanos at 6:30 p.m. Camerata New England at Concord City Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Thursday Senie Hunt at Barley House at 8 p.m. April Cushman at Cheers at 5 p.m. Will Hatch at Hermanos at 6:30 p.m. Bach’s Lunch Concert: Jazz Guitar Generations at Concord Community Music School at 12:10...
City Manager’s Newsletter: School Street garage update, steam line installation and more
Last Friday, the city’s public information officer, Stefanie Breton, sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter. There was too much to fit into this space, but you can see the full newsletter by going to concordnh.com and clicking on the Newsletter button on the home page.School Street garage updateBeginning this week, structural steel repairs will begin on the first floor of the School Street garage. This will result in temporary parking...
This Week in Concord History
April 9, 1975: State representatives from Concord say they have mixed feelings about a plan by Gov. Mel Thomson to convert the Pleasant View home into a treatment center for the criminally insane. (It won’t happen.) April 9, 1991: After two consecutive days when the temperature reached 85 degrees, Concord settles for a high of 77. It’s apparently a big year for hot streaks: The city enjoyed another historic heat wave at the beginning...
Book of the Week: ‘The Library Book’
The Library BookSusan Orlean2018, 317 pagesNonfiction In 1986, “the most catastrophic library fire in American history occurred at the Los Angeles Central Library. Burning for more than seven hours, it consumed 400,000 books and damaged another 700,000.” Susan Orlean writes in detail about the day of the fire, how the fire grew to burn so hot, and how it destroyed so many books. For a book lover, it is very hard to read this part. She...
Concord trees are in danger, but work is being done to save them
Welcome to the Trees Issue. Kinda random, right? I know – how can someone make a whole newspaper issue about trees? What is there to report about trees, anyway? They probably make terrible interview subjects. Well, the truth is, there’s a lot of tree-related news in the city, and not all of it is good. While the Insider tends not to be a Debbie Downer type of publication, facts are facts, and the facts surrounding the capital city’s...
Bring the family out to a couple tree-related Concord events in April
Now that we’ve gotten the scary stuff out of the way, it’s time to focus on some fun stuff related to trees. First up is a class called Learn From the Arborist: Tree Care for Homeowners. The class will be held April 11 at 6 p.m. at the City Wide Community Center auditorium.Community Forester Cory Keeffe will lead a discussion on how to properly plant and maintain a tree on your property, as well as where to plant it to get the most...
Sustainable Street Tree Program shows Concord’s commitment to urban forestry
The Arbor Day Foundation has named Concord, New Hampshire a Tree City USA community in honor of the City of Concord’s dedication to forestry management. Concord General Services’ Sustainable Street Tree Program is one of many ways the City of Concord continues to invest in the community’s urban forestry. The Sustainable Street Tree Program is an initiative to benefit the community with better air quality, provide shade, increase...
Cap Center’s new Bank of New Hampshire Stage aims to attract younger audience
There are numerous places to hear live music in Concord. Between the big venues such as the Capitol Center for the Arts and Concord City Auditorium and smaller places such as True Brew Barista, Penuche’s and NEC Concord – just to name a few – you can pretty much always find someone playing somewhere.But one more venue couldn’t hurt, right? Especially if that one more is a brand-new joint in the heart of downtown with a hip, young vibe...
Voting for the 2019 Cappies is now open!
It’s that time of year again — time to vote for your favorite capital area businesses and decide who will take home the coveted Cappies awards this year. All you have to do is go to concordmonitor.com/cappies2019 (or click the link on the right side of the Insider home page) and fill in the blanks for each of the listed categories. This is open response, so just write in whoever you think is the most deserving. Voting is...
Hop on over to the 4th annual Easter Eggstravaganza this weekend
Hard to believe, but it’s almost time for ConcordTV’s 4th annual Easter Eggstravaganza! Last year’s event was bigger than ever, so nothing can stop us now. The three-day festival for family and friends takes place this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Bektash Shrine Center (home of the holiday “Feztival of Trees” each year) on Pembroke Road. This year’s Eggstravaganza includes a spectacular feature raffle of more than 150 stunning...
Making Good Health Simple: Paying attention – it’s easier said than done
Have you ever gotten a new car (or someone close to you did) and in the following week you seem to see that same exact make, model and color car practically everywhere you go? You’re scratching your head thinking, did 50 people in the surrounding towns purchase that same car this week? You know that can’t be possible, yet that is what you see – gunmetal gray GMC Yukons everywhere. Do you know why this occurs? It is not because there...
City Manager’s Newsletter: Beaver Meadow driving range is open, plus other fun stuff
Last Friday, the city’s public information officer, Stefanie Breton, sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter. There was too much to fit into this space, but you can see the full newsletter by going to concordnh.com and clicking on the Newsletter button on the home page. Beaver Meadow driving range open Happy spring! If you’ve been missing outdoor golf, we are happy to announce that the driving range at Beaver Meadow Golf Course is now...
