Race on over to the 37th Concord Criterium
You know all about the slew of road race type events in Concord every year. There’s the Rock ‘N Race, the Capital City Classic, the Making Strides walk/run, the Run United 5K, the Friendly Kitchen 5K and many more. But there’s one big cycling race, and it’s coming to town this Saturday. It’s called the Concord Criterium, and it’s coming back for a 37th year. The race is now the oldest and one of the most attended bike races in New...
Head down to McGowan for a little ‘Inertia’
By now you’ve heard the news that McGowan Fine Art is staying open (and eventually moving to a new location) and is celebrating with a new show, “Inertia,” featuring lots of new work from 21 of the gallery’s artists. It will be on display through Aug. 25, so go take a peek.
Friday is International Beer Day, so drink up
It seems like just about every day of the year is deemed some sort of holiday these days. There’s National Fried Chicken Day (July 6), Hobbit Day (Sept. 22), National Paper Airplane Day (May 26) and even Ask a Stupid Question Day (Sept. 28). But the most important one of all is coming up this Friday: International Beer Day. International Beer Day is a global celebration of beer, taking place in pubs, breweries and backyards all over...
Look who’s trying to find love on Craigslist
We took to Craigslist last week to see who had been posting on the Missed Connections pages in our neck of the woods during the month of July. And we found a ton of great entries to share – and that we could print, unedited, of course. And if you happened to make a connection with your missed connection, we want to know about it. Send us an email to news@theconcordinsider.com and tell us all about it. Cute tall young guy...
Free summer concerts are the absolute best
It’s not hard to find live music in the old capital city – especially during the summer months.What would be hard is to list every show coming up this week. So we found a couple great outdoor shows, as well two, one-time only concert in a church, for you to choose from. And the great thing about it is that all but one are free and that will only cost you an Abe Lincoln and two George Washingtons.As part of the ever-popular Concord...
Friends give out awards
The Friends of the Audi gave out their annual volunteer awards, including Friend of the Year, the Golden Pineapple and the Business Appreciation Award.
Gibson’s book club to pick titles for next year’s reads
Every August, the Gibson’s Bookstore book club sits down as a club and chooses a year’s worth of books to read. And it just so happens the group is getting together at the book store on Monday at 7 p.m. for their annual pow wow. So if you have a book that you really loved and want to share – or saw a title that caught your eye and want a reason to read it, stop by the store on Monday. Go with your suggestions, and be prepared to...
On the Road: We took a trip to the land of pasta
We took a trip to Italy with Donna and Joe Raycraft of Penacook.
Bulletin Board
Indoor/outdoor yard sale Saturday East Congregational Church will host an indoor/outdoor yard and bake on Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will be clothing, books, holiday decor, kitchenware, glassware, decorative items, toys, games, puzzles, and much more available. The $3 bag sale starts at 11 a.m. Don’t miss the yummy bake sale. The sale will be held rain or shine. For more information and directions, visit eastchurchucc.org ....
Book of the Week: ‘Casey Stengel’
Casey Stengel Marty Appel 2017, 432 pages Biography In this new sports biography, baseball writer Marty Appel tells the story of one of baseball’s most colorful and enduring characters. Casey Stengel’s remarkable baseball career lasted more than five decades, during which his teams won 10 pennants and seven World Series championships. Always good for a quote while speaking in his native tongue “Stengelese,” Casey was a favorite of the...
This Week in Concord History
Aug. 1, 1848: The Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad opens its line to Meredith Bridge (Laconia). Aug. 1, 2001: The Concord Planning Board votes unanimously against a developer’s proposal to build a grocery store and shopping center in the South End. The developer will respond with a lawsuit challenging the decision. Aug. 2, 1830: The Rev. Roger C. Hatch rides from Hopkinton to Concord to make the first deposit in the...
July is the perfect time of year to get a head start on your Christmas crafting, shopping
You may not realize it just yet, but this is the absolute perfect time of year to get a jump on your Christmas crafting and decorating. If you wait until November or (gasp) even December to get going on these things, you’re most likely going to have to battle huge crowds, trudge through a few feet of snow, spend hours looking for a parking spot, pay hefty prices and deal with a picked-through selection. None of those problems exist in...
There are only five months until the big day
For as long as we can remember, the term “Christmas in July” has been perplexing.It isn’t the halfway point between Santa’s last visit and his next. If our math serves us correct, that would have been last month.Nothing about July screams Christmas, but yet you hear the phrase all the time.So we took to the internet to see what we could find and according to Wikipedia, “Some people throw parties during July that mimic Christmas...
Mingle and check out a Black Hawk helicopter at National Night Out
The city of Concord is pretty big on community interaction and family fun. Whether it’s Market Days or Midnight Merriment or Halloween Howl, there seems to always be something going on that encourages people to come together and have a good time.National Night Out is one of the main events playing into that theme, and it’s coming up next Tuesday, Aug. 1, at Rollins Park. National Night Out events are held across the country every year...
Go Try It: Order a pint at Concord Craft Brewing Co.
There’s nothing worse than being given a little taste of something you end up really liking, only to be told that’s all you can have. Up until a couple weeks ago, that had been the scenario at Concord Craft Brewing Co. – you could go in and order a small taster of each craft beer they had on tap, but when you finished, you couldn’t get any more (unless you got something to go). Now that’s all changed. The Storrs Street brewery has...
Food Snob: Spicy chicken sandwich from Red Arrow Diner
It really has been a banner couple of weeks for The Food Snob lately. First, there was the opening of Dairy Queen on Loudon Road, which meant we had to go try a burger and a Blizzard. Then, just a short walk down the same road a few days later, Red Arrow Diner opened its doors, which we assume have since never closed due to it being a 24-hour joint. In true Food Snob fashion, we went over to check out the new place as soon as...
Pierce Manse to host open house and concert on the lawn
Do you like open houses, ice cream and live music, all for free?Of course you do – who doesn’t? In that case, you’ll really like the event the Pierce Manse is putting on this Thursday.Festivities begin with an open house and an ice cream social from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. If you’ve never been to the Pierce Manse – the only home ever owned and lived in by President Franklin Pierce, the only president from New Hampshire – this will be a good...
McGowan to host an opening, artist talk
Fresh off its announcement that McGowan Fine Art will remain open and move to a new space in the fall, the gallery has a new group show, “Inertia,” on display through Aug. 25.There will be an opening reception on Friday from 5 to 7 p.m, which is free and open to the public.Over the past months, artists have brought in a lot of fresh work that has not been in previous shows. “Inertia” will feature the art that has the gallery staff...
We got chocolate chip cookies from Intown Concord
We got a nice surprise last week when the Intown Concord team brought us a coupld homemade chocolate chip coookies for all our hard work on this year’s Market Days issue.
On Display: Watercolorist showing work at N.H. Audubon
The N.H. Audubon McLane Center is home to a new exhibit featuring the work of Tanya Tenkarian. A watercolorist, Tenkarian uses photography and observations to research her subjects before diving into a piece, which will evolve as her work takes shape. She focuses on patterns, colors and the playfulness of nature. The show is on display through the end of August.
It’s official: The ‘Insider’ is king
During a stop at Quality Cash Market last week to grab a mid-afternoon snack, we realized that we have now surpassed The New York Times on the newsstand and overtaken one of the top publication spots. We know we’re popular and it was only a matter of time, but even we didn’t see it happening this fast.
Children’s author Chris Van Dusen to present ‘Hattie and Hudson’ at Gibson’s Bookstore
If you like kids’ books, you’ll want to get over to Gibson’s Bookstore on Saturday for a special storytime with Maine author and illustrator Chris Van Dusen.Van Dusen’s new picture book, Hattie & Hudson, went on sale in May and is Gibson’s lead picture book read for the summer. Van Dusen, who is probably best known as the illustrator of Kate DiCamillo’s bestselling and award-winning Mercy Watson series, is at the top of his game...
Bulletin Board: Where readers can post to other readers
Youth theater at Capitol Center RB Productions will return to the Capitol Center for the Arts stage this weekend for three performances of Beauty and the Beast, Jr. Put on by the theater company’s summer youth program, the shows will be held Friday at 7 p.m., and Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m. Tickets are $15, and $12 for students and seniors. For more info, visit ccanh.com/series/upcomingevents. Insider staff Hospice volunteer...
Book of the Week: ‘Dragon Teeth’
Dragon TeethMichael Crichton2017, 295 pagesFictionThis is not a tale of dinosaurs coming back to life, but an exciting story set in the Wild West of the 1870s. Pioneers are heading West, Indians are attacking stagecoaches and gold rushes are drawing fortune-seekers in the Western territories. Rich, young Yale student William Johnson takes a bet that he will go out West, and signs on to be the photographer with the fossil hunter...
This Week in Concord History
July 25, 1874: Thirteen months after a fire destroyed the church on the same site, the cornerstone is laid for the North Congregational Church at North Main and Chapel streets. It will be ready for worship in March 1876. July 25, 1927: A police squad of six officers enters the home of Ruth A. McKinnon on Runnels Road in Penacook. The officers arrest MacKinnon and confiscate 106 bottles of beer, empty pint and quart bottles and...
Lots of elbow grease goes into building a set for a play
Part of the fun of taking in a stage production is being able to fully immerse yourself in another world for a few hours and forget about the real one outside the auditorium doors. You can’t really get that immersive experience unless the stage is adorned with a nice, well-made set. While the acting, singing and dancing may be the main attractions of any stage show, it can sometimes be easy to overlook the set – after all, the...
We checked out all the hard work that goes on at a rehearsal for ‘Barnum’
Anyone who’s ever been to a play before knows that there are a lot of elements that go into a show – especially if that show is a musical. There’s dialogue, stage directions, choreography, singing, live music, costume changes and all kinds of other things that have to come together for the play to be a success. We wanted to find out just how much work goes on before the curtains open for a live audience, so we dropped by a rehearsal...
New Hampshire Brewers Festival to showcase Granite State brews at Kiwanis Waterfront Park
For a state with a relatively small population, New Hampshire is quickly becoming a real hot spot for craft brews. There are more than 60 companies producing beer in the Granite State right now, with more on the way, too. And now, Concord will be right in the middle of everything when the fourth annual New Hampshire Brewers Festival comes to town for the first time on Saturday. The festival, which had been held in Manchester for the...
Food Snob: Dairy Queen is finally open on Loudon Road
When we first heard the rumblings back in April that a new Dairy Queen might be coming to Loudon Road, you can imagine our excitement.One it meant yet another option for lunch on the Heights, but also would include a trip soon after its opening for a taste test – and a story.So last week, after we got word that Dairy Queen was indeed finally open, we had to take a drive by to see for ourselves, as well as for a late lunch.From the...
Ice Cream Snob: Trying a Butterfinger Blizzard at the new Dairy Queen
As you can see on the adjacent page, we recently took a lunch trip to Dairy Queen for a Bacon Cheese Grillburger, fries, chicken strips and a drink. It was delicious and filling, and while the last thing we wanted to do was over indulge, there’s really no way you can go to Dairy Queen and not get dessert. We have certain standards and expectations to uphold here, people. So after eating every last bite of our lunch, we got back in...
