Friendly Kitchen to host community dinner
It can be pretty easy in today’s world to lose sight of what Christmas is supposed to be all about. While many of us are concerned about whether to buy the iPad or the Kindle Fire for our sweethearts, others are wondering where they’ll sleep tonight, or whether they’ll eat. For those people, Christmas is often just another day. But in Concord, there’s another option: the Concord Community Holiday Dinner. Every year on Christmas Day,...
There’s an art to making a gingerbread house
Presidential Oaks didn’t get a much of a response from the community about its annual gingerbread house contest (don’t worry, we forgot too), so the retirement facility decided to have an employee contest instead. And as you can see, those employees sure put together some pretty impressive gingerbread creations this year.
Here are some helpful tips for getting rid of all that white stuff
With last week’s first official winter storm and another good one over the weekend, we figured it was the right time to remind you of some simple yet very helpful tips to removing snow after a storm. When it snows this early in the season, it could mean a very long and very white few months. And thanks to the people at the Bow Public Works Department, we’ve got some pointers that should help make all that snow removal a little easier...
The Holiday Food Basket Project is back
The Capital Region Food Program’s holiday food basket project kicked off last Friday, and it’s been an all-hands-on-deck approach ever since to make sure all those boxes (almost 5,000 of them) get packed up and into the hands of the people who really need them. You might remember that Tim volunteered last year, filling boxes for a shift, but this time around we caught up with project chair Maria Manus Painchaud, whose father began the...
Take a different approach to holiday eating
With the holiday season in full swing, for most Americans, that means eating – lots of eating – followed by weight gain and a New Year’s resolution to lose weight.The holidays are a time to enjoy family, friends and food. And, contrary to popular belief, you can have all three without putting on the extra pounds. So why not take a different approach this year during this holiday season and beyond? Simply by curbing carbs with lighter...
Bulletin Board
Riverbend offering parenting class Parenting the Second Time Around, a free eight-week workshop series for grandparents, relatives and others who are parenting again, will be held Tuesdays, beginning Jan. 10. The workshop will be held at Riverbend Children’s Intervention Program, 105 Loudon Road, Bldg. 3, from 10:30 a.m. to noon. For more information or to register, call Kathleen Egan at 228-0547 ext. 4041. Judith Stowell ...
Book of the Week: ‘The Second Mrs. Hockaday’
The Second Mrs. Hockaday Susan Rivers To be released Jan. 10, 2017 272 pages Fiction When Major Gryffth Hockaday is recalled to the front lines of the Civil War, his new bride is left to care for her husband’s farm and infant son. Placidia, a teenager now living far from her family with no experience in running a farm or raising a child, must endure the darkest days of the war on her own. By the time Major Hockaday returns two...
This Week in Concord History
Dec. 20, 1979: U.S. Rep. John Anderson, a Republican from Illinois, comes to Concord to officially register for the GOP presidential primary. Ronald Reagan, he tells the Associated Press, “is a long way from being home free in this race.” Dec. 21, 1998: The Concord City Council orders City Manager Duncan Ballantyne to review the process used to rename 31 city streets after a prolonged furor over the issue. Ultimately, they say,...
Don’t have time to bake? Try some of these options
We know some of you might not have the time, resources or know-how to bake your own holiday treats. That’s why we poked around the city to see if we could find some ready-made options for you to pick up on your way to that office Christmas party. Here’s a little selection of what we found.
Food Snob: We finally did it – we ate an actual fruit cake
Watch enough holiday movies or TV shows, and you’ll probably start to see a trend when it comes to the topic of fruit cake.Let’s just say it doesn’t seem to be on the top of everyone’s favorite holiday treat list. The typical reference is something along the lines of ‘why did they give me this?’But to be perfectly honest, we’ve never tried one. After all those glowing reviews, what would be our motivation to do so?Well, a story. We’ve...
Get your holiday baking needs at Chandler’s
This time of year, though festive and mostly good-natured, can be pretty stressful, especially if you’ve been chosen to bring the big dessert to the family or office Christmas party. Maybe you just started a new job at some fancy law firm or medical practice and you’re really trying to make a good impression on your peers. Or maybe you’re a stay-at-home dad who just wants to make something extra special for his daughter. In any event,...
The library needs warm stuff for its tree
It’s getting pretty cold out there these days and unfortunately, it’s going to stay that way for a long time.And because the fact that winter is officially here, you’ve probably busted out your hats and gloves, scarves and long socks, to ensure you stay as warm as possible over the next few months.But there are people who don’t have the basic necessities to get through another long and cold winter. So the Concord Library is doing...
See ‘The Nutcracker’ at the Audi
If you haven’t caught a performance of The Nutcracker this year, you still have time – but not much. As far as we can tell, there’s only one more show coming to Concord this holiday season and it’s this Friday at the Concord City Auditorium. The New Hampshire School of Ballet of Hooksett will put on a full production of the holiday classic, complete with the growing tree, falling snow and 50 dancers. And unlike some shows, this is a...
Go Try It: Make some nice Christmas muffins at home
We figured that since we’re doing an issue all about holiday sweets, we should try to make some ourselves.This Insider isn’t particularly well-versed in the art of baking, so I knew right from the get-go that there was a good chance I’d find myself in over my head on this one. I really couldn’t remember the last time I baked anything.Nonetheless, being a good soldier I went for it anyway. My original idea was to try something from the...
Mr. Aaron is about to launch his new album
If you’ve ever been to a Little Rattlers music class at the Concord Community Arts Center, you’re probably quite familiar with Mr. Aaron (real name Aaron Jones). If not, you’ll have a great chance to learn about him – and his music – at his CD release show this Saturday.The album, All My Friends Are Giants, hit the shelves last week, and Mr. Aaron will be at the community arts center at 4 p.m. Saturday to play some of the songs from...
Tasty Brews: Kirin Ichiban at Beijing & Tokyo
We seem to always be trying beers made right here in the Granite State, over the border in Vermont or farther afield locations like Colorado. These are all fine and good, but we were in the mood for something different last week and decided to try something from the east – the far east.We ended up at Beijing & Tokyo (not the two giant cities on the other side of the world, but the restaurant on South Main Street), as we figured a...
Want to make a tiny gingerbread house?
If you haven’t done your annual holiday construction project yet – and by that we mean made a gingerbread house – don’t worry, there’s still time.But if you’d rather share your building experience with others, might we suggest stopping by the library on Wednesday, between the hours of 3 to 7 p.m., for its tiny gingerbread house night. Now while this is being billed as a kids/family craft evening, adults are welcome to take part in the...
CYPN: Ian Russell has written a superhero story
The Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce’s Concord Young Professionals Network (CYPN) introduces you to another Young Professional of the Month, Ian Russell. How old are you? 24 Where do you live? Epsom Where do you currently work? Harris Family Furniture in Chichester Where did you go to school? University of New Hampshire at Manchester for communication arts. What do you like to do for fun? I like...
Check out this photo we found on Instagram
Instagram user @True_Marketing posted this very festive shot of downtown Concord last week. Looks nice now, but just think – in no time at all, all that snow will be a blackish-brown slushy mess.
Bulletin Board
Stamp collectors to meet in Bow The Merrimack County Stamp Collectors will hold its monthly meeting at the Bow Mills United Methodist Church, 505 South St., Bow, on Dec. 20, beginning at 1 p.m. All who are interested in stamp collecting are welcome to attend. For more information, call Dan Day at 228-1154. Dan Day Audubon seeking grant applications Grants are available to schools with students in pre-kindergarten through grade...
Book of the Week: ‘Big Magic’
Big Magic : Creative Living Beyond FearElizabeth Gilbert2015, 276 pagesNonfictionTold in a casual, conversational tone, filled with anecdotes from the author’s life and advice that is universal across any creative pursuit, Big Magic is the permission slip to indulge in a passion. Being a creative person is not easy. It’s far too easy for responsibilities to get in the way of making something that might bare the soul, or might be...
This Week in Concord History
Dec. 13, 1863: Major Edward E. Sturtevant of Concord, a member of the Fifth New Hampshire Infantry and the state’s first Civil War volunteer, is killed leading his regiment in a suicidal assault during the Battle of Fredericksburg. His body is not found. His men assume it is one of many stripped and buried on the field. Dec. 13, 1999: A move by the Clinton administration to permanently restrict new logging roads on federally...
Lacking swag? Joyce Kimball can help you with that
We could all use a little more swag in our lives, right?Although many of us will never truly possess that intangible sense of confidence and braggadocio, we can certainly all obtain the door-hanging version – you know, the kind made out of evergreen branches and red bows. Since we know little to nothing about the intricacies of this kind of thing, we decided to drop in on Joyce Kimball and the Bow Garden Club during last week’s...
We found some classy Christmas displays at downtown businesses
Around this time last year, we drove all over the city looking for some of the biggest, wildest, weirdest and generally most impressive light and decoration displays we could find on people’s houses. This year, in the spirit of always keeping you guessing, we decided to see what local businesses had going on (which is good, since a lot of house displays are still popping up at this point). As it turns out, we barely had to step...
Still need to decorate? Here’s some stuff you should get
Look at all of the cool Christmas decorations we found around the city. If you still haven’t decked your halls yet, consider going with some of these options.
Go out and perform these 25 Acts of Kindness
‘Tis the season to be jolly.It’s not just the opening line of “Deck the Halls,” it’s an expression of what this time of year is all about. We don’t want to get too sappy on you, but you know what we’re getting at – whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Festivus, or all or none of the above, it’s the perfect time to show how you care.One person who knows a thing or two about this is Jessica Fogg Livingston. You may...
