Live Music on the Lawn returns to the library
We talk a lot about live music in these pages, but it usually requires spending a night in a local bar of coffee shop. It’s not often that we get to talk about not just one but three big musical performances going down at Concord Public Library. But that’s exactly what we’re about to do. It’s called the Live Music on the Lawn series, and it is exactly what it sounds like. This is the second year of the series, which features a...
Get out there and hike some Concord trails
For the Insider The days are getting longer, warmer and the flowers are reawakening so let’s get outside and enjoy the beautiful countryside that the Capital area has to offer. Off-road or on-road, there are no shortages of activities to get involved in! I encourage you to get outside for some physical activity as often as you can.The physical and mental health benefits of exercise are well known yet many of us, myself included, find...
Get your strawberry fix at Bow Mills festival
If you’re a strawberry fan, this is the best time of year to be one.And while it’s fun to go and pick your own (like we did), we’ve got a way for you to enjoy the delicious fruit without doing all the hard work.The Bow Mills United Methodist Church will hold its eighth annual Strawberry Festival on Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.As you can probably guess, there will be lots of the delicious berries on hand. The day before, they pick...
This Week in Concord History
June 21, 1788: At a meeting house near the former Walker School, delegates from around the state vote 57-47 in favor of the new U.S. Constitution. This makes New Hampshire the ninth and deciding state to ratify. Hopkinton’s delegate votes in favor; Concord’s delegate, the burly Capt. Ben Emery, votes no, as do representatives of Warner, Salisbury and Loudon. June 21, 1909: The White Parks beat the Old Timers 14-0 in the first...
Bulletin Board
Bow Mills offering summer camp Bow Mills United Methodist Church, 505 South St., Bow, is offering a Summer Spirit Camp/Vacation Bible School from July 25-29 in the form of a funny musical called Go, Go Jonah! All kids, grades 1-12, are invited to sing with us all week from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. (lunch will be provided). Warm-up rehearsals and tryouts for solos will be held in advance, and the full experience will conclude with performances...
Only the strong
Market Days will host its first-ever Strongman competition at the Pleasant/ Main Street intersection on Saturday, from 3 to 6 p.m. Regional and local strongmen will vie for victory with a gauntlet of classic strongman events. Professional Highland Games athlete and World Record holder in Highland Games Mike Zolkiewicz will be a featured athlete, along with Gerard Benderoth. Local strongmen from New Hampshire, Patrick O’Brien, Raige...
Book of the Week: Hex
HexThomas Olde Heuvelt2016, 384 pagesThriller/Horror Welcome to the picturesque town of Black Spring. It’s beautiful, thriving . . . and haunted. The ghost of Katherine, a dark witch killed by Dutch settlers in the 1600s, walks the streets, enters homes at will and stands next to beds at night. Although she is blinded and mute, residents know that she can never be freed. If she is, she will destroy everything in her path.The town...
Check out all the outdoor eating locations
Who doesn’t love grabbing a bite to eat under the sun in the summertime? If you just answered, “Me,” we’re not sure why you’re reading this issue. But for the rest of us, it’s that time of year again – for the most part (what was with all the cold days last week?). Pretty much every restaurant that offers outdoor seating has their stuff out there now, and it’s going to good use. We figured we’d find out as much as we could about each...
Cheers has really beefed up its patio area
Insider staff Cheers has always been a pretty popular spot for outdoor dining in downtown Concord – it just won the top honors for Best Outdoor Dining in the 2016 Cappies.But the folks over at Cheers weren’t content to ride that prestigious and highly coveted award all the way to the promised land. No, they felt they could still do better.That’s why they totally made over their outdoor patio area into a hip, modern hangout with a...
We hit up Concord’s old-school hot dog stands
There’s nothing quite like a good hot dog on a hot summer’s day. The hot dog is basically synonymous with summer. It’s the official food of the Fourth of July and baseball games, and the standard at every beach party or cookout. It takes you back to the days of jumping through the sprinkler in the backyard and sprinting barefoot to the ice cream truck. It’s compact and easy to cook, customize, hold and eat. So it only makes sense that...
Food Snob: The Little Creperie
The best way to describe a crepe is a very thin pancake. The major difference is there is no leavening agent, which keeps a crepe flat – so it’s not a pancake. You can thank Christina Hoppe and Melina Ambargis for that little tidbit of knowledge. They’re the owners of The Little Creperie at 138 N. Main St. that opened about a month ago. And like with any new eatery in Concord, we had to check it out and report back to you. Now, we had...
Go Try It: Roller skating at Everett Arena
If you can remember back to a few months ago, you might recall a feature we did on Everett Arena’s “ice out” – the time of the year when the ice is removed and the arena gets ready for its unfrozen portion of life. You might also remember that we then went to the first non-ice event of the year, the antique sale. And now that and old-timey classic – public roller skating – is once again offered at the arena, we had to go and see what...
Grammarnator: After a long hiatus, he sure has been busy
For the Insider For a while now I have been seeing a New Hampshire wine in the supermarkets being sold as coming from the home of Peyton Place. Once upon a time, people would have been trying to hide any association with that infamous book (still interesting enough, by the way, that it should have been a no-brainer as the CPL choice for the Concord Reads program on its 50th anniversary).A couple weeks ago, however, I noticed a new...
The Insider’s Guide to Summer in N.H.
June 9 The Thing In The Spring The Thing In The Spring is a four-day spectacle, June 9-12, featuring music, an arts fair, readings and the Kubb Classic. Event Fee: $10-50. Where: Downtown Peterborough. Info: thethinginthespring.com June 11 Laconia Motorcycle Week It’s the world’s oldest motorcycle rally and it’s happening just up the road. Motorcycle Week runs from June 11-19 and is filled with bike shows, swap meets, poker...
Top 10 things to do in Concord this summer
There’s certainly plenty to do in the summertime, no matter where you are. When the weather is nice enough that you can stay outside all day and night, there’s really no limit to the fun you can have. In Concord, the only challenge is deciding what you’re going to do – there’s probably too much going on to possibly take it all in. But we’re here, as always, to make your life easier. We compiled a list of the top 10 things we think you...
Take a look at all the summer camp options
Summer is right around the corner, and that means school will soon be out and kids will be looking for something to do. Luckily, there are almost a million cool summer camps in Concord to choose from, so there’s bound to be at least one for everyone. Since we don’t have enough room to go over every single one, we did our best to give you a good sampling of camps that still have spots open – no sense in getting you all excited for a...
Food Snob: We took a delicious ride on The Rolling Grill 2
Nothing quite says summer like enjoying a meal in the fresh air. As you probably know, there are lots of places around Concord where you can grab a bite. But on a nice day, you could wait five, 10 or 20 minutes for a table. And if you’re in a hurry – either running errands or taking a quick break from your garden or any other outdoor project you’ve got going on – that just might not fit into your plans. The same can be said on the...
Get ready for the first Kids Con New England
Geek culture – with all due respect – is all the rage these days. It seems like comic book and video game and costume play conventions are growing ever more popular by the day. But despite the adolescent nature of comics and games and characters and fantasy, these big conventions tend to be more adult-oriented. They’re not generally geared toward toddlers and other little kids who also love dressing up and having fun. But Kids Con New...
This open house is all about Abbot-Downing
If we learned anything last year, it’s that Concord is pretty old. Now in its 251st year, the New Hampshire capital is also quite rich in history. And you can see some of it on display this Saturday at Johnny Prescott & Son Oil Co. Especially if you’re interested in seeing a bunch of Abbot-Downing vehicles in one place. “I believe this will be the largest collection of Abbot-Downing vehicles in one place,” said Tom Prescott. There...
Get the Martin Experience at Strings & Things
If you play guitar – or even if you don’t – you’ve probably heard of Martin guitars before. This company is pretty much as good as it gets when it comes to acoustic guitars. Whether you already know all about them or not, you will if you check out the Martin Experience event at Strings & Things Music Store next week. “What Martin does, they go over all things Martin,” said Mike Gallant – or “Mikey G” – an instructor at Strings...
Have a Fairy Tea Party
Kimball-Jenkins will host its second annual Fairy House Festival with award-winning author and illustrator Tracy Kane on Sunday. Participants of all ages will be taught how to construct whimsical fairy houses with materials found in nature. Natural materials will be provided and participants are encouraged to bring additional natural materials to make a one-of-a-kind fairy house. Please bring snacks and a lunch to enjoy on our...
Try It: Books & Brew
We heard about Books & Brew a little while ago – Concord Public Library started the program in September. It’s a very low-key, alternative kind of book club that meets at True Brew Barista. The problem was, going to a book club would likely require reading some kind of book, which there isn’t exactly a ton of time for in the Insiders’ households these days. But I happened to get a few books for Christmas, and slowly but surely I...
Trifecta of talent coming to Gibson’s Bookstore
Listen up, book fans: Gibson’s Bookstore has an author event this week featuring not one, not two, but three great wordsmiths all in the same place at the same time. It’s really a rare occasion.Poet Shelley Girdner will present an evening of verse as she shares her new book, You Were That White Bird. Her first full-length poetry collection looks at the way relationships change over the course of a life, and how different they can look...
Book Bingo at Concord Public Library is back
Book Bingo is back at the libraryIf you liked the first edition of Book Bingo the Concord Public Library rolled out last year, you’ll be happy to know that it’s back for the summer.From now until Aug. 31, read books that correspond with a space on the bingo board to mark that space. Get five in a row for a bingo, which gets you a raffle ticket giving you a chance to win cool prizes.Check in at the service desk to get a bingo card and...
There’s a new Bob Larsen exhibit at McGowan
If you’re a fan of local art, then you’re probably familiar with the name Bob Larsen. He’s kind of a big deal around these parts. And he just so happens to have an exhibit, Inspirations, of his new watercolor work hanging on the walls of McGowan Fine Art through the end of the month. There’s paintings of churches and a local pizza shop, tidal pools, lobsters and much more. Go check it out!
Piccola Youth Opera to perform ‘Hansel & Gretel’
It’s safe to assume you know the story of Hansel and Gretel. You know, the one about the brother and sister who are left in the woods by their parents. They get lost, eventually find a house made of gingerbread and are held captive by an evil witch before making a grand escape. Yeah that one. And in case you didn’t know, it’s not just a fairy tale written in the early 1800s or a cool movie. It was also converted into an opera by...
Concord pools to open Saturday
Insider staff We can only imagine that at this very moment, you’re sitting in an air conditioned room with a fan blowing the cold air straight into your face. Yep, summer is officially here, but as much as you’d like to, you can’t spend the next few months holed up in your house. You have to go outside at some point, no matter how amazing that crisp indoor air feels. But it can be such a drag dealing with the heat and humidity that...
What makes a silent film better? Live music
He never smiled on camera, earning him the nickname of “the Great Stone Face.” But Buster Keaton’s comedies rocked Hollywood’s silent era with laughter throughout the 1920s. Acclaimed for their originality and timeless visual humor, Keaton’s films remain popular crowd-pleasers today. See for yourself with a screening of The General (1926), one of Keaton’s landmark feature films, at Red River Theatres, 11 S. Main St., on Friday at 7...
Book of the Week: Landfalls
Landfalls Naomi J. Williams 2015, 315 pages Historical fiction Naomi Williams’s debut novel puts an inventive spin on the Laperouse expedition, a sea-faring mission that left France in 1785 in search of new lands, and consequently vanished off the coast of Australia. Landfalls captures the doomed expedition on its voyage around the world, with chapters based in Chile, Alaska, Siberia, California and more. Each chapter is also...
