11 years of murder mystery fun
Franklin Opera House, in cooperation with Franklin Footlight Theatre Co., is proud to present its annual murder mystery dessert show, Murder at the Pie Auction. Now in its 11th year, this collaboration between Franklin Opera House and Franklin Footlight Theatre Co. is loads of laughs and tons of fun. Theater joins forces to benefit Franklin Opera House. March 14 is not only International “Pi Day;” it is also the opening night of this...
2025 Farm Share Program applications open
The Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire (NOFA-NH) is now accepting applications for its 2025 Farm Share Program. This vital food access program serves New Hampshire community members with limited incomes by providing funding and support for Granite Staters facing food insecurity to access local, certified organic, and sustainably grown Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares. Since 2017, NOFA-NH has partnered...
Full-time executive director named
Following a highly productive five-month interim leadership term, the board of directors of the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen has named Kate Saunders to become the full-time executive director. She was previously filling an interim capacity. Saunders has impressed League members with her personable nature and her collaborative approach to tasks and challenges. She has already completed a full update to the strategic plan, along...
Making the most of NH’s Maple Weekend
By DAVID BROOKS The annual celebration of New Hampshire’s sweetest product will happen this weekend. More than 80 sugarhouses across the state will open their doors and make syrup as part of New Hampshire’s annual Maple Weekend. “Maple Weekend, for the producers of New Hampshire maple, is kind of like the Super Bowl for maple production,” said Andrew Chisholm, president of the New Hampshire Maple Producers Association. “It’s the time...
Summer Concert Series invites community help
Every Tuesday night from June 10 to September 2, 2025, the Henniker Summer Concert Series fills Angela Robinson Bandstand in Community Park with music, fun, and connection. With audiences of all ages, ranging from 200 to 700 people each week, it’s the largest community event in Henniker during the summer. Last year, generous support from the Friends of the Henniker Concert Series made it possible to add a 12th concert to the schedule....
‘COZY AND CHAOS’
By RACHEL WACHMANInsider staff Five paintings hang on the back wall of the Concord coffee shop Brothers’ Cortado, right above a sitting area complete with two lamps, a couch, an end table, and a chair. The whole corner belongs to Dunbarton artist Joe Square’s newest installation: “We Are Always Saying Goodbye.” Each of the paintings holds a story, and each story contains a choice. Connected to an iPad with buttons to select different...
Panel on holding government accountable
The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides for the “right of the people to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” But what does that mean and how does it work? These questions will be explored during Sunshine Week, a national initiative supported by the Society of Professional Journalists to educate the public about the importance of open government and the dangers of excessive and unnecessary secrecy. The...
walker lecture series spring season
Since 1896, the Walker Lecture Series has brought stimulating speakers and fun performers to Concord. The tradition continues with this spring’s offerings, ranging from a walk on the Appalachian Trail to a night with Laurel and Hardy from the silent era. Musical performers include the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra, the NH Ukeladies, and Mixtape. In the Walker tradition, all performances are free with no tickets or reservations...
CULINARY WIZ COMING TO CONCORD
By REBECA PEREIRAInsider staff By his own admission, Alton Brown’s newest book was a happy accident.Brown had been repairing a manual typewriter, lubricating a wayward ‘Y’ key, when he loaded the machine with paper and began testing out its functionality. That day, he typed the first of the 39 essays that would make up Food for Thought, his tenth literary venture. Of all the vignettes he wrote, that first piece, The...
Fun connections with four-legged friends
By RACHEL WACHMANInsider staff To encourage the adoption of animals in their shelter and foster connections between humans and their four-legged counterparts, Pope Memorial SPCA holds yoga classes twice a month where participants can practice poses alongside shelter pets. The Concord-based animal shelter hopes the program, started last year, will provide a new way for people and animals to interact beyond typical shelter visits....
Seniors honored
The Buntin-Rumford-Webster Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution has announced the selection of six high school seniors from Concord area high schools who have been honored for good citizenship. These six students are: Elise E. Berry (Pittsfield Middle High School) Trevor P. Abel (Bow High School) Avery G. Sahr (Bishop Brady High School) Abigail J. Ciarametaro (Merrimack Valley High School) Jennifer Noni (Coe-Brown...
Concord Reads 2025 selection announced
The Concord Public Library and Concord Public Library Foundation are thrilled to announce that “Where You’ll Find Me: Risk, Decisions, and the Last Climb of Kate Matrosova” by Ty Gagne is the 2025 selection for Concord Reads, an annual citywide literary event encouraging community members to read and discuss the same book. This year’s title was selected to celebrate a New Hampshire author and to provide both education and...
Applications open for award
Applications are now open for New Hampshire’s largest student journalism award, the Brodsky Prize, which was established seven years ago by the late Jeffrey Brodsky and his father, Howard, to encourage innovation by student journalists. The $5,000 prize is open to all high school students attending public, charter, or parochial schools in New Hampshire. Judging criteria include a student’s journalistic initiative and enterprise, as...
22nd Annual David Surette Mandolin Festival
The 22nd David Surette Mandolin Festival, to be held March 8-9 at the Concord Community Music School, celebrates the many voices of the mandolin, a stringed instrument heard in bluegrass, old-time, classical, swing, blues, Brazilian, Italian, and Celtic music. The festival is named for its founder, New England musician David Surette. With a reputation that reached across the U.S. and beyond to Canada, England, France, and Italy,...
Concord School District holds student show
By RACHEL WACHMANConcord Insider To celebrate student work in honor of Youth Art Month, the Concord School District hosts an annual art show compiling pieces made by students from kindergarten to twelfth grade across the district. This year’s show opened on Thursday, Feb. 20, and will run through Wednesday, April 2, at the City Wide Community Center. From drawing and painting to printmaking and 3-D installations, the exhibit aims to...
‘A communal place to go’
By RACHEL WACHMANConcord Insider Learning about houseplants, planning a vegetable garden, growing kitchen herbs, and even exploring the world of beekeeping are among the free weekend classes hosted at the Black Forest Nursery in Boscawen. In an effort to prioritize people as much as plants, the nursery provides year-round lessons for community members – with or without a green thumb – to learn alongside one another. “We’ve wanted to...
Help preserve auto racing history
The New England Racing Museum is looking for passionate volunteers to help preserve and share the rich history of auto racing in the region. As we celebrate The Year of The Modified, we are expanding our efforts to showcase legendary Modified race cars and the drivers who made them famous. We need dedicated individuals to assist in various roles, including: ■ Museum Docents – Engage visitors with stories of New England’s racing...
Place your orders
Calling all farmers and gardeners: Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire’s annual spring bulk order is a collective buying program for organic farming and gardening supplies. No minimum order. No shipping charges. You don’t have to be a member to order, though members pay less. Save on supplies and support the association at the same time! Bulk order products include soil amendments, organic cover crop seeds, potting...
Winter Arts Market coming to Kimball Jenkins
by RACHEL WACHMANInsider staff Jessica Livingston has always loved to draw but never viewed herself as an artist until a few years ago. As her perception of her work changed, so too did her means of sharing it with the world. Livingston began creating collages during the pandemic and posting pictures of her work on social media. Then, a friend encouraged her to exhibit her work at the Kimball Jenkins arts center, so she submitted to...
Orleans brings pop-rock to Concord
With hits such as “Love Takes Time,” “Dance with Me,” and “Still the One,” the smooth melodic pop-rock music of Orleans has stood the test of time in the past 53 years since the group’s formation. Bringing its music to Concord, the band will perform at the Bank of New Hampshire Stage on Thursday, Feb. 27. Known for its tight ensemble playing, gorgeous harmony vocals, and inspired, well-crafted songwriting, Orleans formed in Woodstock,...
Movie screening
In the latest installment of its film series, NHTI will host a screening of “Every Little Thing” on Friday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. “Every Little Thing” is a breathtaking, award-winning documentary about the beauty of hummingbirds and efforts to rescue and care for them. Australian filmmaker Sally Aitken follows the experiences of Terry Masear, who cares for injured hummingbirds. Throughout a 93-minute emotional journey, the film introduces...
book of the week
“What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma,” by Stephanie Foo(2022, 329 pages, Genre: Memoir) Stephanie Foo is an award-winning radio writer, editor, and producer who spent years burying herself in her work to avoid dealing with her past traumas. Unfortunately, the day comes when she can’t hide in her work anymore and she must face the consequences of a diagnosis of Complex PTSD. The prognosis is not good, but Foo is...
Derrick Loughlin captures community on camera
Concord Young Professionals Network (CYPN) introduces you to the “Young Professional of the Month,” Derrick Loughlin. Each month, the CYPN Steering Committee recommends an individual in the community it thinks readers would enjoy getting to know better. Q: How old are you?30! Q: Where do you live?Mont Vernon, NH. Q: Where do you currently work?All over. Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do.I grew up in New Hampshire,...
The art of Azalea Park
Last fall, fifth and sixth grade students at the Henniker Community School studied the art of illustration. They learned about the works of Helen Oxenbury, Dr. Seuss, and Shel Silverstein to gather knowledge about ink style, use of color, and background. At the beginning of the project, the students took a walking field trip down through Azalea Park to gather inspiration for their next art project. Susan Adams of the Azalea Park...
scholarship opportunities
New Hampshire Federation of Garden Clubs The New Hampshire Federation of Garden Clubs will award two college scholarships this year – a $2,000 New Hampshire Federation of Garden Clubs, Inc. Scholarship and the Jean L. Thompson Scholarship, established in her honor by her daughters, Lindsay Thompson and Elizabeth Thompson, for the amount of $1,000. They will be awarded to undergraduate (sophomores, juniors, or seniors) or graduate...
Art & Bloom awardees
The Concord Garden Club is pleased to announce the winners of its People’s Choice Awards from the annual Art & Bloom exhibition, held at the Kimball Jenkins Estate at the end of January. Each year, club members and local florists create displays to complement artwork created by members of the community. Garden Club member Robyn Cotton won the most votes for her interpretation of Heaven North by Nicki French. Using mostly foraged...
Upcoming ‘Our Town’ auditions
The Community Players of Concord end their 97th season with a national literary treasure: Thornton Wilder’s Our Town. Set in a small New Hampshire town, Wilder captures the everyday lives, dreams, and struggles of ordinary people as they navigate love, family, and mortality. Auditions for this Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, directed by Cindy Dickinson, will be held on Monday, Feb. 17, and Tuesday, Feb. 18, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m....
Civil War monument presentation
Throughout New Hampshire, towns, individuals, and veterans’ organizations have erected an assortment of memorials to the Civil War. Beginning with obelisks of the 1860s and continuing onto re-mastered works of the 21st century, historian George Morrison of Bow will present a diverse selection of New Hampshire’s commemorations and their stories at a presentation at the Pembroke Town Library on Thursday, Feb. 13, at 7 p.m. Hosted by the...
Festival receives Academy Award qualifying status
The New Hampshire Film Festival recently achieved status as an Academy Award-qualifying festival for the Short Film Awards in a new category: documentary shorts. The festival previously received this distinction in the categories of live-action shorts and animation shorts. This third milestone solidifies the festival’s status as a platform for short filmmakers worldwide, providing a direct pathway to Oscar eligibility. “For more than...
BACK IN THE OUTDOORS
By ALEXANDER RAPP and RACHEL WACHMAN Spanning three days, six ice rinks, and eight divisions, the 14th annual 1883 Black Ice Pond Hockey Championship and Winter Festival will bring together hockey players from around the state for a weekend of competition and celebration. If the weather holds up, this will be the first year the tournament has been outside since 2022. Inaugurated in 2001, the tournament commemorates the first organized...
