Senior video pays tribute to Gene Connolly
Since Nick Skafidas was a freshman, he wanted to be in charge of creating the Concord High senior video. He just had to wait his turn. But it finally came this year, when Skafidas took on the project that has been a longstanding tradition at the high school. But this wasn’t just any senior video that typically features a slide show of pictures set to music. This also just so happened to be the final year for retiring principal Gene...
And the winners are . . .
The Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce celebrated the recipients of the chamber’s 2016 Pinnacle Awards on June 2.The chamber’s Pinnacle Awards recognize businesses and individuals who have demonstrated professional excellence and commitment to the chamber and the community.And here are the winners: Russell Animal Hospital, PA, Small Business of the Year; Cobb Hill Construction, Inc., Business of the Year; Claudia B. Walker (Merrimack...
Try BurgerFest at The Barley House
It’s no secret that we like food around here. Okay, we love food around here.And despite our enjoyable vegan meal not that long ago, we sure do enjoy meat with our meals – especially if its between two buns with bacon, cheese, veggies and whatever else you can think of.Yes, we’re talking about burgers and if you’re affinity for those kinds of tasty creations matches ours, then you’re going to love this. The Barley House is holding its...
Discovery Center to run summer hours
The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. seven days a week, starting Friday through Labor Day. Visitors this summer will be able to enjoy the Discovery Center’s new exhibit Eat Well, Play Well, permanent exhibits, daily planetarium shows every hour on the hour, solar viewing in the center’s observatory, breakfast and lunch specials in the Countdown Cafe and aviation- and space-related toys, books,...
Brian Tarte sure does enjoy being in nature
The Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce’s Concord Young Professionals Network (CYPN) introduces you to another “Young Professional of the Month,” Brian Tarte. How old are you? 28 Where do you live? New Hampton. Where do you currently work? MRP Construction & Restoration-The Mitigation & Restoration Professionals. Where did you go to school? I graduated Inter-Lakes High School in 2006 and studied...
Check out Herb and Garden Day
On Saturday, herbal educators and seasoned growers from all walks of life will come together to share their unique knowledge and build upon a tapestry of age old wisdom about herbs and natural medicine, native plants, organic gardening, permaculture, traditional homesteading practices, fermentation, brewing and the power of nature to heal.If you are a curious seeker, intrepid plant lover, herbal entrepreneur, earth lover or natural...
Believe it or not, these are all iPhone photos
If you’re an avid Insider reader, like everyone should be, you’ve seen a lot of art over the years. But never has there been an exhibit solely dedicated to iPhone photography – until now. The Jill C. Wilson Gallery at Kimball-Jenkins is home to iExhibition, where every picture was taken with an iPhone. The exhibit, featuring the work of Dawn Beauchesne, Shelley Fajans, Rob Fried, Sher Kamman, Mary Nichols, Ken Fajans and Jean...
Bulletin Board
Youth mentoring orientation Join The Friends Program on June 22 for an introduction to volunteerism as a mentor. This orientation will equip you with relevant information about the Friends Youth Mentoring Program and best practices in the field. This orientation, which runs from 1 to 3:30 p.m. at the Friends Program’s office at 202 N. State St., is designed for teens who are interested in becoming a youth mentor. Contact us at...
Book of the Week: A Taste for Nightshade
A Taste for NightshadeMartine Bailey2016, 464 pagesHistorical fiction When Mary Jebb swindles Michael Croxon’s brother with a fake pound note, she has no idea that it will change her life. Convicted for theft and transported to Australia in 1787, she sends Michael a “Penny Heart” – a copper heart inscribed with a verse – as a token of her revenge. Two years later Michael’s lonely, isolated bride Grace turns to her newly hired cook for...
This Week in Concord History
June 14, 1831: Benjamin Brown French, a rising politico from Chester, goes to a party in Concord with future U.S. Sen. Charles G. Atherton and future President Franklin Pierce. His companions, both in their 20s, are “ ‘smashed’ by a pair of bright eyes, & a beautiful face,” but French “would as soon think of falling in love with an elegant piece of statuary.” He tells his diary: “Give me eyes that can pierce the very soul, & a...
Drum roll please. . . . The 2016 Cappies!
We know it hasn’t been easy the last few weeks, patiently waiting to see who would be named winners in this year’s Cappie Awards. But you no longer have to ask perfect strangers how they voted in an attempt to put together some sort of exit poll – the wait is over. All you have to do is keep reading. That’s right, as you’ll soon see, the votes have been collected, counted and double checked, and it’s time to announce the winners. The...
Since it’s the Cappies, we had to check out a few of the winners
Insider staffAs you probably know by now, this is the Cappies Issue. The time of year when we celebrate the best the Capital region has to offer. There’s some pretty cool stuff in here that if you just passed right by, we urge you to go back and take a closer look.Because after we did (on many occassions putting this whole thing together), we set out to visit a few of these winners to see if you got it right when it comes to the...
Destination Imagination sure is going places
Five kids sitting on a floor paddling invisible canoes. A detailed lesson on leaf-tailed geckos in Madagascar. A virus disguised as an office desk nameplate. These are all products of the imaginations of some kids around here who are going places – to the Destination Imagination Global Finals in Knoxville, Tenn., specifically. Destination Imagination is a nonprofit whose goal is to create the next wave of leaders and innovators in the...
Tucker’s is the new gig in town, so we went
Whenever there’s a new eatery in town, an alarm goes off in the Food Snob office and continues ringing until we go check it out. For the sake of our co-workers’ eardrums, we decided to go hit up the newly opened Tucker’s, in the spot where the Corner View operated for a couple decades. Tucker’s already had locations in Hooksett and New London, but we had never been to either, so this would be a truly novel Food Snob experience. The...
Don’t forget, Rock ‘N Race is Thursday
Amid all the hooplah surrounding the Cappies, you may have forgotten one big important event going on in Concord this week: The Rock ‘N Race. That’s right, the annual musical road race is Thursday starting at 6 p.m., and you don’t want to miss it. Online registration has closed, but you can print a form at goo.gl/6sQCAV that you can then bring to the Bektash Temple (189 Pembroke Road) on Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. or to the...
All fun and games at the Kiwanis Spring Fair
The Kiwanis Spring Fair rung in its 61st year with a bang this past weekend. The Everett Arena parking lot was full of rides, games, food and people having a good time.
Pick up some knowledge at How-To Festival
Insider staff We all pride ourselves on knowing how to do stuff.Whether it’s framing a wall, baking a cake or changing the brakes on a ‘57 Chevy, we all have that one thing (or many) we could adequately teach someone else how to do.But there sure are a lot of things we don’t know how to do. Only if there was a place where we could go and learn some new skills? Well, actually there is. It just so happens that the Concord Public Library...
Best place to take a visitor? The State House
Insider staff When we got a sneak peek at the winners of this year’s Cappies, like most of you will do, we scanned the list to see who came out on top.As we went down the list, a few categories stood out. One being the “Best Place to Take a Visitor.” Concord has a lot of cool stuff, so it was interesting to see that the State House earned the top spot.But why not? It’s got a lot of history, cool statues and a golden dome that will...
Tasty Brews: Stoneface IPA at The Draft
After finding out that The Draft is the best place in Concord to watch sports according the Cappie Award voting, we figured why not head down there for a beer. With 24 taps, projection screens upstairs and too many flat screens to count in the bar area, there had to be something good to report back about. This is, after all, called Tasty Brews, not “we tried a gross beer, but now we have to write about it.” So after scanning the draft...
Expo of flicks at Red River
Insider staff Everybody loves movies, but in today’s world, so few people have the attention span to sit through a whole feature-length film.Luckily, Red River Theatres is hosting a festival Saturday at noon that is perfect for today’s film fans: It’s called the New Hampshire High School Short Film Festival, and as the name suggests, it’s a display of a bunch of short films created by New Hampshire students.This will be the ninth year...
Get out for a leisurely walk – with the mayor
For the Insider Sitting disease. Have you heard of it? The average American is sitting nine to 11 hours per day. As a matter of fact, we’ve engineered activity right out of our life. What that means is sitting is now one of the biggest risk factors for preventable diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and certain types of cancer.Research has shown that when we sit, electrical activity in the legs shuts down, our calorie burning...
TITLE Boxing Club is about to turn 1
TITLE Boxing Club Concord is celebrating a big milestone this weekend – one year at its Storrs Street location. So of course they’re having a birthday extravaganza to celebrate. TITLE will be offering 60 minute power hours in both boxing and kickboxing. On Saturday, classes will be offered at 8 a.m. (boxing), 9:30 a.m. (kickboxing) and 11 a.m. (boxing). On Sunday, there will be a boxing class at 9 a.m. and a kickboxing workout at...
Concord High is hosting a film festival next week
Insider staff If you just can’t get enough short films, Concord High has something for you: the Concord High School Film Festival. Guess what it entails? Yup, a whole bunch of films. These aren’t just CHS student-made flicks, though. “Anyone from anywhere can submit, we encourage anyone and everyone,” said Nick Skafidas, CHS Film Society co-president. This year’s festival will feature submissions from as far away as the U.K. and...
NH Audubon Birdathon right around the corner
The crew at N.H. Audubon is hearing rumors that spring is about to spring, which can only mean it’s time to get ready for the organization’s annual Birdathon/Bloomathon on Saturday. Join a team and raise pledges, or gather a few friends to form your own team and set personal goals to tally birds and wildflowers, all to support N.H. Audubon’s programs and conservation efforts. Free and open to all, this day-long celebration of New...
Beaver Meadow Golf Tournament registration open
The Chet Wheeler Red, White and Blue Tournament will be held at Beaver Meadow Golf Course May 28-30. Cost is $90 per person for full members and $150 for seniors, twilight members and non-members. Play is done in teams of two. The entry fee includes three days of golf, prizes and a tournament gift. The tournament is open to the first 50 teams registered. For more info or to register, call 228-8954 or visit beavermeadowgolfcourse.com....
Wherever Flames May Rage talk at Gibson’s Bookstore
Raging discussion on tap at Gibson’s Attention, pyros: Author Jerry Bourgeois is set to present Wherever Flames May Rage: A History of the Concord, NH Fire Department at Gibson’s Bookstore on Saturday at 4 p.m. Come down and follow the history of firefighting in Concord as it moved from bucket brigades to the department of today. The book follows the development in the state’s capital from 1807, when the first hand-engine company...
Book of the Week: Handsome Man’s De Luxe Cafe
The Handsome Man’s De Luxe Cafe Alexander McCall Smith 2014, 227 pages Fiction Business is very slow at Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors and Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni is forced to let one of his apprentices go. Charlie tries to keep his job by professing to be a new Charlie who will be more mature and will keep his mind on his work. Mma Ramotswe at the detective agency believes that young men like Charlie will settle down when they find...
The Grammarnator deconstructs improper use of singulars
For the Insider Way back in 2010 this sentence appeared in the Insider itself: “There’s some talented people running around the city.” Two years later, I had amassed a good-sized collection of the use of there’s instead of the correct plural there are, and I devoted a column to the issue, with examples from Tom Brady, Executive Councilor Chris Sununu, Alex Trebeck, Senator Kelly Ayotte, CNN reporter Soledad O’Brien and golfer Steve...
This Week in Concord History
May 17, 1851: For a second time, Concord voters refuse to turn their town into a city. The vote is 582 against and 139 in favor. Two years later, they will change their minds. May 17, 1943: A bill is introduced in the New Hampshire House to dump all conscientious objectors “on an island in the middle of the Pacific ocean.” May 17, 1983: Sculptor Dimitri Gerakaris oversees the installation of the steel arch at the...
Bulletin Board
Decatur Creek to play Hatbox The Hatbox Theatre is happy to announce a performance by local band Decatur Creek on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $16.50, and $13.50 for students, seniors and members. Jack Carlton, Steve Dionne and Doug Farrell are each accomplished New Hampshire musicians, singer/songwriters and performers who together are – Decatur Creek. For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit hatboxnh.com, or call...
