N.H. Philharmonic to perform at the Audi
Did you know that the oldest orchestra in New Hampshire was founded in Penacook in 1895? Yep, the New Hampshire Philharmonic Orchestra is that old and it has presented concerts every year since 1905. If you haven’t caught one yet in the 113 consecutive years they’ve been doing it, you’ve got a chance this weekend.To close out the 2017-18 season, the NHPO will perform Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at the Concord City Auditorium on Sunday...
N.H. Furniture Masters take you way back
Walk around most homes and you’ll find tables and chairs, dressers and desks, but you’ll be hard pressed to see any furniture that is as finely crafted as the ones put out by members of the New Hampshire Furniture Masters Association.These folks have put in hours (way more than anyone could ever count) fine tuning their craft that is shown in every piece they make.The association has been around since 1996 and currently has about 20...
Calling all high school stage performers
With the school year about to end, all you students out there are likely looking for something to keep you busy over the next few months. And if you’re in high school (between the ages of 14 and 18) and like to perform on stage, then Bow High School’s production of The Wedding Singer might just be the thing for you. While Sarah Evans, choral and theater director at Bow High School, is the one putting on the show, it’s not just for...
On Display: Capstones a long process for NHTI artists
Walk into the NHTI library and you’ll see quite the variety of artwork hanging around.There are paintings and drawings and photographs, as well as a collection of stoneware creations. Within those mediums, the true abilities and strengths of the eight artists is clearly on display.Underneath each collection of art is a statement – a requirement for each student completing the school’s visual arts capstone course. It’s the final piece...
Janet Ulbrich made a bib for the new prince
When William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, had their first child, Prince George, Janet Ulbrich wanted to do something special.So she made a keepsake bib and sent it across the pond to Kensington Palace. But about two months later, she received a package in the mail containing a kind note – and the bib.The only thing Ulbrich, of Concord, could think of was that she included a business card, and the royal family cannot...
A guided tour of golf courses in the region
It’s that time of year again. If you haven’t done so already, break out your golf bag, shine up the old clubs and get ready to whack some white balls around a bright-green course over the next few months.If you haven’t played a round yet this year, it’s time you did because the season is in full swing. We checked in with courses all over the region to see what we could find out. As it turns out, each one is unique in its own special...
VIDEO: From the Crowd: ‘8 By Eight’ will have you laughing out loud
During my time at the Insider, I’ve seen quite a few on-stage performances. Whether it be in the form of rehearsals, opening night or the second weekend of an extended run, I thought I had seen it all. Until this past weekend.Walking into Hatbox Theatre, I knew this night was going to be a different kind of show than anything I had been to before – because, well, the description of 8 By Eight by G. Matthew Gaskell ensured that.The...
On Display: Merrimack River Painters are at the Audubon
Once a month, the third Thursday to be exact, members of the Merrimack River Painters gather at the Kimball Jenkins Estate.The group, which is now 16 years old and consists of 12 women, isn’t there to paint though. Instead, they get together each month to have their artwork critiqued. And that’s really how the group came to be. Way back when, many of the current members were getting instruction from Dustan Knight through classes at...
We found actual signs of spring last week
If you remember a few weeks back, we put out our annual Spring Guide. It covered all kinds of great events happening not just in Concord, but all around the state. There were also a couple things about gardening, filling potholes and a new springy beer.Then, it snowed – a couple times. It didn’t amount to much, but it sure did put a damper on things and made us wonder if spring was ever going to show up. And we wanted a chance at...
Farmers Market to begin another season
Folks who are unsure of what to do with their Saturday mornings now that the Winter Farmers Market has closed for the season can breathe a little easier. That’s because the Concord Farmers Market opens for the season on Saturday. The annual opening of the downtown market is a sure sign that spring is finally here and has been for more than three decades. On Saturday, beginning at 8:30 a.m., Capitol Street will be lined with pop tents...
We figured out how to escape The Enigma
While my first experience at Concord Escape Room was a blast, those 15 final seconds (that we went over) have haunted me ever since. It was actually my first-ever attempt to get out of a room that was designed and built to keep me inside – at least until the digital clock hits all zeroes – and in my eyes I failed. Not just because me and my three partners in mystery solving cracked the final puzzle just after the timer ran out, but I...
On Stage: What if ‘The Odd Couple’ was a pair of women?
Sharing a living space with someone can be challenging. Whether it be a sibling, significant other or a child, there will undoubtedly be things about that person that drives you bonkers.That’s the basic idea behind Neal Simon’s play, The Odd Couple, which features an unlikely pairing. Felix Unger, a neurotic, neat freak newswriter, is thrown out by his wife, and moves in with his friend Oscar Madison, a sportswriter who doesn’t really...
On Stage: Shakespeare goes Hollywood with Players
It’s been one impressive 90th season for the Community Players of Concord. From classic shows like the Wizard of Oz and The Hunchback of Notre Dame to the lesser known run of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, and the rare beyond the main stage production of Kid Cult Cosmology at Hatbox Theatre, the Players really know how to put on a celebratory season. But it’s not over quite yet, as lovers of Shakespeare, comedies and stories...
On Display: It’s a special year for the N.H. Weavers Guild
All the way back in 1938, a lady by the name of Bessie Swain gathered together a small group of weaving enthusiasts and formed the New Hampshire Weavers.Do a little quick math, and you’ll see that the group – better known these days as the N.H. Weavers Guild – is celebrating 80 years, which is quite the milestone.And what better way for an organization that’s all about the creation of hand crafted textiles to toot their own horns than...
There’s a day dedicated to homebrewing
If you couldn’t tell by the name, the Concord Area Homebrewers are big into making beer. They don’t do it to sell or make money off of – it’s purely about the art of making a fermented concoction of hops, barley, yeast and water. And they’ll do it in driveways, kitchens or backyards. This Saturday, a group from the local homebrewers club will be outside Lithermans Limited (in the parking lot at 126 Hall St. Unit B/C) creating a pair...
Two benefits on tap for Friendly Kitchen
The Friendly Kitchen provides something that some folks don’t always have and others that for granted – their next meal.And it’s a huge undertaking to provide two meals a day, every day. That’s why Concord’s soup kitchen is in constant need of donations, either food or monetary. The Monitor/Insider hosted the Pizza Pie Showdown in March that resulted in a more than $800 donation to the Friendly Kitchen, but that money will only go so...
Love space? Then Aerospacefest is for you
Have you ever dreamed of what it’s like to travel to space? Us too, but unfortunately you can’t just hop on a space shuttle and go on vacation to the moon. Or can you?But we have the next best thing: You can meet a real-live human who has been to space at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center’s annual Aerospacefest on Saturday.New Hampshire’s own Dr. Jay Buckey will be the keynote speaker at the annual event that celebrates space and...
Not sure what to do next around the house?
At this time of year, people can’t wait to get going on that long list of spring projects that has been growing since last fall. As homeowners, the need for home improvements is never done and always evolving. But how do you decide what to do first and come up with a priority pecking order? Because whether you plan on selling your house in a year, five years down the road or it’s your dream home and you’re never selling, there is...
How prepared are you for that next project?
Not everyone is handy in the sense they spend every weekend tackling another project around the house. Some people just don’t have the first clue when it comes to fixing, building or improving their home. But just because you’re not out there tearing down walls or putting up a new addition, that doesn’t mean you don’t need to be prepared for the inevitable – something going drastically wrong at 10 p.m. on a Saturday night.It can be...
Food Snob: Patty Melt Sliders from Chuck’s Barbershop
Back in the day when real speakeasies were all the rage in backrooms and basements all over the country, there probably weren’t too many patrons who went to one for food. In fact, we wonder if any old-time speakeasies even had food.But in 2018, with alcohol fully legal in all 50 states, there aren’t really any true speakeasies around anymore – at least not that we know about. What there is, at least in Concord, is Chuck’s Barbershop,...
On Display: Fairy Tales and Fantasies will catch your eye
If you happened to catch the last League of N.H. Craftsmen exhibit, it didn’t have that typical vibrant splash of color you probably expect from one of its shows. Which would make sense considering it was called Black and White Encore.But with the opening of Fairy Tales and Fantasies earlier this month, you will notice quite the drastic change.“(Black and White Encore) had a certain level of sophistication to it, while this show is...
Like comics? You’ll want to be free Saturday
It was a little over five years ago when Jason Brodnick first stepped foot in Everett Arena for one of the many events that’s hosted at the Concord skating palace each summer. Looking around at the space quickly gave him an idea: It would be a great spot for a comic book show.“It looked like the perfect setting,” Brodnick said. “It felt like a good match.”So he left his name and number to be on the list for when a date opened up.“Five...
Art auction for NHTI’s child care Saturday
As a parent, we greatly enjoy hanging our daughter’s artwork on the fridge. Sure, they have a long way to go until there’s a gallery show featuring their work, but every artist has to start somewhere. Who knows, maybe their finger-paintings of who knows exactly what it is could be priceless when they’re the next big thing in the art world – if that’s the career path they want to choose, of course. For now we’ll just enjoy the...
Rollins Park is getting two new trees Friday
It was a sad time when the city had to chop down about 200 trees at Rollins Park last year.Due to an unwelcomed visitor, known as the red pine scale, the plantation of red pine trees were dying and needed to be taken down, along with a group of uninfected mature white pines. As you can imagine, it left quite the hole in the park’s landscape.But we have good news: The city is about to embark on a replanting initiative that will – with...
Veterans program to benefit from yard sale Saturday
It’s getting to that time of year when you see signs all over the city pointing you to front yards filled with stuff that the people who live there might not want, but you just can’t possibly live without. It’s almost like a sign that spring is finally here (even though it seems like it never will be). And if you’ve been waiting to hit the road for those great deals, no need to do so anymore This Saturday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., the...
It’s important to follow the building codes
It’s Saturday morning, you just made a run to your favorite place to get building materials and it’s time to get going on that next great home improvement project that you hope to have done by the end of the weekend. But before you do anything, we have a simple question for you: Did you check in the city’s code administration office to see if you needed a permit? For many homeowners, the idea of a building permit is for those big...
Concord native Craig Sanphy to give recital
Concord native and Concord Community Music School alumnus Craig Sanphy, an accomplished tenor, will return to the Music School for a free public recital on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Sanphy will be accompanied by Kathryn Southworth on piano. Fans of musical theatre won’t want to miss Sanphy’s performance, which will focus on show tunes, with a style described as “blow-the-house-down kind of singing!” Sanphy will perform selections from Dear...
Saturday is Independent Bookstore Day at Gibson’s Bookstore
Saturday marks the 4th annual Independent Bookstore Day, a one-day national party that takes place at indie bookstores across the country on the last Saturday in April. Every store is unique and independent, and every party is different. And you better believe Gibson’s Bookstore is taking part. It’s the 20th anniversary of the U.S. publication of Harry Potter, and Gibson’s is dreaming of Hogwarts. Stop in to take their O.W.L....
The Arts: Lots of shows coming to an end this week
There are lots of great art shows around Concord right now. So make sure you check one out, especially before some come to a close by Monday. League of N.H. Craftsmen Fairy Tales and Fantasies Through: June 15 The Grodin Collection Through: Ongoing Location: 49 S. Main St., Suite 100 Hours: Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Kimball Jenkins Robert Dorr Through: Monday N.H. Weavers Guild Through: May 16 Location: 266 N. Main...
Entertainment: Music and more abounds in Concord this week
It’s another week full of live entertainment in the capital city, with lots of music and some stage work as well. A highlight is the nationally known Recycled Percussion coming to NHTI to make a racket and have some fun. Enjoy! Music Tuesday Lester Hirsh at Hermanos Cocina Mexicana at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday Mike Morris at Hermanos at 6:30 p.m. Thursday Zooo Crew at Penuche’s at 9 p.m. $3 cover. Paul Heckel at Hermanos at 6:30 p.m....
