The Audubon is having a party
Did you know that about a third of your food depends directly on pollination? How about that 75 percent of the world’s flowering plants need pollinators to grow? And what about the notion that there are more than 100 native pollinators in North America, and not just the honey bee, which most people think of and isn’t even native to here? Well, those are just a few of the fun facts you might add to the memory bank if you check out the...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
South Church is hosting its final garden tour
Insider staff Don’t you just love the signs of spring.The sun is shining for more hours a day than it’s not, people are walking around in shorts, T-shirts and flip flops and beautiful flowers are popping up everywhere.And even if you’re not the best gardner or forgot to get those early season bulbs in the ground last fall, you can still enjoy the colorful array of blooms. All you have to do is sign up for South Congregational Church’s...
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...
Checking in with the Thomson brothers
A few weeks back, we introduced you to Derek and Dylan Thomson. In case you missed it, here’s a little info on them. They are brothers; they grew up in Concord and both hit big educational milestones this year with Derek graduating from Emerson College in May and Dylan doing the same from Concord Christian this past Saturday, via Skype. That’s because the brothers are currently pedaling their way across the country to raise money for...
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...
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...
