If you like cats, have we got the thing for you
There’s an F4 event blowing into town, and with it, a new addition to the show bench. The hallmarks of a Seacoast Cat show – fun, affordable and family-oriented – will be present as well as a first in New England: we will have Bengal cats present. The Bengal, a strikingly marked cat, was recently accepted by the Cat Fanciers’ Association Board for presentation at local shows. Seacoast Cat Club, an affiliate club of CFA, will host...
Audi to turn a Triple Play
If you’re into live music but you’re tired of the bar scene, you might want to head over to the Concord City Auditorium this weekend to check out something a little different. Chris Brubeck’s Triple Play will play Saturday night, and the show will likely be unlike anything you’ve seen. For starters, there’s no drummer; the band features vocals, guitar, harmonica, bass, piano and trombone – and sometimes a little jaw harp, too. The...
Check out this free paddle clinic on Sunday
Do you love being out on the water, but don’t know the first thing about paddling? If so, you’ll want to check out paddling virtuoso Tom Walton’s free paddle clinic this Sunday. Walton is pretty enthusiastic about paddling, which is why he’s offering this clinic at no charge. “Paddling has given me so much enjoyment, and I want to more or less pay it forward,” he said. Now the clinic isn’t until Sunday, and since our time machine...
Oddball’s Hoptomic IPA
As you’ve probably noticed, we’ve been taking our love of beers quite seriously in recent weeks. So we took the trek over to Area 23 last week after seeing they had Oddball Brewing Company’s Hoptomic Imperial IPA on tap. We have never tasted the Suncook brewery’s suds before and were quite interested to see what kind of tasty concoctions are being brewed close to Concord. And since we can’t venture outside the city limits (except for...
Hatbox Theatre Screen Play
Unless you’re an actor – or actress – there’s a good chance you haven’t been privy to the reading of many screen plays.But we’re pretty sure you know what it is. If not, it’s basically what happens once all the parts have been cast for a movie and the actors/actresses get together in a room and read the script.What if we told you you could go and watch a live reading of a screen play, would you be interested? And what if that screen...
Everything you need to know about fly-tying
Fishing season is here at last – and thankfully it has nothing to do with a house named Bob. It’s spring, and we know you want to find more reasons to spend time outside. And right about now, local ponds, streams and rivers are full of fish, just waiting for you to cast a line. We did a Fishing Issue last year, in which we focused a lot on “regular” fishing, so this year we wanted to take a closer look at fly fishing. And more...
Meet the artists of McGowan and Mill Brook
McGowan Fine Art and Mill Brook Gallery & Sculpture Garden are hosting artist receptions this week to officially open their latest shows. McGowan is celebrating the opening of its exhibit, “Matthew Brown and Students,” with an artist reception on Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. The show, which officially opens today and runs through May 27, features woodblock prints created by Brown, Annie Bissett, Ginger Greenblatt, Hannah Phelps,...
Other live music this week
Rundown of live music There’s always a lot of live music playing in Concord, and it can be hard to keep track of everything.What do you think we’re here for? Here’s a little sampling of who’s playing – and when – arranged by venue (in alphabetical order): Hermanos Cocina Mexicana Hermanos is featuring live jazz most of the week. Diversiry Duo is playing Tuesday, Mike Morris takes over Wednesday and Richard Gardzina will perform...
Another day, another big-time Grange award
If you’ve been following along, then you know we’ve been killing it in the Grange Media Award category. Not only did former editor Keith Testa earn an honor last spring from the Concord Grange, as a newspaper we took home first place for the New Hampshire Grange (October) and the Northeast Grange (January). Life is good in Insider land. Then we got an email about a month ago from Concord Grange Master Dick Patten about the 40th annual...
This Week in Concord History
April 26, 1948: Angry at city council delays, Concord school kids devote the first day of their spring vacation to picketing downtown in a plea for a new municipal swimming pool. Some of the signs read “Swimming Will Make Us Strong” and “Oh Give Us Water!” April 27, 1861: The city of Concord appropriates $10,000 to aid the families of local volunteers who go off to war. It expects the state to reimburse it, and for the most part it...
Book of the Week
All Together NowElizabeth McKenzie2015, 328 pagesFiction Gill Hornby has an excellent sense of the frustrations and small joys of everyday life. In All Together Now the community choir in Bridgeford, a small town whose civic pride in in decline, and whose High Street shops are threatened by a proposed superstore on the edge of town. Through a cast of characters who sing in the choir, Hornby tells the story of the town trying to get...
Plenty of bookish events
We’re always hungry for literary events, and we know you are too. Whether it’s a chance to talk to an author, hear some poetry or just talk about what you’re reading, there seems to always be something for literary enthusiasts, and this week is no different.Independent Bookstore Day Saturday is Independent Bookstore Day, and you better believe Gibson’s Bookstore is participating. At the all-day celebration, you can try out some...
Where readers can post to other readers
Leaf collection begins this week The city of Concord’s spring leaf collection began Monday, and will continue through June 4 (excluding weekends). Concord residents with curbside trash and recycling collection can place an unlimited amount of leaves and grass clippings curbside by 7 a.m. on their trash collection day for disposal. Residents participating in spring leaf collection must use biodegradable yard waste bags or labeled rigid...
It’s time to vote for the Cappies
If you haven’t had a chance to vote in the Capital Area People’s Preference Awards, otherwise and more famously known as the Cappies, you better do it soon.Voting, which began on April 1 (no joke), only runs through the end of the month. That means if you’re reading this on Tuesday, you’ve got five days, so sit down and ponder your answers for a little while, but if this is your leisurely Saturday reading, you might want to hop online...
We took a tour of Concord’s cool art galleries
Insider staff If there’s one thing Concord is not short on, it’s art galleries.For a relatively small city in little old New Hampshire, Concord is pretty impressive when it comes to galleries. Big, small, inside, outside, newer, older – it’s all here. We poked around each one last week and pulled together as much info as we could to give you a nice little guide to Concord’s art gallery scene. In this feature, we’ll focus on the places...
You don’t have to go to a big-time gallery
Concord is home to all kinds of places to see and buy art. You already know about all the big ones, of course. But you may not know that there are many other places that have art, even if these places don’t call themselves art galleries.As usual, we’re sure there are places we missed, as Concord is a pretty big city and we’re pretty small in comparison. But, also as usual, we gave it the ol’ college try.Here’s what we found:Dos...
It’s not easy creating an eye-catching exhibit
Insider staffWhen you walk into an art gallery, more often that not it’s to check out the work hanging on the walls – or on display if it’s too big, heavy or bulky to go on the walls.Chances are, unless you’re an artie (that’s a foodie for the arts), you probably don’t pay much attention to the way the art is arranged, especially if it’s done right. And if you go back to the same gallery for the next show, it won’t be placed the exact...
Traveling the world without leaving school
Insider staff Visiting places like the Galapagos Islands, ancient Egypt or Greece is something most people would jump at the chance to do.But battling other travelers in an airport (or several), going through customs and the long hours spent on a plane is not exactly something we’d put on list of things we are crazy about doing.So what if we told you there’s a way to visit historical spots like the pyramids, the Great Sphinx of Giza...
Pat & the Hats did their thing at True Brew
Insider staffIf you’ve been following the Concord music scene for a while, you’ve probably heard/seen Pat & the Hats. The five-piece indie rock band has been rocking the Concord area for years, but the band recently packed up and moved down to Boston.Apparently there are slightly more opportunities for gigs down there than there are up here. But, nevertheless, there’s always a gig to be played at True Brew Barista, and that’s...
Like helping kids? Then go buy art at NHTI Saturday
Sure, if you have some disposable cash to throw around, by all means go out and spend hundreds (maybe even thousands) of dollars on a piece of art.We’re all for supporting artists and it will certainly act as a conversation starter for visitors to your home or office.And we can all agree that the higher the price tag, the more well-known and admired the artist is. But we can also agree that those artists had to start their art career...
Learn to play Mahjong at the Concord library
Insider staffYou may remember our Games Issue from back in January. In that issue, we found a group of hard-core Mahjong players at the Heights Community Center. It was fascinating to watch, but it was hard to get any context, not knowing a thing about the game. It was a pleasant surprise, then, when we found out that the Concord Public Library was holding sessions to teach people how to play. So, naturally, we went down there last...
Two comedians, one stop
Hatbox Theatre is happy to announce its first live stand-up comedy night. Working in concert with veteran New Hampshire comedian, Greg Boggis, we are bringing some of New Hampshire and Boston’s top stand-up comedy performers. The first installment of Friday Night Comedy at The Hatbox Theatre will bring the headliner direct from Boston, Stephen Bjork. Bjork has appeared at The Borgata in Atlantic City, The Improv in Las Vegas,...
Help decide how to complete the Audi seat project
On Sunday, at 6:30 p.m. in the Audi lobby, the Friends of the Audi will hold the first official meeting of the seat project. The project has a total cost $100,000, with $20,000 already funded. So that means $80,000 needs to be raised to finish it. For every past upgrade project, a similar meeting has been held to develop the “how to do that.” Well over $1 million has been raised for the Audi though such cooperative creative efforts....
Founders Breakfast Stout
Insider staffIt’s not often that you get to drink a beer classified as a breakfast stout, so when we found out the Red Blazer had one on tap, trying one was a no-brainer.If the name Founders Breakfast Stout sounds familiar, it’s because it should be. This is the beer that caused controversy last year because of the beer’s label depicting a baby. After a bunch of political wrangling, the beer overcame a mini ban and is now available in...
Poetry of Silence at Gibson’s Bookstore
If you hear of an event called Poetry of Silence, you might be a little confused at first.Silent poetry? What does that mean? How are we supposed to experience it if it’s silent?Well, that’s not exactly what it means. Poetry of Silence, which will be presented at Gibson’s Bookstore on Wednesday night at 7, is an open mic to commemorate the 101st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.This was a dark time in history in which the Ottoman...
Bits and pieces from new ‘Monitor’ columns
Downtown Megan Doyle At last week’s meeting, the city council agreed to spend $2 million to bury utilities on South Main Street. That brings the total budget for the Main Street project to over $13 million for design, construction and marketing. Officials have promised the last-minute addition will not push the November deadline for the project’s completion. Southbound traffic will still be able to flow through the work zone, though...
This Week in Concord History
April 19, 1865: On the day of President Lincoln’s funeral in Washington, Civil War veterans, in a procession with a band, march to services at Concord churches. April 19, 1976: New England’s biggest April heat wave of the 20th century reaches its crescendo, and the temperature in Concord hits 95 degrees. It’s the third day in a row with a temperature of 90 or above and the fourth day in a row above 80. April 19, 2003:...
Bulletin Board
Shred-a-thon at Bank of America Every day, millions of Americans lose their hard-earned money to identity theft and other types of scams. Protecting your personal information can help reduce your risk of identity theft. That is why AARP New Hampshire and Bank of New Hampshire have teamed up to offer a “shred-a-thon” at Bank of New Hampshire, 11 Triangle Park Drive, in Concord on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon The public can bring three...
