It’s all about the comfort factor
Insider staffBetween driving around for stories, typing away at our desks and watching TV at home, our behinds are firmly planted somewhere for many hours each day.You could even consider us as sitting professionals. And there’s nothing worse than an uncomfortable seat. It makes the whole experience a real pain in the butt – literally.So when we heard the Friends of the Audi voted to redo all 850 seats in the Concord City Auditorium,...
A new space for the arts
Insider staffWhen we first heard about Hatbox Theatre, the idea of a performance space in a former mall store intrigued us.And when we learned how quickly things were going to take shape to be ready for opening night, which was slated for April Fools Day, we needed to know more.But instead of just describing what Hatbox Theatre was going to be, we wanted the full experience. And what better way than to take in opening night.When we...
A quick and healthy lunch for less than $10
You might think that getting a good, hot, healthy meal in a hurry is either impossible to come by or catastrophically expensive. After all, there’s no such thing as good, cheap and fast, right? Well, we went out last week and proved this theory dead wrong. Armed with a budget of $10, we set out to find the quickest, tastiest and most healthy meal in Concord. The key here is that our meal had to fit all of the criteria. It couldn’t...
Spend your Thursday nights with the Concord Model Railroad Club
Choo Choo! That’s the sound you might hear on Thursday nights at the CSI Charter School in Penacook, where the Concord Model Railroad Club meets. The club was incorporated in 1986 by a small group of HO-scale model railroad enthusiasts for the purpose of promoting model railroading and enjoying the fellowship of other modelers. (HO scale is 1:87 – half the size of O-scale trains, Lionels being the most common O-scale trains.) It...
It’s the perfect time of year to get into the hobby of birding
One of the signature features of spring is the return of the pleasant chirping of all kinds of birds. Sure, there are still birds around here in the winter, but not nearly as many as there are in spring, especially early spring when the migratory birds are coming back from the South (and some even come South to New Hampshire from Canada). In that case, it’s the perfect time to learn a little something about a relaxing and easy hobby:...
You never know what you’re going to find at the stamp auction
The price of the collection just kept going up. It started at $15, the dollar amount Dan Day was looking for a book of select late 19th-century stamps that had various cancellations and stamped dates. Then the price went to $20 and $25. Before long, auctioneer Ron Emery could hardly keep up with the two gentlemen who sought after the small piece of Day’s massive collection that he was ready to move on from. As the price crept up in $5...
Everett Arena says goodbye to ice and boards until September
If you’re a serious ice skater, we have some bad news for you: Everett Arena is now ice-free until September. While that may be a bummer to the future Nancy Kerrigans or Patrice Bergerons of the world, it should come as welcome news for most of us, because it can only mean that spring is here to stay. After a winter (that really didn’t seem that bad or that long) of ice skating, the arena will now host all kinds of friction-dependent...
There’s a movie sneak peek, people skating in circles and beer tastings
Tuesday If you have a child between the ages of 4 and 8 who you want to play baseball this season, go to the Concord Boys and Girls Club, 55 Bradley St., from 6 to 8 p.m. for registration. Play ball! Wednesday If you’re into sneak peeks, then do we have a good one for you. Concord filmmaker Dan Habib has been working on a new documentary, Intelligent Lives, and will be showing a 14-minute preview of the film at Red River Theatres at 5...
Mark your calendars: Voting for the 2016 Cappies opens April 1
It’s getting to be that time again, folks. No, not spring – well, yes, it is spring, but that’s not what we’re talking about. We’re talking about the always-popular and highly anticipated Cappies. This is that time of year, more than any other, when we lean heavily on you, our faithful readers. We want to know what you love most about Concord – everything from your favorite brunch joint to your favorite place to get a root canal....
Depot Antiques & Toys is the place for all your model railroad needs
Whether you’re in the Concord Model Railroad Club or not, if you like model trains, you need a place to get them – and all of the accompanying accessories. Luckily, Concord has just such a place: Depot Antiques & Toys. Located on Main Street (and conveniently close to Depot Street), this shop has all kinds of old-fashioned trinkets and doodads. You can get an autographed baseball, a vintage toy gun and an antique metal sign if you...
Filmmaker Dan Habib has another good documentary in the works
Dan Habib is a guy who has worn a lot of hats over the years. He’s also held many different jobs and titles, including photojournalist, former Monitor photo editor, award-winning documentarian and now filmmaker and project director at the UNH Institute on Disability. Habib made a splash with his debut documentary Including Samuel in 2008. The film was about Habib’s son Samuel and his challenges with living with a disability. Including...
Check out the new ‘Trans Pose’ exhibit at McGowan Fine Art
McGowan Fine Art’s latest exhibit, “Trans Pose,” features a collection of paintings by Catherine Graffam. “My work mainly deals with my identity as a transgender woman, and how it affects not only myself but my interpersonal relationships,” reads a section of Graffam’s Artist Statement on McGowan’s website. The exhibit runs until April 22.
Everett Arena trades ice for thousands of antiques, crafts, shoppers
Everett Arena hosted its first non-ice event of the year last week with a flea market. Hundreds of shoppers packed the arena to poke around at some vintage wares. And there was plenty to look at!
Meet more of the Capital Area Student Leadership group
The Capital Area Student Leadership program encourages students to become active, effective participants and leaders in their schools and community. The goals of CASL are: • To recruit sophomores from area high schools who show leadership potential and young adults likely to assume greater community responsibilities. The CASL program has graduated more than 400 students over the last two decades. • To inspire students to develop,...
Mill Brook opens April 1 with springy exhibition
If you’ve ever spent much time walking around Hopkinton Road, you may have come across a bunch of huge stones sitting in a big metal basket off the side of the road. That’s how you know you’re at Mill Brook Gallery & Sculpture Garden. Mill Brook always has a lot of interesting stuff to look at – and buy – both outside and in. The gallery opens for the season April 1, and there will be a new exhibit all about spring. We gave you a...
Instagram Photo of the Week
It was kind of a crazy week for weather around here last week. There was sun, rain, a little snow, some ice. All par for the course in New Hampshire in late March. Anyway, Instagram user @stephenwaynefumio opted to take his camera out during one of the nice days, and it paid off in the form of this nice, flowery shot of the State House. There are always plenty of State House photos on Instagram every week, but this one stood out due...
Bulletin Board
Magic show to benefit Stephanie Spirit ALS fund There will be a world class magic show at Abbot-Downing School on Sunday, April 17, at 2 p.m. to benefit the Stephanie Spirit ALS Fund. The fund was created to benefit Abbot-Downing teacher Stephanie Bates, who was diagnosed with ALS. Magicians Mike Bent, Bob Riordan, Jon Stetson and David Garrity will perform. Tickets are $10, and there will be a preshow at 1 p.m. Janet Moffett NHTI to...
This Week in Concord History
March 29, 1909: George Foster, a real estate man and investor, takes over the Abbot and Downing Co., once again saving it from collapse. Foster will bail out just over two years later, and yet another new owner will try his hand. March 30, 2002: Parking at Concord High School has been a problem for as long as anyone can remember, the Monitor reports. Now the city council has decided to do something about the parking dilemma. In its...
The Insider’s Guide to Spring in New Hampshire
March 24 Raptor Migration in New Hampshire The spectacle of large numbers of migrating hawks, eagles, falcons and other ‘raptors’ has always captivated people, and historical accounts of this phenomenon in N.H. date back to the 1700’s. Conservation of raptors is now a major theme across the globe, and species’ population changes can provide evidence for conservation needs – or successes. N.H. Audubon maintains two active monitoring...
If you want some of these flowers in your garden, it’s time to plan
Now that you’ve read up on how to get your garden ready for planting (we’re assuming you read the page right before this because you always read the Insider from cover to cover each week), it’s time to start thinking about when to plant. We know it’s only March and a little late season snow (eek) might still be lingering on your beds, but this is the time when you want to start mapping things out. At least that’s what Concord Garden...
Get yourself a tee time – outdoors – at Beaver Meadow Golf Course
If you’re a hard-core golf enthusiast, you’re probably well aware that Beaver Meadow Golf Course installed two high-tech golf simulators inside the clubhouse in January. Those simulators allowed for golf to be played at the course all year, not just when the weather cooperated. That’s all fine and good – and we had a blast trying them out – but it’s never quite the same experience as playing outside on a real course. Missing are...
We took a tour of the city to see what was going on outside
Since it was so nice out last week, we took to the streets to see what was happening. People were definitely getting an early jump on spring.
A raptor talk, a nice big breakfast and Easter festivities galore
Thursday If there’s one thing we like talking about here, it’s raptors. Whether we’re referring to the modern birds of prey or the prehistoric killing machines everyone fell in love with in Jurassic Park, we just can’t get enough. If you’re as crazy about raptors as we are, you should check out a talk on raptor migration in New Hampshire at the Audubon McLane Center. It gets going at 7 p.m., and donations will be accepted. For more...
It’s about time to get your hands dirty and ‘wake up your garden’
Oh, the doldrums of winter. “Wake up your garden” and prepare to welcome in spring beginning this month and into April. Start by donning those work gloves, grabbing that rake and gently removing all the leaves, twigs and sticks, pine needles and other winter debris that have collected in your once beautiful flower gardens. Attack your sunniest areas first and gradually make your way through your garden beds, as March and even April in...
S&W Sports has everything you need to get back in the saddle again
With the kind of weather we’ve been having lately, it’s really hard to justify staying inside. Why waste the day away inside when you could be out wearing spandex and weaving through traffic while making turn signals with one arm? That’s right, it’s finally spring, and that means it’s time to go into the garage and dust off the ol’ bicycle. It’s probably safe by now to pack away the snowmobiles and skis (although S&W is still...
The parks and rec departments in Concord and Bow have full slates
When the weather starts to warm up, it’s always nice to find something fun to do outside. For parks and recreation departments, that’s pretty much all they do every day. And it just so happens to be spring now, and the parks and rec departments in Concord and Bow can’t wait to get going on the season. Although the fun never ends with either department, the good stuff really ramps up once spring rolls around. We checked out both...
CRTC culinary team sure can cook up a tasty three-course meal
It’s good to be the best, especially when we’re talking about an area that includes the entire state of New Hampshire. And you can add a group of five culinary arts students from the Concord Regional Technical Center to that list after winning the New Hampshire ProStart cooking competition at the UNH Stillings Dining Hall in Durham on March 5. The team, made up of Chase Haines (Concord High School), Anthony Costello (Pembroke...
Easter came early this year thanks to ConcordTV’s Eggstravaganza
There was no way we were going to miss out on ConcordTV’s inaugural Easter Eggstravaganza, so we stopped by on the opening day to see what kind of fun was being had.
Meet some students from the Capital Area Student Leadership program
The Capital Area Student Leadership program encourages students to become active, effective participants and leaders in their schools and community. The goals of CASL are: • To recruit sophomores from area high schools who show leadership potential and young adults likely to assume greater community responsibilities. The CASL program has graduated over 400 students over the last two decades. • To inspire students to develop, refine...
Havenwood program helps residents create ‘Art From the Heart’
When we enter our retirement years and subsequently can’t live on our own anymore, we sure do hope to end up at a place like Havenwood-Heritage Heights. They’ve got an ice cream parlor, a pool table and tap maple trees around the campus in the spring. And those are just a few of the things we caught a glimpse of last week when we stopped by to check out the reception for Art From the Heart. It was a recent 10-week program for older...
