The Taco Gigante Challenge was no match for Tim’s hungry tummy
I’m not going to lie, the last few bites were painful. But I had come way to far to stop. Those small helpings of lettuce, rice, fried tortilla, pickled jalapenos and meat were the only thing that stood between me and what could only be considered one of the greatest victories in Insider history. So I choked them down, one at a time and very slowly. After all, I didn’t want the previous 1.9 pounds of my Taco Gigante to make a...
Saying goodbye is hard, so why not have an art show instead?
The Hargate Arts Center has been home to the St. Paul’s School’s art department since 1967. But some sizable gifts have paved the way for a soon-to-be renovated location across campus. So help celebrate 48 great years of pictures, paintings and exhibits by checking out Farewell to Hargate from now until Nov. 21.
Challenge proves Jon’s mouth writes checks his mouth can’t cash
I’m not proud to admit it, but I’m a failure. I had the world at my disposal, and I threw it all away. The future was limitless for me, but not anymore. The taco got the best of me. Unlike my companion on the other page, I went into this challenge not with doubts, but confidence, audacity, bravado even. A 2-pound taco? Come on. That’s kids’ stuff, I thought. Where’s the “challenge” in this Taco Gigante Challenge? Step up your game,...
Dan Zanes and his friends rock out to help the Friendly Kitchen
Grammy Award-winning musician Dan Zanes returns to Concord every year to perform a pair of benefit concerts for the Friendly Kitchen, an organization his mom, Hope Zanes Butterworth, has been involved with for many years. So last Saturday, Zanes got the audiences in the Concord High School auditorium dancing and singing along to his original brand of kids music. The concerts have raised lots of much-needed money for the Friendly...
ConcordTV lets us peek behind the scenes at open house
ConcordTV held an open house at its Heights Community Center studio last week. Guests were able to tour the studio and see what goes on behind the scenes. Some even got to pretend they were news anchors for a few minutes.
Ever wonder what those fake looking apples are? So did we
Chuck Souther doesn’t want to use insecticides on his apple crop. But if he didn’t, you probably wouldn’t be all that thrilled finding apple maggots inside your freshly picked fruit. So for 30 years, Souther has been trying to find a way where he doesn’t have to spray his Apple Hill Farm crop, while still keeping the annual pest away from the apples you want to make pies, crisps and doughnuts out of. The only tricky part is that...
Music school to host sing-along concert Saturday
A sing-along concert will be held at the Concord Community Music School on Saturday, at 7 p.m. The concert is being held to celebrate the release of a long-awaited companion book to the widely known and loved songbook, Rise Up Singing. The concert will feature Annie Patterson and Peter Blood, the creators of Rise Up Singing, teaching and leading songs out of their new book, Rise Again. They will be joined by Bill Harley, Charley King...
If you’re looking for stuff to do this week, let us be your guide
You may have noticed, but we’re kind of a good place to start when you’re looking for something to do in these parts. We like to consider ourselves as the guiding light to your social life. So with that being the case, we have to constantly keep our fingers on the pulse of the city and pass along the important info pertaining to cool things that are coming up. Or even the odd and weird. Between the calendar, bulletin board, preview...
NHTI’s third annual Quonquer the Quad was a physically fun time
NHTI hosted the third annual Quonquer the Quad this past weekend, and physical fun and mayhem ensued. Lots of money was raised for the Jennifer Kemp Memorial Scholarship, too, so it was a pretty good day all around.
This Week in Concord History
Oct. 6, 2003: In the first action of its kind by any state, New Hampshire is suing 22 oil companies for using a gasoline additive that the attorney general says has polluted much of the state’s water supply. The additive, MTBE, has caused “an unprecedented and significant groundwater contamination problem,” Attorney General Peter Heed says at a press conference. Oct. 6, 2001: Concord High School senior Matt Delois wins the Class L...
Book of the Week: “The Inn at Lake Devine”
The Inn at Lake Devine Elinor Lipman 1998, 253 pages Fiction Elinor Lipman is whip smart and funny; many people know her for her essays and her hilarious tweets about electoral politics, but her novels are also a treat. The Inn at Lake Devine is about a young woman, Natalie Marx, only 12 when the book opens, and her fascination with a Vermont inn whose proprietress responds to her mother’s request for information by writing that...
City Briefly
Each week, City Manager Tom Aspell wanders around the city’s trails in search of Concord’s version of the Bow emu. When his efforts are unsuccessful, he uses crushed up leaves to create his weekly city memo. Getting rid of waste The hazardous kind Concord General Services would like to thank everyone who came out to its annual Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day at the Everett Arena on Sept. 27. It was a tremendous success this...
Bulletin Board
Friday Family Fun Night at Immaculate Heart Please join us for a wonderful night of drumming, dancing and ice cream. New American Africans will host Friday Family Fun Night on Friday at the Immaculate Heart of Mary (180 Loudon Road). Bring your family and friends and get to know Concord’s newest neighbors. The fun starts at 6 p.m. For more info, email molly@newamericanafricans.org. Molly McEachern Red Sox PA announcer Dick Flavin at...
Classic Concord photo
Just imagine living in a time without a paved Main Street, like parts of this summer.
We asked the ‘Monitor’ to show us their pets, and boy did they deliver
Who would have known that “Monitor” employees had such a diverse array of animals living under their roofs?
Want to adopt a new pet? The SPCA can help you with that
We dare you to walk through the Pope Memorial SPCA and not make a new addition to your family. Whether you already have a dog, two cats or the equivalent of a small farm’s worth of animals at home, there’s no way you’re seeing all those adorable faces and saying no to giving them a great new life. Just not going to happen. So you might as well go into your visit with the assumption you’ll be filling out an adoption form and eventually...
Tired of that boring, natural color of your dog? Bark Now! has a cure
In today’s dog-eat-dog world, you really have to stand out from the crowd to get ahead in life. Blending in means you just get lost in the shuffle. And we’re not just talking about you – we’re talking about your furry friend, too. If your pooch is one of those run-of-the-mill, everyday white breeds who just can’t seem to make his or her presence known, head over to Bark Now! and check out some of their funky coloring services. Kris...
It’s time to buy your Connolly Tough T-shirts and go for a walk
So far, Concord High School Principal Gene Connolly has been able to continue doing what he loves – educating today’s youth. Things have changed some since his ALS diagnosis a year and a half ago. He now has long flowing white locks that he wears in a ponytail each day thanks to his wife and a preference to use his iPad program to speak for him. But for the most part, so far, so good. Although at some point in time, Connolly is going...
Sneak Peek: St. Paul’s School Farewell Hargate exhibit
We checked out the farewell to St. Paul’s School Hargate Gallery exhibit today. Here’s a pic from what the gallery looked like way back when it was a dining hall. Want to see more from the exhibit? You’ll have to pick up next week’s Insider for that.
If there was a doggy day care for humans, we’d definitely go
Since this is the pets issue, we decided to take a trip over the border into Bow for a visit to Central Bark Station for a little rest and relaxation at doggy day care. What we found were a bunch of excitable pups ready for food, ball throwing and lots of running around. Central Bark Station isn’t your typical day care for your favorite four legged friend. As owner Kim Duclos puts it, “We’re kind of a doggy day care 101.” What does...
Don’t do yourself a disservice – let Zoe & Co. find you the perfect fit
If you’ve never been into Zoe & Co. Professional Bra Fitters, you’ve been missing out on some top-notch customer service. Don’t ask us, just pick up a copy of The Best of Intima magazine and see for yourself. Can’t find your copy? That’s okay, here’s the gist: The trade magazine gave the lingerie boutique in the heart of downtown Concord (which also has another location in Rhode Island) a special award for customer service at its...
Put on those pretty high heels and Walk A Mile in Her Shoes
There is an old saying: “You can’t really understand another person’s experience until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.” Walk a Mile in Her Shoes asks men to literally walk 1-mile in women’s high-heeled shoes. It’s not easy walking in these shoes, but it’s fun and it gets the community to talk about something that’s really difficult to talk about: domestic and sexual violence. This event is not just for men and boys. Everyone is...
NHTI is turning 50, so help celebrate
In 1965, the New Hampshire Technical Institute was founded with just a handful of buildings and around 250 students, all concentrating in one of the three majors offered at that time. When the surviving founders return on Oct. 3 to help celebrate the school’s 50th anniversary, they will scarcely recognize the place they left behind. Now the sixth-largest college in New Hampshire, NHTI boasts a beautiful, 240-acre campus, and over 100...
Patricia Sweet-MacDonald sure can paint a beautiful scene
So we can only assume that you’ve noticed that all of these wonderful paintings by Patricia Sweet-MacDonald are in black and white. We know it’s unfortunate, but we just couldn’t carve out a large enough color spot to give this spread the prominent spot. But the good news is that if you head over to the N.H. Audubon McLane Center (or check out our revamped website one day this week if you haven’t already), you’ll be able to see all...
Bulletin Board
Dan Zanes to play benefit concert Oct. 3 Dan Zanes, the Grammy-winning musician whose songs are favorites of children and adults alike, will play two benefit concerts for The Friendly Kitchen on Saturday, Oct. 3, at Concord High School. The morning concert will be at 11 a.m., and the afternoon concert at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 and available online at brownpapertickets.com/event/1978560. Proceeds will benefit The Friendly Kitchen,...
More resources for your beloved pets
We know there are tons of places around Concord to bring your pet – whether for day care, grooming, food, checkups or any other reason. Sadly, space constraints meant we couldn’t write full stories about every joint in town and what they have to offer, so the least we could do was compile a pretty decent list of places we found on the interwebs. This might not feature every single shop in Concord or Bow that caters to the furry,...
Book of the Week: “The New Health Rules”
The New Health Rules Frank Lipman and Danielle Claro 2014, 233 pages Nonfiction This is a “just the facts book” for simple changes to achieve whole-body wellness. There are tips for eating, moving, boosting, healing and living life optimally. You don’t need to make the changes all at once, but you can check any page of this book and decide to change one thing or attempt something new like meditation, yoga or acupuncture. Fill the...
