Book: Hour of the Witch
Hour of the Witch By Chris Bohjalian (400 pages, historical fiction, 2021) In his historical novel Hour of the Witch, Chris Bohjalian once again demonstrates a penchant for meticulous research and an ability to create intriguing characters. Set in Boston in the 1600s, the book follows the struggle of 24-year-old Mary Deerfield to divorce her abusive husband. Mary is beautiful, intelligent, and comes from a wealthy family. If she was...
Poem: Winter Fire
The sky is on fire, as it nestles to the hill, darkness descending upon us, accompanies the winter chill. Let us embrace this season, as we long for yet another new spring, when the maple sap does run, our thoughts are comforting. As I view this setting sun, recalling sunsets past still, the sky is on fire, as it nestles to the...
Entertainment for Jan. 6 to 15
Live music Jan. 6 Purgin Sin with King’s Petition at the Bank of N.H. Stage at 8 p.m. Dave Gerard at Hermanos at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 7 Brooks Young Band at the Bank of N.H. Stage at 8 p.m. Lucas Gallo at Area 23 at 8 p.m. Jan. 8 Get the Led Out at the Capitol Center for the Arts at 8 p.m. John McArthur at the Downtown Concord Farmers Market from 9 a.m. to noon Alex Cohen at Concord Craft Brewing from 3 to 5 p.m. Mikey G. at Chen Yang Li...
This week in Concord history
Jan. 6, 2003: Several Penacook residents ask the city to save their beloved, but most likely doomed, Rolfe barn: They ask the city to seize it through eminent domain. The request is made in a petition filed just minutes before city hall closes. After months of battles between history buffs and property developers, the Penacook Historical Society will own the barn. Jan. 6, 2002: The New England Patriots trounce the Carolina...
Vaccine clinic on Sunday, walk-ins welcome
The city manager’s office sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter last Thursday, due to the holidays. The full newsletter can be found by going to concordnh.gov and clicking the “Newsletter” button. Here are some highlights: City meetings City meetings are held in person in Council Chambers at 37 Green St. (unless otherwise specified on the City’s calendar). Upcoming meetings include: City Council monthly meeting: Jan. 10, 7 p.m....
Book: Akata Witch
Akata Witch By Nnedi Okorafor (349 pages, young adult fantasy, 2011) Sunny, a teenager with albinism, recently moved to her parent’s home in Nigeria from New York. At school she faces bullying and is frequently called a witch. Even worse, she can’t play soccer with the rest of the kids because the sun burns her skin. Shortly after having a vision of apocalypse while gazing into a candle flame, she befriends Orlu, a boy at school, and...
Entertainment Dec. 30 to Jan. 8
Live music Dec. 30 Brian Booth at Hermanos at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 31 Piccola Opera presents “The Dickens Carolers on Tour” at the Concord City Auditorium at 6 p.m. Faith Ann Band NYE Party at Area 23, Ben Harrison opens at 7 p.m. NYE Party with Felix Holt at Penuche’s Jan. 1 Gabby Martin at the Downtown Concord Winter Farmers Market from 9 a.m. to non Andrew Geano at Concord Craft Brewing from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Colin Hart at Chen Yang Li...
A whole world of winter
Indoor Ice Skating The Everett Arena offers ice skating from mid-September through mid-March. During the ice skating season, the arena offers public skating, stick practice, skating lessons for beginners, learn to play hockey, travel youth hockey, and high school hockey. Public ice skating hours are Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Sunday, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Admission is $6. Kids ages 3 and under are free. Skate...
Looking back: Pembroke Bridge in Concord
The old “Pembroke Bridge,” also known as the Manchester Street Bridge, was designed by Storrs Bridge Engineers. It was built by the City of Concord, replacing the old wood lattice bridge which was built in 1891 taking the place of a bridge that was carried away by the freshet the same year. The original bridge was a toll bridge, one of several toll bridges at Concord that crossed the Merrimack River in the city. The photograph depicts...
This week in Concord history
Dec. 30, 1894: The first meeting is held at Christian Science’s lovely stone Mother Church in Boston. The religion’s founder, Mary Baker Eddy, a native of Bow, authorized the building of the Mother Church two years before. Dec. 30, 1993: The state Supreme Court rules that the state has a constitutional obligation to provide adequate public education to all children. Gov. Steve Merrill says that because the state is...
City news: Concord to host vaccine clinic
The city manager’s office sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter last Thursday, due to the holidays. The full newsletter can be found by going to concordnh.gov and clicking the “Newsletter” button. Here are some highlights: Upcoming Meetings City meetings are held in person in Council Chambers at 37 Green Street (unless otherwise specified on the City’s calendar). Upcoming meetings include: City Council: January 3, 7 p.m....
This week in Concord history
In our haste to get back to decorating Christmas cookies, we printed this week’s history last week. So here is last week’s history this week. Dec. 23, 2000: Bradlees department store on Fort Eddy Road is about to go out of business, the Monitor reports. The 105-store chain, which struggled through the 1990s, will close all of its locations. Dec. 23, 1861: Israel Drew of Pittsfield lies about his age and joins Company G of the...
Final days to view holiday light display
Time is running out if you haven’t yet visited the Gift of Lights at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. View more than 3.5 million twinkly LED lights for the 11th annual display of holiday cheer through Jan. 2. This year, the 2.5-mile drive-thru light show will feature 3.5 million lights, a 150-foot RGB (red/green/blue) Tunnel of Lights, new arches, toys, numerous scenes including the popular 12 Days of Christmas and much more. Crews are...
Share a snapshot of holiday lights
The Concord Monitor and Next level Auto are sponsoring a Holiday Light Display Contest. From indoor holiday lights to outdoor festive displays we want you to help light up our page! To enter, submit a picture of holiday lights that you enjoy during the holiday season! One random participant will win a $250 Car Care Package from Next Level Auto! The package includes free oil change, free alignment, free tire rotation, free tire balance...
Entertainment Dec. 23 to Jan. 2
Live music Dec. 23 Paul Hubert at Hermanos at 6:30 p.m. Karaoke with DJ Dicey at Area 23 Alan Roux at Makris Lobster and Steak House from 6 to 9 p.m. Dec. 24 Early music at Area 23 from 4 to 10 p.m. Dec. 25 Mikey G at Chen Yang Li from 7 to 10 p.m. Dec. 26 Colin Hart at Concord Craft Brewing from 3 to 6 p.m. Dec. 28 Scott Solsky at Hermanos at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 29 Lee Ross at Penuche’s at 8:30 p.m. Brian Booth at Hermanos at 6:30 p.m....
Book: The Man Who Died Twice: A Thursday Murder Club Mystery
The Man Who Died Twice: A Thursday Murder Club Mystery By Richard Osman (355 pages, mystery, 2021) The Thursday Murder Club is back! Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim all live at Cooper’s Chase, a retirement village in Kent, England. But they are not typical retirees. Instead of doing crafts or jigsaw puzzles, they solve mysteries, usually cold cases. A significant person from Elizabeth’s mysterious past comes to ask her for help....
Looking back: Returning home, soldiers found a new world
Battles are sometimes fought on many different fields. On the field of glory, sometimes in your very own neighborhood. There are other times the battle continues with tragic memories that will always remain. A century ago, there were many battles being fought in many different areas. As young men and women received the good news on the front telling them World War I had ended, the struggle continued for many. The forlorn soldiers...
City news: Concord prepares to handle winter weather
The city manager’s office sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter last Friday. The full newsletter can be found by going to concordnh.gov and clicking the “Newsletter” button. Here are some highlights: Equipment ready for winter operations Concord recently received its first accumulation of snow for the season and more snow is in the forecast. There are approximately 38 trucks city-wide (27 for General Services) that get equipped with...
Poem: Christmas Eve
The snow gently falls, the logs in the fireplace burn bright, children are nestled, safely home this special night. Thoughts wander to another time, the old are once again young at heart, Christmas past is recalled this eve, old family and friends still apart. The days are recalled gently, for the memories are cherished just so, this Christmas rekindles another time, memories that I only know. The years may pass, but those old...
Book: Laundry Love: Finding Joy in a Common Chore
Laundry Love: Finding Joy in a Common Chore By Patric Richardson with Karin B. Miller (185 pages, nonfiction, 2021) This book first caught my eye because of the bright, cheerful cover with a yellow background and an icon of a heart inside a front-load washing machine. I personally find laundry to be a real slog of domestic drudgery. It’s always there (whatever you’re wearing while you’re washing your other clothes will, itself, become...
Entertainment for Dec. 16 to 26
Live music Dec. 16 Ken Clark at Hermanos at 6:30 p.m. Holiday Party with Chicken at Penuche’s Buzz Ball at the Capitol Center for the Arts at 7 p.m. Dec. 17 Blue Light Rain at Area 23 at 8 p.m. The Special Guests at Penuche’s Million Dollar Quartet Christmas at the Capitol Center for the Arts at 8 p.m. Matt Flinner and Low Lily at the Bank of N.H. Stage at 8 p.m. Dec. 18 Matt Poirier at Hermanos at 6:30 p.m. Piccola Opera presents the...
‘Impressions: Nature’
New Hampshire Art Association artist Daniela Edstrom will have her artwork on display in an exhibit titled, “Impressions: Nature,” at the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce Visitors Center beginning Dec. 20. In this exhibit, Edstrom aims to explore the abstract quality of the light, form and color in the New England landscape. “Sunlight and its play of light and shadow is perceived as halos of vibrating strokes and bold minimalist...
Concord Young Professional of the Month: Hannah Matillano
Concord Young Professionals Network introduces you to the “Young Professional of the Month,” Hannah Matillano. Each month, the CYPN Steering Committee recommends a young professional in the community it thinks readers would enjoy getting to know better. Hannah Matillano How old are you? 24 Where do you live? Concord Where do you currently work? For the past two years, I’ve been working as a Sales Associate with CheckmateHCM! We help...
Bulletin board
Christmas Jazz “The Jazz of Christmas – God with Us,” will be the theme of this Sunday’s Jazz Sanctuary in the sanctuary of Concord’s First Congregational Church (177 N. Main St.). The “unbelievable belief” that, thanks to Christmas, God dwells with us will be at the center of the music and conversation as Vocalist and Pastor Emilia Halstead is joined by the Jazz Sanctuary House Band of Joey Placenti on saxes and flute, Jock...
This week in Concord history
Dec. 16, 1979: Rachel Adams, wife of former governor Sherman Adams, dies at her home in Lincoln. She was first lady from 1949 to 1953 and joined her husband in Washington when he was assistant to President Dwight Eisenhower from 1953 through 1958. An artist and author, she published an autobiography, “On the Other Hand,” in 1963. Dec. 16, 1976: Gov. Mel Thomson announces he will have state troopers stationed at border liquor stores to...
City readies for winter
The city manager’s office sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter last Friday. The full newsletter can be found by going to concordnh.gov and clicking the “Newsletter” button. Here are some highlights: Wreaths Across America The annual Wreaths Across America event will be held on Dec. 18, in area cemeteries. Each December on National Wreaths Across America Day, the mission is to “Remember, Honor and Teach,” carried out by coordinating...
Entertainment for Dec. 9 – 15
Live music Dec. 9 Paul Bourgelais at Hermanos at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 10 Matt Nakoa Band at the Bank of N.H. Stage at 8 p.m. Classic Invasion at Area 23 at 8 p.m. Duo Del Inferno at Penuche’s at 9 p.m. Dec. 11 Zach Deputy at the Bank of N.H. Stage at 8 p.m. Professor Harp at Area 23 at 8 p.m. Mary Fagan at the Downtown Concord Winter Farmers Market from 9 a.m. to noon Alex Cohan at Contoocook Cider Company from 1 to 4 p.m. Alan Roux at...
Book: French Exit: A Tragedy of Manners
French Exit: A Tragedy of Manners By Patrick deWitt (244 pages, fiction, 2018) French Exit is slang for the term French Leave, which the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines as “an informal, hasty, or secret departure.” French Exit by Patrick deWitt is a dark comedy of manners riddled with abrupt exits and a sneaky sentimental core. Frances Price, an iconoclastic, wealthy widow lives on the Upper East Side of New York with her adult...
Great things, small packages
Whether you’re searching for stocking-stuffers, tokens for your kids’ teachers or major checkmarks on your holiday shopping list, a quick loop through downtown can have you crossing off all your to-dos. While this is by no means a comprehensive list, here are a few things that caught our eye during an afternoon of window shopping last Sunday. Still not quite sure what to get? Downtown Dollars can be picked up at Merrimack County...
This week in Concord history
Dec. 13, 2001: Less than five days after being introduced as Notre Dame’s football coach, George O’Leary resigns amid revelations that he falsified information about his academic credentials and playing career. He admits that he lied about playing football for three years for the University of New Hampshire, which he listed on his resume. Dec. 13, 1774: Paul Revere gallops into Portsmouth to urge dissidents there to guard their...
