Plenty of winter fun around the capital city
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: Outdoor dining begins April 1 During their February meeting, City Council approved the renewal of temporary expanded outdoor dining once again in the City of Concord. This temporary program is an effort by the Council to address the...
Spring Guide Concord: Your guide to the capital city’s can’t-miss spring 2019 events
Welcome to the 2019 Spring Guide – Concord edition. Over the next two pages, you’ll learn about the signature spring events the capital city has to offer. These are all family-friendly activities, and several of them are completely free. This roundup focuses on seasonal events, so you won’t see traditional concerts or plays. The statewide guide can be found here. April 13 Spring Fair at United Church: The annual United Church of...
This week in Concord history
Feb. 18, 1942: Gov. Robert O. Blood urges coal and fuel oil conservation to aid the war effort. Homes should be heated to no higher than 65 degrees, he says. Feb. 18, 1842: The radical and conservative factions of the Democratic Party brawl in Concord’s town hall over control of a party caucus. An observer, Henry McFarland, writes that “seats and desks were smashed, wigs flew in the dusty air, and bloody noses were seen on most...
Spring Guide NH: Here are some spring highlights going on across the Granite State
Welcome to the 2019 Spring Guide – statewide edition. The following several pages lay out as many fun, springy events across the Granite State as we could find. This is by no means everything that is going on – it’s probably less than half – but we only have so much space. The events listed here are primarily seasonal, family-oriented, one-off events. In other words, you’ll find things like holiday meals, festivals, community...
Bulletin board: Poetry and performance in the capital city
Poetry evening Gibson’s Bookstore will host a virtual night of verse with poet Arisa White on March 9 at 7 p.m. Her new collection, Who’s Your Daddy, is a lyrical, genre-bending coming-of-age tale featuring a queer, Black, Guyanese American woman who, while seeking to define her own place in the world, negotiates an estranged relationship with her father. She is joined in reading by poet Dara Wier, whose next collection of poems,...
Making Good Health Simple: Spring cleaning: It’s good for your health (it’s true!)
Just as bears hibernate for the winter, so does hardcore cleaning. The open-the-windows-because-it-smells-like-bleach kind of cleaning. I’ll admit it, when it’s dark before you drive home from work, it is natural to order take-out on the nights you’re not eating homemade mac and cheese. But, alas, spring is making its debut, and with natural sunlight comes the clarity of dust and cobwebs. The horrifying realization of how unclean your...
Poetry: Life
Life is to be lived, time spent and invested wise, perhaps we are not all frugal, living our days under blue skies. Some may look but they do not see, make sure you see what is seen, love those you choose to love, embrace life don’t be mean. Walk under the sun, before you pass the shade of the tree, measure wealth in a different way, just look back and you will see. Remember those special moments, hold them close to your heart, take...
The Yogi: There’s never a bad time to get into yoga
Yoga or exercise: Which is it? The human body is designed to move. Our spines, like our bodies, are designed to move in all directions. Contrary to popular belief, our bodies are not really designed to sit on the couch on Sunday afternoons and watch the Patriots dismantle opponents. In fact, all that soft furniture on which we’re sitting and reclining is part of the problem. It’s a strange paradox in our modern world: as we get...
Beauty in a business book
Brand Brilliance By Fiona Huberstone (272 pages, nonfiction, 2017) Who are you? What do you stand for? How do you want to be remembered? These types of questions go into making your personal brand. Whether you want to brand yourself or your business, this book has everything you need. And best of all there are pictures! Most business books drudge on with just black and white text until your eyes glaze over. This one is full of big...
Bulletin Board: Comedy Club, cooking workshop and more
VNA offers Grief Goes to the Movies Concord Regional VNA and Concord Public Library offer a “Grief Goes to the Movies” program on Tuesday, April 9 at 2 p.m. at Concord Public Library. This evening’s movie is Collateral Beauty (1 hour, 37 minutes; rated PG-13). Join us as we learn about, explore, and discuss grief and its impact on our lives through the use of popular films. Movies are followed by a short discussion of food-for-thought...
Looking back: My grandfather became a legend
It was the fall of 1892, the forest surrounding Concord was home to many hunters. They traversed the wooded land from North State Street, up over Rattlesnake Hill and onto the sloping hills above Long Pond. The air was chilled and the forest ablaze with the vibrant colors of fall foliage. If I close my eyes, I can imagine the scene my grandfather spoke of from his past. Enjoying a rare day where he did not work at the quarry,...
Entertainment: Wild Kratts bring their wild antics to the Cap Center
With so much going on, there’s no room for a real intro! Music Tuesday Paul Lovely at Hermanos Cocina Mexicana at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday Kid Pinky at Hermanos at 6:30 p.m. Camerata New England at Concord City Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Thursday Senie Hunt at Barley House at 8 p.m. April Cushman at Cheers at 5 p.m. Will Hatch at Hermanos at 6:30 p.m. Bach’s Lunch Concert: Jazz Guitar Generations at Concord Community Music School at 12:10...
Bulletin board: Virtual programs and new art exhibit on view
Fitness book to help young people Dr. Dan O’Neill will visit Gibson’s Bookstore virtually Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. to share his new book, Survival of the Fit: How Physical Education Ensures Academic Achievement and a Healthy Life and discuss how we can set up our young students to get the most out of their education and get ahead in life. Young people in America are facing a health crisis of epidemic proportions – yet no one is...
City Manager’s Newsletter: School Street garage update, steam line installation and more
Last Friday, the city’s public information officer, Stefanie Breton, sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter. There was too much to fit into this space, but you can see the full newsletter by going to concordnh.com and clicking on the Newsletter button on the home page.School Street garage updateBeginning this week, structural steel repairs will begin on the first floor of the School Street garage. This will result in temporary parking...
Andrew North’s new album
No stranger to recording music on a tight schedule, Andrew North recently released a new quarantine “live” album on Feb. 5. Flannelog, Vol. 1, so named for the flannel shirts Andrew loves to sport while performing shows on his YouTube channel, is a collection of live tracks that he recorded in his basement studio. Andrew North is a pianist and singer, who’s been spotted performing around the Concord and Burlington, Vt., areas as a...
This Week in Concord History
April 9, 1975: State representatives from Concord say they have mixed feelings about a plan by Gov. Mel Thomson to convert the Pleasant View home into a treatment center for the criminally insane. (It won’t happen.) April 9, 1991: After two consecutive days when the temperature reached 85 degrees, Concord settles for a high of 77. It’s apparently a big year for hot streaks: The city enjoyed another historic heat wave at the beginning...
During ‘pause,’ Bank of N.H. Stage presses ‘record’
Though restrictions on large gatherings have kept the box office closed for some time now, all has not been silent at the Bank of N.H. Stage. Ten local bands partnered with the Capitol Center for the Arts to record a few songs at the smaller of the Capitol Center’s venues. The recording will be edited into a pair of mini-concerts with a mix from the bands. Joe Gleason, assistant executive director, said earlier in the winter, musician...
Book of the Week: ‘The Library Book’
The Library BookSusan Orlean2018, 317 pagesNonfiction In 1986, “the most catastrophic library fire in American history occurred at the Los Angeles Central Library. Burning for more than seven hours, it consumed 400,000 books and damaged another 700,000.” Susan Orlean writes in detail about the day of the fire, how the fire grew to burn so hot, and how it destroyed so many books. For a book lover, it is very hard to read this part. She...
This week in Concord history
Feb. 11, 1941: President Franklin D. Roosevelt appoints John G. Winant of Concord to succeed Joseph Kennedy as U.S. ambassador to Great Britain. Winant, a Republican, is a former governor and served earlier in FDR’s presidency as the first administrator of the Social Security Administration. Feb. 11, 1965: The New Hampshire Senate agrees to reapportion its 24 seats, basing districts on population rather than wealth, as a 1964 U.S....
Concord trees are in danger, but work is being done to save them
Welcome to the Trees Issue. Kinda random, right? I know – how can someone make a whole newspaper issue about trees? What is there to report about trees, anyway? They probably make terrible interview subjects. Well, the truth is, there’s a lot of tree-related news in the city, and not all of it is good. While the Insider tends not to be a Debbie Downer type of publication, facts are facts, and the facts surrounding the capital city’s...
City announces new app to report issues
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: See, click & fix The City of Concord has partnered with SeeClickFix to implement a new citizen reporting platform and mobile app, making it easier than ever for the Concord community to report non-emergency quality-of-life concerns...
Bring the family out to a couple tree-related Concord events in April
Now that we’ve gotten the scary stuff out of the way, it’s time to focus on some fun stuff related to trees. First up is a class called Learn From the Arborist: Tree Care for Homeowners. The class will be held April 11 at 6 p.m. at the City Wide Community Center auditorium.Community Forester Cory Keeffe will lead a discussion on how to properly plant and maintain a tree on your property, as well as where to plant it to get the most...
Book: Murder, an unlikely suspect and an untrained sleuth
The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne By Elsa Hart (344 pages, mystery, 2020) It’s London in 1703 and Cecily Kay, wife of a British diplomat in Smyrna, is a plant collector who has traveled back to England. She has gotten permission to study in the “Plant Room” in the house of Sir Barnaby Mayne. This is a very exciting prospect for Cecily, a learned amateur botanist. She has dried plants from Smyrna that she wishes to look up in his...
Sustainable Street Tree Program shows Concord’s commitment to urban forestry
The Arbor Day Foundation has named Concord, New Hampshire a Tree City USA community in honor of the City of Concord’s dedication to forestry management. Concord General Services’ Sustainable Street Tree Program is one of many ways the City of Concord continues to invest in the community’s urban forestry. The Sustainable Street Tree Program is an initiative to benefit the community with better air quality, provide shade, increase...
Popular CRVNA groups, classes now virtual
Concord Regional Visiting Nurse Association, the largest home health and hospice provider in New Hampshire, has reimagined several of its popular wellness programs and support groups for a virtual setting as Granite Staters continue to practice social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic. “After nearly a full year adhering to physical distancing guidelines, the isolation is taking a toll on some, especially older adults,...
Cap Center’s new Bank of New Hampshire Stage aims to attract younger audience
There are numerous places to hear live music in Concord. Between the big venues such as the Capitol Center for the Arts and Concord City Auditorium and smaller places such as True Brew Barista, Penuche’s and NEC Concord – just to name a few – you can pretty much always find someone playing somewhere.But one more venue couldn’t hurt, right? Especially if that one more is a brand-new joint in the heart of downtown with a hip, young vibe...
Check out programs offered online
Author event Maine author Susan Conley (Elsey Come Home) visits Gibson’s virtually on Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. to present her new novel, Landslide, a touching family novel about a family surviving one hit after another. Susan will be joined in conversation by fellow Maine author Kerri Arsenault (Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains). After a fishing accident leaves her husband hospitalized across the border in Canada, Jill is left to look...
Voting for the 2019 Cappies is now open!
It’s that time of year again — time to vote for your favorite capital area businesses and decide who will take home the coveted Cappies awards this year. All you have to do is go to concordmonitor.com/cappies2019 (or click the link on the right side of the Insider home page) and fill in the blanks for each of the listed categories. This is open response, so just write in whoever you think is the most deserving. Voting is...
Concord golf course improvements underway
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: Merrimack Lodge The Merrimack Lodge at White Park will be open this Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Due to COVID-19, occupancy in the building will be limited. Skate rentals will be available for $5. Outdoor skating All outdoor...
Hop on over to the 4th annual Easter Eggstravaganza this weekend
Hard to believe, but it’s almost time for ConcordTV’s 4th annual Easter Eggstravaganza! Last year’s event was bigger than ever, so nothing can stop us now. The three-day festival for family and friends takes place this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Bektash Shrine Center (home of the holiday “Feztival of Trees” each year) on Pembroke Road. This year’s Eggstravaganza includes a spectacular feature raffle of more than 150 stunning...
