Book of the Week: Real or false isn’t clear
The Burn PalaceBy Stephen Dobyns(464 pages, fiction, 2013)The Burn Palace sets up a great mystery right from the beginning – a baby disappears from it’s hospital crib, replaced by a large snake. The setting is a small Rhode Island town, where nothing so extraordinary has happened since the town’s namesake was attacked and killed by wolves decades earlier.The tension builds to a violent crescendo as increasingly strange – possibly...
Entertainment: Lots of comedy and drama on Concord’s stages this week
It’s a very busy week on the entertainment front in Concord, marked by two comedy shows, a Harry Potter spoof and a Ukranian national ballet troupe making its first-ever visit to the United States, among other fun stuff. Here’s what we found: Music Tuesday Kid Pinky at Hermanos Cocina Mexicana at 6:30 p.m. Jazz student recital at Concord Community Music School at 7 p.m. Wednesday Tim Wildman at Hermanos at 6:30 p.m. Thursday Odd...
Capital Arts Fest returns for 3rd year
The League of New Hampshire Craftsmen is thrilled to announce it is moving forward with the third annual Capital Arts Fest on Sept. 26 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sept. 27 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event will have all the look and feel of the Capital Arts Fest of previous years, while taking the proper safety steps to make sure visitors feel safe while they move between artist tents and enjoy musical performances coordinated by the...
City Manager’s Newsletter: City Council meeting highlights, winter operations and more
The city of Concord’s public information officer, Stefanie Breton, sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter last Friday. The newsletter contained too much information for us to fit into this spot, so we’re just printing some highlights here. For the full newsletter, go to concordnh.gov and click the “Newsletter” button on the home page. Come out to the parking forum Come meet with the city’s Parking Committee to discuss final draft...
This week in Concord History
Sept. 24, 1816: A few months after the Legislature confirms Concord as the state capital, the cornerstone of the State House is laid. To now, New Hampshire is the only state in the union without a capital. Sept. 25, 2001: After almost a year since they last piled into the Belknap County Superior Court, more than a dozen lawyers for the country’s leading cigarette companies are back in Laconia, arguing pretrial issues in the...
UNH Law to screen ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ lead discussion on civics
On Sunday, the New Hampshire Institute for Civics Education will screen To Kill a Mockingbird as part of a multiyear statewide program designed to foster conversations with the public on law, justice, and civics.The screening will take place from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the University of New Hampshire School of Law’s Warren B. Rudman Center for Justice, Leadership, and Public Service in Concord. There will be a break midway through...
Looking back: Trading news stories for old stories
For the InsiderThere are people you meet on this journey we call life. You meet them at different stages in your life, you might be retiring while they are embarking on a career. You might be the young one meeting a person viewing the setting sun. Such was the case with my early childhood journey back in the year 1968, while a young newspaper boy delivering for the Concord Monitor.In the early years, my paper route was around the...
Instagram: A breathtaking, kind of spooky shot of Turkey Pond
Instagram user @sheldonmckinley_ has done it again. His photos have appeared in these pages a few times already, but we couldn’t resist running this photo of the partially frozen Turkey Pond reflecting some beautiful colors off the sky. The user, Sheldon McKinley, commented that the water sort of looks like outer space, which it does. Another fine shot from @sheldonmckinley_. Have you taken a cool photo somewhere around Concord? If...
Virtual book talks with Gibson’s
Poet Erica Bodwell, winner of the 2018 Wilder Series Poetry Book Prize, returns to Gibson’s Bookstore virtually Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. to present her first full-length poetry collection, Crown of Wild. Signed copies are available. It will be held online only via Zoom, registration required at eventbrite.com/e/ 119288241341.Authors Cynthia Clumeck Muchnick and Jenn Bowie Curtis visit Gibson’s Bookstore virtually Sept. 30 at 7...
Bulletin Board: Two chances to sing, family fun, health groups
Open Sing at Concord Chorale Singers are invited to the Concord Chorale Open Sing on Wednesday at 7:15 p.m. Meet the director and membership, preview the spring concert repertoire, and then schedule an audition. Rehearsal space is in the Concord High School band room, 170 Warren St. Enter through the Fruit Street side door near the corner of Pleasant Street, across from the gas station. More information is available at...
City newsletter: Get a deal on new-to-you bike
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:Absentee ballots for electionThe City Clerk’s Office expects to receive absentee ballots for the upcoming Nov. 3, 2020, Election in early October. Upon receipt of those ballots, from the Secretary of State’s Office, staff will begin...
Downtown: What’s up with all the banks on Main Street?
It seems to be a common sight in downtown: a store or a food spot goes away and is later replaced by a banking institution. Take the former site of the Crazy Goat, bought by Bangor Savings Bank in August. While conceptual plans leave room for some sort of restaurant, the split-level building’s facade will be dominated by a banking sign. Then there was the Pompanoosuc Mills furniture store at 11 N. Main Street. They moved down the...
Two artists, two themes, one location
Two New Hampshire Art Association members – photographer Mark Giuliucci and artist Kate Higley– have their artwork on display until Dec. 17 at 2 Pillsbury St. The two artists will have separate titles and themes for their exhibits. Giuliucci’s show is titled “Unseen Light,” using infrared photography. “Infrared photography is the art of capturing light that cannot be seen,” Giuliucci said. “Infrared wavelengths lie beyond the range...
Blast From the Past: Reflecting on the dedication of the Franklin Pierce statue
I captured the simple beauty of our 14th president standing in front of our golden New Hampshire State House dome on a recent cold January morning.With the only sound the falling sleet early this morning on a deserted Main Street, I reflected back to the dedication of this statue on Nov. 25, 1914.Franklin Pierce died on Oct. 8, 1869, in a rented home on South Main Street. During his last hours and near death, he asked his Irish...
City news: Get a library card, dispose of waste
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: Get library card September is Library Card Sign-up Month, a time when the Concord Public Library joins the American Library Association and libraries nationwide to remind parents, caregivers, and students that signing up for a library...
Gibson’s Bookstore to welcome historian Jack Noon with ‘The Tornado of 1821’
Historian Jack Noon will visit Gibson’s Bookstore on Thursday to talk about his book, The Tornado of 1821, describing an extremely violent weather anomaly which hit New Hampshire towns from the Connecticut River to the Merrimack through Croydon, Sunapee, Lake Sunapee, New London, Sutton, Warner and Webster in a single hour.In New Hampshire late on a Sunday afternoon in September 1821, a tornado blasted its way from the Connecticut...
Entertainment: Have a laugh at Hatbox
Live Music Friday, Sept. 18 Cash Unchained at 8 p.m. at the Capitol Center for the Arts, Chubb Theatre, 44 S. Main St., Concord. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. $25-$35. Call to purchase tickets. Info: ccanh.com. Dean Harlem and Brian Booth at 6:03 p.m. at Area 23. DJ Shamblez at 4 p.m. at Lithermans Limited Brewery (with pop-up by Dos Amigos) Andy Laliotis and Brian Burnout at Penuche’s Ale House at 8 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19 Saturday...
Doris Ballard expands her cultural vision of Concord
Monitor staff Doris Ballard still sees her hometown as a city with potential.Already a major force in three local venues – television, business and, most recently, comedy – the 71-year-old Concord resident is the backbone behind a multifaceted show that’s scheduled to run the second Thursday of each month at Tandy’s Pub.Its premiere, on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, will include more than Ballard’s usual lineup of amateur and professional...
Kindness Challenge: Consider others’ perspectives
Earlier this summer, I went to Acadia National Park with my family. At night outside our cottage, my sister and I would skip stones in the ocean. Every time I threw or skipped a rock, I could see rings in the water that made a ripple effect in the spot where the rock sank into the water. Kindness toward other people in life causes a ripple effect too. One of the best ways to have your ripple be a kind one in life is to always try to...
Book of the Week: ‘Murder at the Brightwell’
Murder at the Brightwell Ashley Weaver 2014, 325 pages Fiction/mystery This traditional mystery starts in Kent, England, in 1932. Amory Ames is fed up with her playboy husband, Milo, who keeps going off to Europe to gamble, leaving her at home. After five years of marriage, she sees him so little, she wonders if they should even stay together. Her ex-fiancé, Gil Trent, asks her a favor. Gil’s sister Emmeline is engaged to another...
Exhibit changes with the leaves
The oil paintings of New Hampshire Art Association artist BJ Eckardt will be on display at the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce Gallery from Sept. 22 to Dec. 17. The title of the exhibit is “Moments in Nature.” The show is about capturing those brief encounters with nature. “Witnessing unique and special moments in nature are gifts to behold,” Eckardt said. “Rays of sunshine making their marks in a forest, the perfect cloud on a...
This Week in Concord History
Jan. 22, 1811: A cow belonging to Abner Farnum Jr. of Concord gives birth to a two-headed calf. Jan. 22, 1942: The Monitor reports that rather than wait for the draft, 32 men have enlisted at the Concord recruiting office for the duration of the war. Eleven are from Concord. Most have signed up for the air corps and been sent to Missouri to train. Jan. 22, 2001: The Concord School Board names Chris Rath the superintendent of the...
Book of the Week: Coyote Waits
Coyote Waits By Tony Hillerman (292 pages, mystery, 1990) One night on patrol tribal officer Jim Chee calls fellow officer Delbert Nez to arrange a break at a gas station for coffee. Nez is on the track of someone who has been painting the rocks on the hills nearby. But Nez doesn’t show up. When Chee goes to find him, he finds the car Nez was driving in flames. Chee pulls Nez out of his burning car. But Nez has been shot dead. Chee...
Indulge your senses and hit up some Concord events for N.H. Wine Week
More than 60 of the world’s most renowned winemakers are set to make New Hampshire their winter home next week. The New Hampshire Liquor Commission will host its 14th annual New Hampshire Wine Week, taking place Jan. 20 to 26, drawing Gina Gallo, Jean-Charles Boisset and Cristina Mariani-May to meet directly with New Hampshire consumers in a series of exclusive tastings, wine dinners, bottle signings and seminars. The week-long...
Bulletin Board: Parade planning and more
Concord Christmas Parade in works The 69th annual Concord Christmas Parade is being organized by Concord Grange 322 and Concord Eagles Club. Brian Blackden will return as chairman for his second year, Dick Patten as advisor and Tom Cusano will be parade formation coordinator. Debbie Patten will continue as treasurer for the parade. The parade will be held on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 9:30 a.m. on the Concord Heights. The organizers have...
Here’s everything that’s going on outside of Concord during N.H. Wine Week
New Hampshire Wine Week is a big to-do across the whole state. While we normally only focus on what’s happening in Concord, for something as big as this, we figured we’d give you the full schedule of events in case you decide to venture outside the city. Most wine tastings will take place at New Hampshire Liquor and Wine Outlets – for instance, a location of “West Lebanon Store” refers to a liquor and wine outlet in West Lebanon...
This week in Concord history
Sept. 17, 1987: The poet Robert Lowell dies. He has family ties in Dunbarton, where he will be buried. His epitaph: “The immortal is scraped unconsenting from the mortal.” Sept. 17, 1967: The Mount Washington Cog Railway goes out of control and plunges into a gorge, killing eight passengers and injuring 74 others. A Public Utilities Commission investigation will decide that the accident occurred because the crew failed to...
Pride Pops Up to build community at Whiskey & Wine on Sunday
“We hear a lot that there’s a lack of community for LGBTQ in New Hampshire – not a lot of options.”That’s what J.M. Hirsch, a Concord resident, had to say about the LGBTQ community in the capital city. Being a member of that community, Hirsch and his partner, Nicholas King, decided to do something about it.On Sunday, Whiskey & Wine will open its doors for the first-ever Pride Pop Ups, a pop-up LGBTQ night at the downtown...
Annual Monarch Festival joins streaming list
Every September since 2013, Petals in the Pines in Canterbury has looked forward to the Monarch Festival, which attracts hundreds of people from around New Hampshire. This year, because of COVID-19, they are going to do this event online. They are excited about this opportunity because now it doesn’t matter where you live, you’ll be able to take part in the festival. Starting at 9 a.m. on Sept. 12, they will broadcast to you from the...
Making Good Health Simple: Two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen is a match made in heaven
Nancy and Ronald, Batman and Robin, Siegfried and Roy, Kim and Kanye – (in)famous dynamic duos that somehow complement each other. Two hydrogen molecules and one oxygen molecule bonded together – who would have thought how magnificent this combination could be? In addition to the importance water plays in and on our planet, it is essential to many biological processes. In my opinion, none more important than sustaining human life. Our...
