Welcome to Market Days 2016
Can you believe it, Market Days is finally here. We know you’re probably as excited as we are for the 42nd edition of Concord’s premiere summer event, put on by Intown Concord, so let’s not waste any more of your time with Insider flibber flabber. The festival kicks off Thursday at 10 a.m. and will be going strong for three straight days (June 23-25). Well, technically it closes down at 10 p.m. each night, but during those 12 hours...
Pick winners at Tandy’s Eagle Square Stage
There’s definitely no shortage of entertainment at the Tandy’s Eagle Square Stage during Market Days. The location has a jam-packed schedule, but the highlight will be Market Days Idol, the popular and fun let’s-take-this-seriously karaoke competition. Some of the area’s best amateur singers will take the stage each day of the festival and show off what they can do. Then the audience (that means you) will vote on the contestants each...
It’s all local at the Homegrown Music Stage
If you plan on heading over to Bicentennial Square during Market Days, be prepared to hear live, local music – and a lot of it. That’s because the square will play host to the Homegrown Music Stage, a showcase of some of New Hampshire’s best bands. With Penuche’s and True Brew Barista – both big players in the local music scene – right there, it only makes sense that Bicentennial Square is the location for this local-minded music...
Multicultural Festival to celebrate 10 years
Insider staff They say America is a melting pot. It’s where the whole world comes to hang out and get along.The same could be said for little old Concord, which is home to dozens of cultures from all over the globe.Although you may not think of New Hampshire’s capital city as being a hotbed of cultural diversity, there’s a lot more here than you might realize.All of this will be evident come Saturday, when the 10th annual Concord...
Here’s some more info to help make your experience better
You’ve probably figured out, if you read this issue from the very beginning, Market Days is filled with stuff for people of all ages. It’s exactly what you’d expect of a classic New England festival that closes down roads and attracts people from all over the state and beyond. We’ve told you about the music and entertainment, the beer, and just about everything you can expect to see and hear over the course of the three days. Almost...
South Main Park Stage has plenty going on
The great thing about the South Main Park Stage is the variety. Spend a couple hours and you might see an acoustic musician and a barbershop quartet. Maybe you’ll catch a taekwondo demo and a dance routine. There’s the Freese Brothers Big Band on Friday evening, followed by the chance to play Star Fox on a giant outdoor screen courtesy of Red River Theatres, which will then use said big screen to show The Last Starfighter. Saturday’s...
Looking for family fun? Try the State House
There’s nothing quite like Free Family Fun. And Market Days is full of it. Now we’re not completely sure where you’re standing, but you see that big building with a golden dome on top. Head that way. Right in front of that is the State House lawn, and that’s where you want to be for all kinds of fun happening throughout the three-day event. What kind of fun? Hope you can read and walk at the same time. There’s magic shows and crafts –...
Run the Capital City Classic 10K Road Race
We know that it’s going to be tough to stay away from all that delicious and not-so-good-for-you food that is synonymous with Market Days. And we can’t blame you. We’ll probably indulge a little ourselves. But if you live for the festival and spend every moment of the 36 hours it’s open roaming around Main Street looking for snacks, you probably won’t feel all that great about your eating choices come Sunday. But there’s definitely...
Catching up with Intown Concord’s Susan Sokul
Despite a busy schedule leading up to Market Days, we caught up with Susan Sokul, communications and events coordinator for Intown Concord, to get a look at some of the behind the scenes stuff that goes on with Concord’s premiere summer event. And of course we have to share what we found out with all of you.When do you start planning for Market Days? Once Midnight Merriment is in the rear-view mirror, we launch right into Market Days....
See very strong people at Pleasant and Main
Nothing against Thursday and Friday, but Saturday steals the show at the intersection of Pleasant and Main (yep, we mean North and South). It kicks off with the fourth annual Fire Truck Pull at 10 a.m., where teams of 10 try to be the fastest to yank a 45,000 Concord fire truck down a 100-yard section of Main Street. Extreem Cheer of Bow will dazzle audiences with whatever cheerleaders do these days, starting at 1 p.m. And to cap off...
Did you know there’s beer and wine at Market Days?
We’ve all been there. It’s a hot day, you’ve been walking around Market Days for hours checking out all the vendors, grabbing a bite to eat and taking in some of the entertainment. Then the mood strikes: it’s time for a cold one.Good thing there’s a beer and hospitality tent right smack dab in the middle of the festival. Like any other place in this country that serves beer (and wine), you have to be 21 years old to indulge, but if...
Help decide who is named Market Days Idol
Insider staff If you’ve ever been to Tandy’s Top Shelf, you probably know that karaoke is pretty serious business there.It’s not all typical barroom karaoke, either, in which whoever has had the most to drink gets up there and stumbles through “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” or “Piano Man” while everyone else in the room tries hard to keep their dinner down.No, Tandy’s takes a little more pride than that. That’s why the eatery is once again...
Touch A Truck at Market Days
If you start your Market Days experience at the top of North Main Street, that’s where you’ll find the Touch-a-truck area.You’ll see all kinds of big trucks and cool cars over the three days along with some demos.THURSDAY10:15 to 11:15 a.m.: Spank Alley Demo TeamNoon to 5 p.m.: Things That Go Fast!6 to 7 p.m.: Granite State Roller DerbyFRIDAYNoon to 5 p.m.: Your City and Safety5:30 to 6:15 p.m.: Spank Alley Demo Team 6:30 to 9 p.m.:...
Get a little Krazy with the kids
If jumping up and down in a bouncy house or making your way through an obstacle course is your child’s idea of fun, then you need to check out the Krazy Kids area at City Plaza. The Krazy Kids area is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day and for a cool Abraham Lincoln (that’s a $5 bill) you can play as much as you want for the day. You’ll get a wrist band that not only allows you to be in the Krazy Kids area, but also play mini golf...
Test those putting skills
One of the best additions to Market Days in recent memory has to be the mini golf course and once again it’s back to test your putting skills. Ten businesses signed up to design custom holes to help you practice your putting skills. The course will once again be at City Plaza, and you can play for just $5 – and that’s for an entire day. So you can play a quick round in the morning and then go back for a night cap in the afternoon....
Check out some Concord summer concerts
So we kinda missed the boat on this one, seeing as the first concert in Concord Parks and Rec’s summer concert series was last week – and the second one is tonight (Tuesday).But the saying does go “better late than never.’Anyway, back to the point. Tonight’s show at Kiwanis Park, next to Everett Arena, features none other than the Nevers Band.The Nevers Band are a mainstay on Concord’s summer concert series and will be so again this...
Ballard’s Ice Cream to throw birthday/retirement bash
Insider staff Ballard’s Ice Cream has been a fixture in Concord for the past 36 years, serving up frozen goodness and smiles to the masses every summer.It is therefore bittersweet to announce that this will be the last go-round for owner Norm Ballard, who is ready to both turn 70 and retire. That means the shop will be sold after this season.“They’re gonna miss me,” Ballard said of his faithful customers he’s gotten to know so well...
Live Music on the Lawn returns to the library
We talk a lot about live music in these pages, but it usually requires spending a night in a local bar of coffee shop. It’s not often that we get to talk about not just one but three big musical performances going down at Concord Public Library. But that’s exactly what we’re about to do. It’s called the Live Music on the Lawn series, and it is exactly what it sounds like. This is the second year of the series, which features a...
Strawberry season is here, so go pick your own
Insider staff When it comes to strawberry picking, you have to get low to the ground to find the good ones.Unlike apples and blueberries, strawberries make you work a little. They don’t sit out there in plain sight just waiting for you to grab and toss in your bucket. It’s a lot of bending and kneeling, moving away leaves in search of that distinct shade of red. You know what I mean.Sometimes you see it and the berry is perfect, other...
Get out there and hike some Concord trails
For the Insider The days are getting longer, warmer and the flowers are reawakening so let’s get outside and enjoy the beautiful countryside that the Capital area has to offer. Off-road or on-road, there are no shortages of activities to get involved in! I encourage you to get outside for some physical activity as often as you can.The physical and mental health benefits of exercise are well known yet many of us, myself included, find...
The Audubon is having a party
Did you know that about a third of your food depends directly on pollination? How about that 75 percent of the world’s flowering plants need pollinators to grow? And what about the notion that there are more than 100 native pollinators in North America, and not just the honey bee, which most people think of and isn’t even native to here? Well, those are just a few of the fun facts you might add to the memory bank if you check out the...
Get your strawberry fix at Bow Mills festival
If you’re a strawberry fan, this is the best time of year to be one.And while it’s fun to go and pick your own (like we did), we’ve got a way for you to enjoy the delicious fruit without doing all the hard work.The Bow Mills United Methodist Church will hold its eighth annual Strawberry Festival on Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.As you can probably guess, there will be lots of the delicious berries on hand. The day before, they pick...
This Week in Concord History
June 21, 1788: At a meeting house near the former Walker School, delegates from around the state vote 57-47 in favor of the new U.S. Constitution. This makes New Hampshire the ninth and deciding state to ratify. Hopkinton’s delegate votes in favor; Concord’s delegate, the burly Capt. Ben Emery, votes no, as do representatives of Warner, Salisbury and Loudon. June 21, 1909: The White Parks beat the Old Timers 14-0 in the first...
Bulletin Board
Bow Mills offering summer camp Bow Mills United Methodist Church, 505 South St., Bow, is offering a Summer Spirit Camp/Vacation Bible School from July 25-29 in the form of a funny musical called Go, Go Jonah! All kids, grades 1-12, are invited to sing with us all week from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. (lunch will be provided). Warm-up rehearsals and tryouts for solos will be held in advance, and the full experience will conclude with performances...
Only the strong
Market Days will host its first-ever Strongman competition at the Pleasant/ Main Street intersection on Saturday, from 3 to 6 p.m. Regional and local strongmen will vie for victory with a gauntlet of classic strongman events. Professional Highland Games athlete and World Record holder in Highland Games Mike Zolkiewicz will be a featured athlete, along with Gerard Benderoth. Local strongmen from New Hampshire, Patrick O’Brien, Raige...
Book of the Week: Hex
HexThomas Olde Heuvelt2016, 384 pagesThriller/Horror Welcome to the picturesque town of Black Spring. It’s beautiful, thriving . . . and haunted. The ghost of Katherine, a dark witch killed by Dutch settlers in the 1600s, walks the streets, enters homes at will and stands next to beds at night. Although she is blinded and mute, residents know that she can never be freed. If she is, she will destroy everything in her path.The town...
