Strawberries are ripe for the picking
Those red jewels of the early summer harvest have arrived at Concord-area farms. Apple Hill and Rossview Farm both have opened for pick-your-own strawberry season. Of course, if you don’t feel like walking the rows yourself, you can purchase freshly-picked berries at the farmstands or area farmers markets. Apple Hill Farm Pick-your-own strawberries opened on June 14 and will be open Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to noon, as weather...
City pools open
The city of Concord is able to open five of the seven pools this season, which will run from June 20 to Aug. 3. Based on current best practices, it has scheduled intermittent cleaning throughout the day. They made the decision not to open two pools (Garrison Park, White Park) this summer. Garrison was chosen as it has the lowest attendance each summer. White Park pool was chosen due to the small pool deck and its capacity limitations....
Poem: Smile
For the Insider She said it was a shame, that smiles have to disappear, I explained to my young child, it’s not what you see it’s what you hear. People still carry happiness within, they really do smile behind the mask, you have to remember before, it really is a necessary task. Life is just the same, please don’t forget when, we walked to the park holding hands, under blue skies back then. We have not changed, we are all the same...
Passing on history through stories and fruit
There was once a young boy living in our little town, a boy from another generation many years ago. He possessed much energy and engaged each and every adult in conversation, begging for a story from the past. This young boy encountered a very old man. In fact, the old gent was more than ten times the age of the young boy. The boy loved to chat and hear stories, the old man loved to tell stories about the days gone by. A friendship...
Bulletin board
Everett Arena Roller Skating Roller skating returned to the Douglas N. Everett Arena this week for its sixth summer. New skating hours are Tuesday through Friday from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Roller skating will only be available for a limited time through Friday, July 30. Admission will be $5 with skate rentals available if needed for an additional $5 at the Pro Shop. Book a private roller skating event for a birthday party, field...
Gibson’s to resume in-person talks
Concord-based author launches new novel Gibson’s Bookstore will host its first in-person even in over 15 months on July 13 with Concord-based author Jennifer Anne Gordon. Gordon thrills and delights with her new horror fantasy novel Pretty/Ugly. You may have known her dance moves as an instructor at Let’s Dance Studio, tonight get to know her talents with words. This is a ticketed event with limited occupancy, and a firm ending time....
Summer concert series sets up for season
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: Concord Public Library news Live Music on the Lawn returns – next concert is July 21: These concerts are free and everyone is welcome to attend. Rory Scott Band: July 21, 6 p.m., Eagle Square (rain date: July 28). The Rory Scott Band is...
Live music picks up with outdoor shows
Live shows June 17 Craig Fahey at Hermanos Cocina Mexicana at 6:30 p.m. Queen City Improv at Hatbox Theatre at 7:30 p.m. June 18 Andrew North and the Rangers at Penuche’s Ale House at 7:30 p.m. DJ Zadzi at SHARA Vineyards from 6 to 8 p.m. Slow Voltage & Stoned Wasp at Area 23 at 7:23 p.m. June 19 Justin Cohn at Concord Craft Brewing from 4 to 6 p.m. Eric Lindberg at Chen Yang Li from 7 to 10 p.m. Chris Fitz Trio at Area 23 at 7:23...
Deception by Gaslight: A Gilded Gotham Mystery
Deception by Gaslight: A Gilded Gotham Mystery By Kate Belli (278 pages, mystery, 2020) It is the winter of 1888 in New York City, and socialite Genevieve Stewart wants to be a newspaper reporter. But she isn’t taken seriously by her editor at the Globe. He gives her lighthearted stories to cover, like baby contests, not serious stories. A jewel thief nicknamed the “Robin Hood of the Lower East Side” has been active, stealing precious...
Book: Mulan, Woman Warrior
Mulan, Woman Warrior By Jeff Pepper (90 pages, language learning easy reader, 2020) Mulan takes the place of her father to fight in the army, disguising herself for 12 years of warfare. Heralded as a hero after her service, she declines offered rewards and instead returns home to her family, donning women’s dress once again. The story of Mulan, popularized here by Disney movies, is an ancient story with written record at least as far...
Book: Underland
Underland By Robert Macfarlane (488 pages, nonfiction, 2019) This book blew my mind a little bit. After finishing (and loving) Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass, I used the “You May Also Like” feature on Concord Public Library’s online catalog to point me toward more books about ecology, environmentalism, and humans’ relationship with the natural world. What a spot-on recommendation this was! This book is difficult to...
This week in Concord history
June 17, 1970: Attorney General Warren Rudman tells the Concord Rotary Club that he was glad the Chicago Three — David Dellinger, Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman — were allowed to speak at UNH. “You cannot repress free speech, he says. “You cannot repress advocacy of things you don’t agree with.” June 17, 1863: With Union armies still faltering at the front, 30,000 people gather in Concord for the formation of the Public Loyal...
Bulletin Board
Back to the stage Starting June 11 and running through June 27, a mainstage production returns to Hatbox Theatre in Concord with a unique twist on classic characters. Sherlock Holmes is dead. Or so it is assumed. The world knows the great detective went over the falls at Reichenbach with his nemesis Professor Moriarty. But, as Holmes’ body was never retrieved, a number of frauds, fakes, and charlatans have come forward since to lay...
Projects spruce streets, building
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:City news and projectsFace covering ordinance: The City of Concord’s face coverings ordinance expired on June 1, 2021. City Council encourages anyone eligible to get vaccinated and to continue to follow the recommendations set forth by...
Poem: They
The sun sets, on this hallowed little hill, people come and visit, again, and again till. They stop and remember, recall the days from the past, wish life was more forgiving, from the first day to the last. They take the time to reflect, some, they do pray, talk to those departed, wish they were not away. They smile as they recall, planting a flower while on a knee, only remember the best moments, old thoughts of what might be. They...
This week in Concord history
June 10, 1983: A celebration marks the opening of Eagle Square. Former mayor Martin Gross delivers a poem to mark the occasion. One stanza describes the Eagle Stable, which will soon be open in the Crystal Courtyard, a mini-mall for specialty foods: Your stable’s stalls, once equine halls, soon hungry souls will seek. No hay or mash but gourmet stash – an appetite boutique. June 10, 1900: A Concord police officer...
Book: Poe: Stories and Poems: A Graphic Novel Adaptation
Poe: Stories and Poems: A Graphic Novel Adaptation By Gareth Hinds (103 pages, graphic novel, 2017) If this book had been around when I was in middle school, I most certainly would have had a copy of it on my nightstand. In this graphic novel adaptation, artist Gareth Hinds illustrates some of the most beloved Edgard Allan Poe stories (The Masque of the Red Death, The Cask of Amontillado, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Tell-Tale Heart)...
Book: Fiends on the Other Side
Fiends on the Other Side By Vera Strange (202 pages, juvenile fiction, 2020) This quick read is for those who like books about magic and shadows coming to life. This children’s suspense book about a Disney villain reads a lot like Goosebumps. The villain, the Shadow Man, will intrigue you. From his purple dust to the way words twist off his tongue. And why does he want the necklace Jamal’s Grandmother left him when she died? It’ll...
Bulletin board: Find something to entertain yourself
Virtual event launches ‘In the Heights’ Before Hamilton became a global phenomenon, before Lin-Manuel Miranda became a household name, a little show called In the Heights shook up Broadway with its hip-hop and salsa soundtrack and big, bilingual heart. In the new book In the Heights: Finding Home, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Quiara Alegría Hudes, and Jeremy McCarter tell the story of the show’s humble beginnings, from rehearsals in a...
City news: Enjoy biking around capital
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: City news and projects Face covering ordinance: The City of Concord’s face coverings ordinance expired on June 1, 2021. City Council encourages anyone eligible to get vaccinated and to continue to follow the recommendations set forth by...
Exhibit: Great and small adventure
New Hampshire Art Association artist Sarah Cail will have her photographs on display in an exhibit titled, “Images made from Adventures Great and Small,” at the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce Visitors Center beginning June 22.When Cail first came up with the title of her show almost a year ago, she said she could not have predicted that she would have a gallery showing of photographs created from very small adventures.She was...
This week in Concord history
June 4, 2001: The Concord School Board approves a policy prohibiting students on sports teams or in clubs from attending gatherings where other students are using alcohol or drugs. If students are caught – regardless of whether they were drinking or getting high – they, along with a parent or guardian, will have to meet with a school counselor to discuss the risks associated with alcohol and drug abuse. June 4, 1819: A great...
Mary Tudor: Princess, Bastard, Queen
Mary Tudor: Princess, Bastard, Queen By Ana Whitelock (402 pages, nonfiction, 2009) You may have heard of her, Mary, “Bloody Mary.” Not to be confused with the urban legend. Though this Mary does have blood on her hands. How could someone burn 300 people and yet wash the feet of the poor? Mary Tudor is a contrasting character. She is pious to the utmost. Loyal to her husband. Kind in her faith. But go against her faith or her...
Growing Old
Growing Old By Elizabeth Marshall Thomas (224 pages, biography, 2020) Although we don’t like to think about it, we all grow older. Maybe you are on that threshold or know someone who is already there. Wherever you may be in the process, you will enjoy Elizabeth Marshall Thomas’ humor on the subject of growing old with grace and dignity. Elizabeth Marshall Thomas is a New Hampshire author. She has spent her life observing animal...
Andrew North and the Rangers create album
New Hampshire indie band Andrew North and the Rangers released their new single, Aditi, and announced their debut full-length LP, Phosphorescent Snack, arriving on July 30. The new song is whimsical and upbeat and showcases the band’s instrumental dexterity. The lyrics are based on a silly conversation that Andrew had with his then 2-year-old son.“I love being a dad and just getting to be goofy,” says North “My son and I were talking...
Bulletin board
Vape book author event Jamie Ducharme returns to Concord virtually June 2 at 7 p.m. to present a fast-paced and impressively researched account of the history and rise of e-cigarettes, in Big Vape: The Incendiary Rise of Juul. She is joined in conversation by Time magazine editor at large Jeffrey Kluger (Apollo 13, Holdout). Jamie will be in New Hampshire the week of June 7, and will be happy to sign and personalize any orders that...
City newsletter: Football camp with Patriots alums
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: Meetings Finance Committee: May 27, 5:30 p.m., FY 2022 Budget Review: Community Development, Leisure Services, Human Services, Capital Improvement Program; June 3, 5:30 p.m., FY 2022 Budget Review: Special Revenue Funds (Project...
This week in Concord history
May 27, 1861: After enlisting 71 men in Contoocookville, Joab N. Patterson takes them to Portsmouth, where most will join the Second New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry for three years’ service in the Civil War. Lt. Patterson, who recently graduated from Dartmouth at age 25, will fight in 24 engagements from First Bull Run to Appomattox Court House, rising to the rank of brevet brigadier general. May 27, 1727: New Hampshire’s...
Book: Stargazer
By Anne Hillerman (316 pages, mystery, 2021) Navajo Police Officer Bernadette (Bernie) Manuelito is having a fairly routine day. But it quickly takes a turn for the worse. She goes to serve a warrant and bring a man in, and she has to maneuver around some stray cattle. Loose cattle can create dangerous situations if they wander onto a road. So she calls that in. Then she comes across a horrible crime scene. She helps one victim and...
The Long Call
By Ann Cleeves (374 pages, mystery, 2019) We first meet Detective Matthew Venn standing outside of the church where his father’s funeral is taking place. He is sure that he is not welcome inside. Matthew grew up in a strict evangelical family; they belonged to the Barum Brethren. When he rejected the church as a young man, he was ostracized. Matthew gets a call from work. A man’s body has been found on the beach. He has no ID on him,...
