Eat your heart out, Concord
Us Insiders have been preparing for this event for roughly a month now by doing special stretches and challenging one another to competitive eating contests. The event causing this amount excitement is the fourth annual Taste of Concord, to be held on Oct. 15, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the Grappone Conference Center, 70 Constitution Ave. You can thank the Citizens Bank Foundation and New Hampshire Distributors for putting this tasty...
It's stamp time!
The Merrimack County Stamp Collectors' regular monthly meeting will be held at Bow Mills United Methodist Church, 505 South St., Bow, on Oct. 20 at 1:30 p.m. All people interested in stamp collecting are invited to attend. For more information, contact Dan Day at 228-1154.
Where should old batteries go to die?
Recently, my friend Mary asked me about recycling alkaline batteries. She wanted me to weigh in on a dispute she was having with someone who claimed that trashing alkaline batteries was okay. This came on the heels of my son berating me for (almost) tossing one out the other day. So it was time to do a little research. A product website like Duracell's will tell you that “alkaline batteries can be safely disposed of with...
Hooray for Pet Day!
Concord Arts Market is holding its very own Pet Day on Oct. 17 in Eagle Square. The Concord SPCA, Live and Let Live Farm, Greyhound Pets of America and pet-related vendors will all be in attendance. Pet Day is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free. The Concord SPCA will have volunteers and staff to answer questions. There will also be animals available to visit that are looking for homes. Could this be the day you meet your new...
CD of the week
That’s right. The Concord Public Library is more than just a pretty face and some books. For more information, visit concordpubliclibrary.net. “How Big Can You Get? The Music of Cab Calloway” Big Bad Voodoo Daddy 2009, Music CD Did you miss the performance of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy at the Capitol Center for the Arts this month? Or did you go, like the music and want to hear more? We have their newest CD here at the library. Big Bad...
Because people need to be warm this winter
The Concord Cold Weather Shelter is offering an orientation for new volunteers on Oct. 20 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, 177 N. Main St. Volunteers provide shelter in First and South Congregational Churches from mid-December through March, serving on either evening or overnight shifts. All are welcome to attend the orientation. A complete training is scheduled for November. For more information, contact Susan...
Ask the Tweens
They're back! Another group of sassy seventh-graders, ready to impart advice and wisdom to wondering readers. These students are a part of Betsy Heath's language arts class at Rundlett Middle School, and Betsy was nice enough to collect responses and generally act as Tween supervisor again this year. (Thanks, Betsy – you're the best!) Last year's group were known for honest answers and an excellent sense of...
Check out the works of Jill C. Fischman
Through the month of October, view the works of photographer Jill C. Fischman at the community gallery located inside of Red River Theatres, 11 S. Main St. Featuring flowers in her photography, Fischman captures the art of nature through floral portraiture using her camera as her paintbrush. She captures a thought, an image, a suggestion and translates it into an art form whether it be through graphic design, illustration or fine art....
Red-tailed hawk released
A rehabilitated red-tailed hawk was released back into the wild by the New Hampshire Audubon Society President Michael Bartlett on Sept. 20, at the society’s raptor observation platform on the grounds of the Carter Hill Orchards. This past spring Simon Huntington found the hawk in Manchester, where it may have fallen from its nest before it had learned to fly. In May it was taken to the Wings of the Dawn Bird Sanctuary in Henniker...
Where grasshoppers hang out
Here's a grasshopper sitting upon a purple thistle for you all, courtesy of Debbie LaValley.
Here's how you can help the library
We received a news release from the Concord Public Library detailing some of the ways you can help the library as it (and many others) deal with budget shortfalls. Save the magazines and newspapers Program budget reductions made it necessary for the library to cancel 25 percent of its magazine subscriptions and 50 percent of its newspaper subscriptions. The library is seeking cash donations to pay for these 70 magazine and newspaper...
Sigh . . . where did summer go?
The very creative Vicky Shouldis snapped this shot of the Concord crew team's shoes to denote the passing of summer in Concord. We thought this photograph was timely because with the cold weather right around the corner, you're probably with us in wondering where the heck did summer go? Thanks, Vicky, for submitting! Send your photos to news@theconcordinsider.com. Be sure to include your name and what's going on in the...
Grab your beret and latte
If you ever doubted Concord’s talent, attend a Poetry Society of New Hampshire meeting and all your doubts will go out the door. On the third Wednesday of every month at 7 p.m., poetry society members congregate at Gibson’s Bookstore, 27 S. Main St., to listen to a featured poet and participate in an open mic. As luck would have it, the third Wednesday of this month is right around the corner. There will be a meeting on Oct. 21 with...
The readers have spoken!
Last month, we collected responses for the first-ever Insider readers favorites awards. We came up with 24 categories and asked you, readers (aka the reason we exist), to tell us who and what you liked best in Concord. There were some pretty close calls and all-out fights when it came time to tally the results, but one thing's for sure: You people know what you like and you stick to it. (This became rather clear when the same...
Any Tom Sawyer fans out there?
You've got to read this. It's a classic. But you have to do it out loud. At the library. The Concord Public Library and the Community Players of Concord will host a free “Countdown to Adventure Read-In” of the “Adventures of Tom Sawyer” starting Friday, Oct. 17, at 3 p.m., in conjunction with the Children's Theater Project rendition of the classic at the Audi that night. The reading will finish...
Free child check clinic
The Concord School District will sponsor a free child check clinic to residents of Concord on Saturday, Oct. 17, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Rumford School. Children from birth to 5 years of age will be screened in the areas of hearing, vision, speech/language, preacademics and fine and gross motor skill development. Appointments are required. Please contact Audrey Knapp at 225-0837 to set up an appointment.
Traffic advisory
The Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk will be held in Concord on Sunday, Oct. 18. The walk begins at 1 p.m. on South Fruit Street. To safely accommodate the event, the southbound lane of South Fruit Street only will be closed between 12:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. Northbound traffic may experience brief delays, however emergency traffic to the Concord Hospital complex will not be impacted. Additionally, westbound traffic on Clinton...
Kitties for sale!
The Concord-Merrimack County SPCA and its network of loving foster homes are over capacity for kittens and cats. We are sending out an urgent notice that new homes are needed for kittens and cats of all colors and types. Each year, the shelter sees more than 1,700 animals in its facility and around 75 percent are felines. In order to help people who are willing to adopt in pairs, the shelter is offering to forgo the adoption fee for...
Corrections
We have Alex Cohn, photo editor for the Monitor, to thank for this correction from last week's Insider's Guide to New Hampshire fall edition. In the article about parks open year round, we gave some historical background on the Hannah Duston memorial. The item read (cue flashback mist and music): “On a small island, the statue commemorates the escape of Hannah Duston, who was captured during an Indian raid in 1697 in...
Bird man and volunteer Robert Vallieres recently given kudos
The New Hampshire Audubon congratulates Robert Vallieres, raptor volunteer, on being awarded the Spirit of New Hampshire Award from Volunteer NH. Each fall, a statewide celebration is held to present the Spirit of New Hampshire Awards in two major groups – volunteer service awards and volunteer program champion awards. The volunteer service awards recognizes people who provide volunteer services that strengthen communities. This...
These boots are made for fillling
Concord firefighters battled more than fires these past few months as they collected money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association during their annual Fill-the-Boot campaign. Local firefighters held collections at Market Days in July and at Walmart during Nascar weekend. A recent visit from MDA's local goodwill ambassador, Elisabeth Hunter of Bow, really pushed the department to fill its boots! Proceeds will help MDA provide...
Pints for Prostates
Barb's Beer Emporium, 208 N. Main St., is a sponsor for Pints For Prostates, a campaign developed to approach men in a comfortable forum, using the universal language of beer to inform and educate men about the importance of PSA testing and prostate screening. Pints For Prostates, founded by Rick Lyke, who is one of the lucky ones who found out how important early detection is, joins the efforts made by Us Too International...
