Donate toys and food to receive discounts!
The Science Store at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, 2 Institute Drive, will be collecting nonperishable food items for the New Hampshire Food Bank through December. The campaign is an extension of Patrick's Super Food Bank Project, an initiative begun several months ago by 12-year-old Patrick Regan of Merrimack, after learning about the critical food shortage the food bank is experiencing this year. In addition, the...
A special veterans breakfast at Walmart
This picture of Ulmont Bickford (left) and Jim Boyle was taken during Concord's Super Walmart's Veterans Day breakfast for those men and women who have served our country. We know Veterans Day is over, but we wanted to show our vets some love. Thanks a million!
The Insider is so well traveled
Readers, have we told you lately that we love you? Kiwanian and manager of Concord's AAA office, Nick Wallner, sent us this photo of himself and his wife, New Hampshire House Majority Leader, Mary Jane Wallner at Machu Picchu during their trip to Peru earlier this month. Naturally, Nick brought along the Insider's Concord Kiwanis Club issue to pose with. Let us know that you love us back, by posing with an issue of The...
Pick of the week
If you missed the 13th annual mayor's community prayer breakfast on Nov. 10 fear not! You can catch it on Concord TV's Government Channel 17 any day this week at 6 p.m. The theme of this year's breakfast was “Lend a hand: Hunger in the Capital Region.” We encourage you to support your local food pantries and soup kitchens by donating or volunteering. For a list of pantries and kitchens in the area, visit...
Professional crafters and yummy goodies
The annual Professional Craft Fair and Gourmet Bake Sale will be held on Dec. 5 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Beaver Meadow School, 40 Sewalls Falls Road. Admission is free. As always, this event delivers! There will be more than 50 professional crafters with handmade and homemade items, a gourmet bake sale and several raffles. Lunch will be available, so you can keep on shopping. This event is sponsored by and supports the Beaver Meadow...
Penacook gets into the holiday spirit!
The Penacook tree lighting will be held on Nov. 30 at 6 p.m. in Boudreau Square. Liz Blanchard will open the festivities with the tree topper in memory of her late husband. The Penacook Elementary School chorus will perform with caroling to follow. The Penacook Branch of the Concord Public Library, located in the square, will be open until 8:30 p.m., and library card registration will be encouraged that evening. The Concord Train Club...
The Thanksgiving spirit as demonstrated by the Concord Crew team!
Last Sunday, members of the Concord Crew team dropped off food collected at their year-end meeting to fill the Friendly Kitchen's shelves. Concord Crew, your do-goodery brings tears to our eyes. Sniff. Photo: The athletes of Concord Crew stand on the steps of the Hope House with founder Hope Butterworth. Hope's the one with the fabulous red shoes and black tights. Someday we wish to look as cute and well-put together as...
Book of the week
The Insider staff is thankful for many things this year, and the Concord Public Library is certainly one of them! For more information about the library, visit concordpubliclibrary.net. Fire Date Kristin Cashore 2009, 461 pages Fantasy When an author’s first book is chosen as an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults, how does she follow it up? In Kristin Cashore’s case, she writes a companion novel to the one that...
Calling all high school sophomores possessing leadership skills
The Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce announces that applications for the spring 2010 Capital Area Student Leadership (CASL) program are now available. The program is open to high school sophomores who reside in the Concord area and attend the following schools: Bishop Brady High School, Bow High School, Concord Christian, Concord High School, The Derryfield School, Hopkinton High School, John Stark High School, Merrimack Valley...
Spelling bee history repeats itself
When our cruel oppressor/ publisher/hallowed leader asked Cassie and I to participate in the Main Street Concord spelling bee, two things immediately sprang to mind. 1.) If I say “no,” she might cut the Insider hamster adoption fund. Or forget to give me a paycheck. 2.) I'm a pretty good speller – how bad could this be? So, I agreed, forcing Cassie to do the same. Our ad representative, Sherri Cote, was later...
Is someone the wind beneath your wings? Tell the Red Cross!
In March, the Granite Chapter of the American Red Cross will host an event celebrating local heroes – the Heroes Breakfast. We are asking for the public's help in identifying local, unsung heroes. Perhaps you know of a friend or a neighbor, a work colleague or a public figure, who has made an extraordinary contribution to the community, but received little recognition for their good deeds. We are looking for nominations of...
Ask the Tweens: What makes parents cool?
Dear Tweens, What makes your parents cool or uncool? Is it important? Why? Emily Hewey Most parents are embarrassing, like mine, for example. I know that my parents are going to read this, but I am not afraid to share what I think about them. I love them and my parents are cool most of the time. When my parents are cool, they let me go places with my friends. On the other hand, it makes me frustrated to hear them say that I can’t go...
Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing . . . and sushi?
We're so over turkey this Thanksgiving, we decided to go out for sushi instead. (Just kidding, turkey! We still love you and can't wait to eat you all week long!) To celebrate our very sushi Thanksgiving, we hit up four sushi hot spots in Concord and rated how they did against one another. To even out the playing field, we dined in and ordered the same item from each menu – tekka maki (that's a tuna roll for those...
Christmas in the Bag
I'm subletting my column this week to my crafty friend Wendy. She actually shared her method of gift wrapping with me almost a year ago. However, it was too late for me to pass it along to Insider readers. I vowed to publicize this great green idea early in the season to allow people plenty of time to take advantage of a creative alternative to traditional wrapping paper. Here are her easy directions for making gift bags:...
Grocery store sushi
Japanese restaurants aren’t the only ones with the goods. Market Basket, Hannaford and Shaw’s all stock sushi as well! So, next time you’re picking up bread and milk, throw some sushi into the mix. Shaw’s Past the produce is Shaw’s sushi bar. Shaw’s has a small selection of maki rolls starting at $3.99 for 16 rolls. I did not see any raw fish, but they had several shrimp options, California rolls (crabmeat, avocado and cucumber), eel,...
Zonta Club auction
Zonta Club of Concord, a professional service organization, is having its annual holiday auction on Dec. 2 at the Red Blazer Restaurant, 72 Manchester St. Proceeds of the auction will benefit local service projects including: The Friendly Kitchen, Merrimack Valley Day Care Center, Rape and Domestic Violence Crises Center, local multicultural programs, local scholarship programs at NHTI, Young Women in Public Affairs and Jane M....
Snowflake ball returns
Come dance the night away under a winter sky at the Concord Family YMCA's largest and most celebrated fundraiser – the 21st annual Snowflake Ball, to be held on Saturday, Dec. 5. This fundraising event for the Kids Campaign hopes to raise $51,000 and entertain over 275 guests. All proceeds will directly enable the YMCA to continue offering financial assistance and scholarships to low income children, families and adults to...
Rundlett students need your help!
Rundlett Middle School staff and students are participating in a community building unit using the current best selling book, “Three Cups of Tea” by Greg Mortenson, in which he tells the story of his personal journey of tolerance, empathy and compassion for the children of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Mortenson's most recent publication is the engaging and heartwarming story written for the young reader. This unique...
For your classy, wine-drinking pals
The holiday season can be just as exciting for adults as it is for the kiddies by doing some of your shopping at Vintner's Cellar, 133 Loudon Road. Although it is too late to make your own batch of wine for your pals to enjoy on Christmas morning, (it takes 8 to 10 weeks for it to transform into tasty wine), there are still several options for the wine-lover(s) in your life. Got a lot of people to check off your list?...
The American Red Cross is asking for your generosity this season
This holiday season, when economic conditions are tough, people really want their gifts to matter. The American Red Cross is launching a holiday campaign that offers a way to give a gift with real impact. Gifts that Save the Day is a new giving campaign that inspires people to make a gift to those in need. Through the catalog at redcross.org/gifts, people can make a donation that could provide food and shelter for a disaster victim...
