Around Concord Magazine Winter 2016 by Around Concord Magazine

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CONCORD WINTER 2016/2017 VOLUME 9, NO. 3 $4.95

community• culture• lifestyle

We can choose to take a breath‚ slow down‚ and enjoy the holiday season. Reimagine Holiday Shopping by Debbie Kane

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CONTENTS

Around

WINTER 2016/2017

CONCORD

VOLUME 9, NO . 3

36 44

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Features

Reimagine Holiday Shopping

Just Desserts

BY DEBBIE KANE

BY RACHEL FORREST

Step Out Your Door into a Celebration of Community This Holiday Season

The Perfect Last Bite of a Holiday Dinner

So Fine An Eye

Finding Grace

BY LAURA POPE

BY SUSAN NYE

David Lamb Forges a Twenty-First Century Hybrid of Contemporary Artfulness with Shaker and European Traditions

A Story of Love, Kindness, and Faith

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CONTENTS

Around

WINTER 2016/2017

CONCORD

VOLUME 9, NO . 3

28 22

34 Get more

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In Every Issue

Departments

Editor’s Note

Food & Spirits

Contributors

The Arts

Personal Essay

Business

BY JOHN GFROERER

Home & Garden

Neighborhood Profile

Calendar

64 Last Word

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On the cover

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EDITOR ' S NOTE |

BY JAMES BUCHANAN

Winter Days

o my mind, this photo of my daughter is everything that winter is and should be. It’s walking out in brisk cold and fresh snow. It’s enjoying the sublime beauty of water, frozen in its many permutations, and a landscape that in its repose still changes and evolves as the weather works on it. And it’s about moments shared with those we love. Every time I look at this photo, taken some ten years ago, it reminds me how much I love Violet, her brother Quincy, and what that winter day meant as we walked, horsed around, and marveled at the simple, fragrant beauty of cedar stands dusted in soft snow. In this issue of Around Concord, we’ve tried to convey the texture of winter in Northern New England. It is holidays that stretch from Thanksgiving to New Year’s, where each day and evening is an opportunity to connect with our families and communities. It is a solitary, but not lonely, morning spent with a camera as the sun rises above a bitter cold landscape. It’s a remembrance of a departed cousin and that, despite a deep divide, there was still plenty of room for love and respect. It’s the softness of wood grain in the hands of a master furniture maker. It’s a kind woman who has built community around recipes learned in her mother’s kitchen in Greece more than forty years ago. And, of course, it’s something sweet and a soothing drink shared with family and friends. Yes, we will tire of the cold and the snow and the darkness, but if we take moments to celebrate winter and community, we’ll create memories that will last well beyond us. I hope that one day Violet will share this photo with her little person and describe a tender, shared moment with her dad.

The time to start is now!

JAMES BUCHANAN , EDITOR EDITOR @ AROUNDCONCORD . COM

Creating & Managing Our Clients Wealth Since 1984 CALLING ALL CONTRIBUTORS Note to artists of all media, writers (creative and otherwise), dancers, photographers, entrepreneurs, woodworkers, teachers, moms, dads, and all others, we would love to hear from you with ideas, suggestions, and anything else you care to send.

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CONTRIBUTORS

ALLEGRA BOVERMAN

SUSAN NYE

IAN RAYMOND

Allegra Boverman is a longtime photojournalist based in Hollis, New Hampshire. She enjoys discovering and rediscovering the people and places that make living in New Hampshire and the Concord region special. Her website is www. allegraboverman.com.

Susan Nye lives in New Hampshire and writes for several New England magazines and newspapers. You will find more of her work on her awardwinning blog, Around the Table, at www.susannye.wordpress. com.

Ian Raymond owns and operates Raymond Photographic Imaging in Laconia. He specializes in portraits, commercial/industrial/ architectural photography, and fine art photographs. In addition to his work as a photographer, Ian has served as a state legislator and has initiated several large-scale renewable energy projects in his community.

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DR . SAM GOLDMAN

MATT INGERSOLL

AMY MITCHELL

Sam Goldman has been a wine enthusiast for more than twenty years. In his spare time, he works as a physician caring for the elderly in Manchester and is a medical director for Courville Communities and Genesis Health Care.

A lifelong New Englander, Matt Ingersoll’s writing has appeared in several magazines and newspapers across New Hampshire and Massachusetts. He is the recipient of Northeastern University’s Paul E. Hirshson Byline Award for academic excellence and professional ethics. He can be reached at matt_ingersoll@ comcast.net.

Decorator and color consultant Amy Mitchell is the owner of Home Glow Design. Each week, she writes for Home Glow’s Saturday Blog, focusing on fresh twists on classic styles, American craftsmanship, and value and quality for dollars spent. She lives in Hopkinton with her husband, their two boys, and various animals.

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PERSONAL ESSAY |

BY JOHN GFROERER

Clearing Skies by Melissa Anne Miller.

Subzero in Concord

MEDITATIONS ON A WINTER MORNING

January brings out the winter in me. Cold, white, barren thoughts lay siege, taunting me with frozen realities beyond my ability to change. Not to be subdued, a couple of years ago I set out with my camera to capture a winter morning in Concord. For motivation, my daughter needed a 6am Saturday morning drop-off to catch the bus for a Concord High swim meet in Durham. It was still dark when she got out of the car, and I drove off to my first location, High Street, above White Park. Morning, just before sunrise, is an exhilarating time, full of possibilities if you keep yourself ready for the unexpected. My first bit of unexpected that morning was how cold minus-five degrees is when you are trying to do a nice slow zoom. Art and reality collided for the sake of recording the moment perfectly. There was a stark blackness surrounding everything, made more interesting by the illumination of street lights. In the darkness, white dominated. White piles of snow at the end of driveways. White plumes of smoke that rose from chimneys. White lawns flat as frozen lakes. Streets white with dried salt. There was no color, only black and white. Secret views meant only for those up early enough to seek them. In the car there was warmth as I plotted my next stop. As I headed toward downtown, the sky began to show signs of light. I pulled over at the top of Center Street. Looking down the hill, I could see traffic lights. They were distant dots of red, yellow, green, rotating through their cycle even

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though there were no cars to control. Years ago my partner Lisa Brown and I produced a documentary about life during winter on an island off the Maine coast. One of the people we interviewed mused about a poem by Wallace Stevens, “The Snow Man.” The poem ends with an invitation to behold, “Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.” The line has always stayed with me. As that winter day began to lighten, the words found a place in the images being captured. I looked down a long, empty Center Street, bordered by three-foot-high lines of plowed snow, still white, still fresh. Nothing moved except the white clouds coming out of every chimney, flowing straight up into the air, unencumbered by wind, unseen by those being kept warm. When I parked on Green Street near City Hall, there was a feeling that others were beginning to awaken. The first cars ventured out, trailed by long plumes of white exhaust. Though it was now light, the cars had their headlights on, pale orange spots of color that moved in pairs along the street. They accented but didn’t really improve visibility ahead. There was a blue hue to the city, and I could feel the first direct rays of sunlight nearing. Headlights became part of the nothing that was there. Main Street was empty. Far down I saw a lone person crossing the street, bundled so tightly against the cold that it made me colder just seeing him. White puffs pumped out as the warmth of his breath met the cold air. Like chimneys, like automobile exhaust pipes, warmth was sub-

in g

dued and evaporated into unseen subzero emptiness. Though the horizon was blocked by buildings, it was obvious when the sun came up. The sky became a deeper blue. The air seemed to clear and vision became sharper. Contrast was more defined as colors shook the cold. Instinctually, I started to feel the air get a little warmer. But the clarity of cold assured me that it was a delusion. The warmth, that is. I wanted to get above it all, look down, take in a wider, longer view. So I drove to the top of the Durgin Block Garage. Four stories up, sun full above the horizon, the world that an hour earlier was only black and white was now filled with color. Blue sky. Gray granite. Gold dome. Green pine. Red brick. I felt like I had fallen into a painting by Melissa Anne Miller. Everything was quiet and still, except the puffs and plumes of white that exhaled from chimneys, lifting up into the sky like ghosts of what was once warm. In the distance was the stack for Concord Steam. Its plume went the highest and dominated all that it could see. A thin, straight, vertical cloud that churned with bits of color in the morning sunlight. Then it happened. My battery succumbed to the cold and ran out of charge. Man, I was beginning to think it would never happen. Damn, it is cold, I thought. I had long since abandoned any kind of fancy, artsy zooms with the camera. Uncontrollable shaking slowed me as I packed up the camera. For a few moments I just sat in the car with the heater going, trying to warm enough of my bones so I could move the steering wheel. At Bagel Works, I got a coffee and sat for long minutes with it cupped in my hands and stared out the window. Even the hot shower when I finally got home seemed unable to defrost me. But I needed to get dressed and drive east to cheer on a Concord High swimmer in Durham.

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FOOD & SPIRITS

Local Flavor in Every Sip BY RACHEL FORREST

Tamworth Distilling & Mercantile's first aged product, Camp Robber Whiskey Jack.

The Vendome custom copper still.

espite rather stringent government regulations, mostly holdovers from the era of Prohibition, the craft and art of microdistilling is catching on. What were once small, decidedly below-the-radar operations, microdistilleries—also called artisanal or boutique distilleries—have grown from an estimated sixty nationally in 2003 to more than seven hundred today. Much of what these distillers do follows the trend in microbreweries or small, localized wineries. Their products are created in single batches using a mix of the modern with old-school techniques and with ingredients that tend to be locally sourced or are at least produced in ways that ensure a high level of quality. In New Hampshire there are only a handful of these distillers, but one of the best can be found an hour’s drive away in the village of Tamworth.

Steven Grasse, Tamworth Distilling’s founder. PHOTOS COURTESY OF TAMWORTH DISTILLING

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www.tamworthdistilling.com

As one would expect, Tamworth Distilling specializes in keeping its products local and unique. The distillers work with local farmers to source as many of the ingredients for their recipes as they can, which ensures quality and consistency while supporting local agriculture. They also go a step further by donating a portion of the sale of each bottle they sell to the Tamworth Land Trust. And they work hard to ensure that each of their products delivers a one-of-a-kind experience for those who appreciate a good cocktail or a drink served neat. Their Tamworth Garden Apiary Gin is made with local honey, juniper berries, and foraged poplar buds. The effect allows red clover and a slight honey-sweet flavor to come through while keeping the gin relatively light. The Garden Flora Gin relies on local botanicals such as geranium, lemon verbena, and labdanum to provide a lighter, aromatic quality that balances with more common ingredients such as coriander and angelica. When water or tonic is added, more of the flavors are released onto the palate. There’s also a taste of history in their offerings. During colonial times, Cherry Bounce was a means of preserving fresh fruit harvested during the summer throughout the winter by infusing the fruit, generally cherries, with brandy and sugar. While doing some research, Tamworth Distilling’s founder Steven Grasse found a recipe by Martha Washington for Cherry Bounce that he incorporated into their Sweet Lips liqueur. Sweet Lips is made with Tamworth’s rye whiskey, which they store in oak with cherries, apple brandy, and neutral spirits. Added to this is Tahitian vanilla, distillate of smoked cardamom, and floral notes. Tamworth’s other spirits include their White Whiskey, Tamworth Garden Eau De Vie, Von Humboldt’s Natur Wasser Tamarind Cordial, Black Trumpet Blueberry Cordial, White Mountain Vodka, The Good Reverend’s Universal Spirit, and their sweet potato, chicory root, and beet root vodkas. As you plan your holiday meals and cocktail parties or consider what would make for a good tipple on a winter’s evening, you’ll find there’s plenty of history and local flavor in each and every sip of Tamworth Distilling’s products. You’ll find them at 15 Cleveland Hill Road in Tamworth and online at www.tamworthdistilling.com. The distillery is open Thursday, Friday, and Sunday 12 to 5:30pm and Saturday from 10am to 5:30pm for tastings and tours, which include seeing and learning about the workings of their gleaming Vendome custom copper still.

Talking

Turkey R

So, where to find yours? The Concord Co-op 24 South Main Street, Concord WWW.CONCORDFOODCOOP.COOP

oasted sweet potatoes tossed with mini marshmallows, fluffy white potatoes whipped up with cream and butter, and your Grandma’s best recipe for cranberry-walnut stuffing—we love all of that on Thanksgiving. But the centerpiece is the turkey. Buying a frozen turkey from the supermarket is just fine, but the Concord area has many local farms where turkeys are raised in pastures where they get to eat all the good things out in the field. For example, Elior Acres farm in Bradford—about a thirty-minute drive—offers heritage chocolate turkeys that, according to owner Denise Renk, are original to North America and look like wild turkeys with a deep brown color. “It’s hard to describe fully the difference in the flavor of this turkey as compared to a more common white turkey, but it has a deeper, more nuanced taste,” she says. She adds that turkeys can be preordered and that they will even deliver to your home in time for Thanksgiving. While most organic and humanely raised turkeys are a bit more expensive than grocery-store turkeys, the quality of a locally raised bird is well worth the expense.

Learn more

The Wineing Butcher Gourmet Market 16 Sheep Davis Road, Pembroke WWW.WINEINGBUTCHERNH.COM/ PEMBROKE

Webster Ridge Farm Pleasant Street, Webster WWW.WEBSTERRIDGE.COM Elior Acres 2871 State Route 114, Bradford WWW.ELIORACRES.COM Charmingfare Farm 774 High Street, Candia WWW.VISITTHEFARM.COM Zero-Mile Farm 913 Bearcamp Highway, South Tamworth WWW.ZEROMILEFARMNH.COM Yankee Farmer’s Market 360 Route 103 E, Warner WWW.YANKEEFARMERSMARKET.COM White Gates Farm 2153 Cleveland Hill Road, Tamworth WWW.WHITEGATES-FARM.COM

For more area farms and farm stands, go to Local Harvest at www.localharvest.org.

www.localharvest.org WINTER 2016/2017 | AROUND CONCORD

FOOD & SPIRITS

Find Your

Perfect Pairing EXPLORE NEW WINES THIS HOLIDAY SEASON BY DR . SAM GOLDMAN

hanksgiving is my favorite holiday, but for someone who loves wine, finding the perfect pairing to accompany turkey, stuffing, vegetables, soup, and pie can be a daunting task. That said, the challenge offers a great opportunity to get out of your wine comfort zone. With no fewer than a dozen different wine regions represented in most state and retail stores, the holidays offer a great opportunity to explore one of the lesstraveled wine sections. The following should provide some guidance as well as great wines to win over your guests.

The French Palate Cleanser The perfect time for a refreshing, palate-cleansing champagne is when your guests first arrive. The region of Champagne is a magical area less than a two-hour car ride outside of Paris and is one of the most relaxing, quiet, and scenic places to be found anywhere. While I highly recommend visiting Madame Clicquot’s estate, one of the champagnes made famous there, Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label,

can be found at local stores for about $45.99. Made from about two-thirds red grapes—pinot noir and pinot meunier—and one-third chardonnay, it has notes of vanilla, apple, and peach. An even better selection is Veuve Clicquot Rosé for about $62.99, which is pink in color and has a delicious cherry and raspberry flavor. Not into champagne or the price? French rosé from Provence is always an excellent choice and a crowd pleaser, as it will go well with any appetizer. Though they have recently divorced, there is still plenty of rosé to be had from Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s Château Miraval Winery in the village of Correns, France. At $21.99, their Miraval Rosé Côtes de Provence is a fantastic bargain and has hints of mango and strawberry.

Wines Down Under For wines to enjoy with the Thanksgiving Day feast, first let’s go to Australia, which is known for Shiraz (Syrah in the US). Some of the best wines in Australia come from a region known as McLaren Vale, which is located on the southern coast a stone’s throw from the Gulf St. Vincent.

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The best of the Shirazes come from the Mollydooker Vineyard and Winery. The Boxer at $25.99 per bottle is a great deal for a delicious wine with blackberry tones. If you’re looking for something really special, go for Enchanted Path. At $79.99, it’s certainly a bit pricier, but this mix of Shiraz and cabernet sauvignon grapes is mouthwateringly rich, with tastes of cinnamon and black fruits, and would be great with any meal, especially turkey.

leather, and dark fruit and is utterly delicious, but I would recommend decanting it for five to eight hours prior to serving. For your guests who love whites, try Ca’ Montini Winery’s Pinot Grigio, which can’t be beat at $14.99 a bottle. It’s light and refreshing, and its apple taste and nose will make you think of fall in New Hampshire. This wine is from Northern Italy, closer to Austria, which makes for a perfect climate for the pinot grigio grape.

Vino from Italy Next let’s visit Italy. For first timers, this section in the store can be daunting. Not to worry. Check out Cantina Zaccagnini’s Montepulciano d’Abruzzo for $18.99. It’s not only a mouthful to say but also to drink. This is mediumbodied, spicy, and will go well with both the heavier and lighter fare on your table. For those wanting something truly special, look for the hard-to-find Oreno from the Tenuta Sette Ponti Winery in Tuscany, which sells for about $70. This blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon, and petit verdot has hints of tobacco,

www.liquorandwineoutlets.com

Lord of the Rings Land Looking for another white? Wander over to New Zealand. Though a small, island country with a varied climate, New Zealand is known for its sauvignon blanc. This is a must-try for all white-wine lovers. Kim Crawford Winery’s Sauvignon Blanc has tones of passion fruit and is a light and refreshing wine that’s also a great bargain at $14.99.

Born in the USA I would be remiss if I did not mention American wines on such an American

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FullersSugarhouse.com. holiday. Napa Valley has some of the greatest cabernets. These can get pretty pricy, however. Joseph Phelps Vineyards’ Cabernet will run you $63.99. It is my go-to cabernet, however, with currant and cherry flavors, along with cedar and oak. Next door in Sonoma County, you can find zinfandel. These typically are dark, rich, and incredible. Try Seghesio Family Vineyards’ Sonoma Zinfandel for $40.99. This is peppery with cherry and blacklicorice flavor. Finally, for a wine that truly goes with almost all meals, look no farther than pinot noir. Belle Glos makes great pinot with grapes sourced from the top winegrowing regions up and down California’s coast. These wines typically cost $50 to $60 per bottle. As for flavor, you will find that most pinot noirs will have lighter raspberry and strawberry notes. By contrast, Belle Glos makes their pinots richer and darker with tastes of black fruit. You should be able to find all of these wines locally either at a state store or local wine merchant. Just remember that the best way to discover a new wine that you might love is not to take my word for it. Try it yourself!

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WINTER 2016/2017 | AROUND CONCORD

FOOD & SPIRITS

PHOTO COURTESY OF VIBES GOURMET BURGERS

Not Your Average

Burgers ...given the tight-knit community and recent redevelopment of its downtown, Concord would be a great home for us.

ometimes the antidote for our cold, winter-weary bodies is a really great burger and fries. We’ve got you covered. The craft burger craze has hit Concord big time, and VIBES Gourmet Burgers is committed to providing you with a one-of-a-kind burger experience. According to Gary DiMartino, general manager at VIBES, “We wanted to bring something unique to the food industry, and after looking at a number of locations around the state, we came to the conclusion that given the tight-knit community and recent redevelopment of its downtown, Concord would be a great home for us.” VIBES uses Open Prairie Natural Angus beef raised on one-hundred-percent vegetarian feed (a little ironic, maybe) and no hormones or antibiotics to create their burgers. Their soft yet hearty brioche buns are made by Concord’s Bread and Chocolate Bakery each day, and the produce in their specialty burgers is locally sourced. This includes The Unusual, made with sliced apple, applewood-smoked bacon, sharp cheddar, jalapenos, and for the “where’d-that-come-from factor”—whipped peanut butter. “We are always looking for unique and fun combinations for our burgers,” Gary says. You can also create your own burger with the usual or unusual such as New Hampshire maple syrup, arugula pesto, Blackwater spicy pub mustard, prosciutto, herbed goat cheese, bacon and onion jam, and a fried egg, to name a few. You can also swap out the beef for grilled chicken, ground turkey, or their homemade veggie burger. Want fries with that? Dive into some poutine with fresh mozzarella curds and demi-glace or have your fries topped with pulled pork and barbecue sauce, all great with a craft beer. VIBES Gourmet Burgers is located at 25 South Main Street, Concord, and can be found online at www.vibesgourmetburgers.com.

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www.vibesgourmetburgers.com

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THE ARTS

BY LAURA POPE

It’s all about chasing the light, dealing with the elements, watching the changing sky.

Catherine Tuttle’s

Hikes & Travels CAPTURING THE BEAUTY IN PAINTINGS

iking and painting are dual passions for painter and Concord resident Catherine Tuttle, as viewers will note upon seeing her work. “The sheer immensity and volume of mountains impress me, and hiking lets me see them from different angles,” says Catherine. “My husband Peter and I are teachers so we hike in summer. Together we’ve hiked all forty-eight, four-thousand-footers in the White Mountains.” Catherine earned her undergraduate degree in art at the New Hampshire Institute of Art and her Master of Arts in Teaching at UNH. She teaches drawing and painting at Bedford High School. Peter teaches

chemistry and physics at St. Paul’s School. For more than a decade, Catherine has joined a community of en plein air painters for weekly day hikes and painting sessions in Northern New Hampshire. These are led by noted White Mountain landscape, still-life, and portrait artist Ralph Stone “Stoney” Jacobs. Favorite haunts include Crawford Notch, sites along the Saco and Ammonoosuc Rivers, and on occasion at Ralph’s studio in Whitefield. One of her larger pieces depicts Mount Lafayette, a favorite mountain of hers. “Mountains are like friends you recognize in a crowd, and you want to see them over and over again,” says Catherine.

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Top: Mount Lafayette Reflection. Above: Ammonoosuc River.

Other paintings capture the view of Mount Webster and the Notch, Villa Spannocchia in Tuscany, and Long Island in Casco Bay. “It’s all about chasing the light, dealing with the elements, watching the changing sky,” she says. Catherine’s work can be found online at www. mcgowanfineart.com/portfolio-items/tuttle or www. catherinetuttleart.com. She is also on regular display at McGowan Fine Art.

www.catherinetuttleart.com

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1 E.E. CUMMINGS ¬poet, Madison

2 MAXFIELD PARRISH

BankNH.com

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¬painter, Plainfield u

3 LOTTE JACOBI ¬photographer, Deering

4 AUGUSTUS SAINT-GAUDENS ¬sculptor, Cornish

5 DONALD HALL ¬poet, Wilmot

6 ROBERT FROST ¬poet, Derry and Plymouth

7 J.D. SALINGER ¬writer, Cornish

8 KEN BURNS ¬documentary filmmaker, Walpole p

9 GEORGE HOYT WHIPPLE ¬Nobel Laureate in Medicine, Ashland

10 JOHN IRVING ¬writer, Exeter u

WINTER 2016/2017 | AROUND CONCORD

BUSINESS

BY JAMES BUCHANAN

Healthy Food Delivered with a Conscience EATING WELL IS EASY WITH ALL REAL MEAL

quick, easy, and healthy dinner doesn’t have to be a hassle. It also doesn’t have to come with a guilty conscience. At All Real Meal, it’s good food delivered to your door by a company on a mission to help your family and those who are in need eat better. While we prefer to cover and celebrate Concord-area businesses, this Derry-based business caught our eye in part because it serves the Concord area but primarily because of its unique business model. They prepare healthy meals from locally sourced, non-GMO, organic ingredients that cater to omnivores, vegetarians, and vegans as well as those who prefer eating paleo or gluten-free meals. Then they deliver these meals—up to a week’s worth— directly to their customers’ doors. And as if this isn’t enough, for each meal they sell, All Real Meal donates an equivalent meal to Meals on Wheels or the New Hampshire Food Bank. To learn more, we asked Sonia Farris and Kasia Lojko a few questions about their company.

How did you develop the idea? Kasia: After I had each of my kids, it was so nice when people brought food, and I could have these fresh, healthy meals in the refrigerator or freezer for later so I didn’t have to cook. But obviously that ended, and so I was like, “How can I do that for people who don’t have time or can’t leave their home or in some way are looking for or are in need of an easy and healthy meal?” When we looked around, we saw that nobody was doing that.

A lot of people have good ideas, but how did you act on yours? Kasia: I think we were really lucky because we didn’t just say, “Yeah, that would be great” and then drop it. As we started to look into it, we realized we’d stumbled across something that was really wanted and needed. So when we started, we were warmly received, and people were excited for this, and we got a lot of press and support for the idea. People from the food and healthy-cooking community

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Above: Sonia Farris (left) and Kasia Lojko (right), the founders and inspiration for All Real Meal.

www.allrealmeal.com

that gives back—a business as a tool to do something great for the world and not just have a business where you employ people and make money and that kind of thing. We also see that the world needs so much, and we wanted to use the business as a vehicle to do something amazing for our community and state. When we first started, we were obviously small, but for us to do Meals on Wheels and the New Hampshire Food Bank is huge and so eye-opening because if we can do this with a small business, how much more could we give back with a bigger business? Now, our focus is to grow the business so we can do even more great stuff.

What sparked the quick growth of All Real Meals?

reached out to help us with the ins and outs of doing something like this and running a business. So, we found something that was really needed, and as soon as it was available, we got a lot of positive feedback and a lot of help.

How did the meal-for-meal contribution idea come about? Sonia: We were so determined because we were born to work for ourselves and to make a business

Sonia: So far, our growth has been organic, word-of-mouth to where sales grew very steeply. We work with so many food communities—paleo, dairy free, gluten free, non-GMO, vegetarian, vegan, organic, and so on—and all of them are so good at supporting businesses that make an effort to cater to their needs. For example, when we started preparing meals for the paleo community, they reached out to their friends and social media groups and let them know this is available to them and that we have a social conscience. Our next step is to bring one of our most popular menu items—the paleo, gluten-free, vegan cauliflower

pizza crust—to market. This will help us reach beyond our current market and allow us to do something bigger so we can give back bigger. Our goal is to reach out to large stores known for the quality of their products and a reputation for being socially aware to market our crust on a national level.

Did you have experience cooking these meals? Kasia: We both knew how to cook for our families and always made healthy stuff for our families. We didn’t have culinary experience in a restaurant or catering business, maybe cooking for ten at a party, but not much beyond that. We figured it out as we went because at first there were three customers and then six and then ten, and then it really started to grow. We also worked with a chef in Manchester who helped us with food costs and containers and scaling up

what we were doing. Also with the recipes, paleo and all that, this was an interest of ours, so these were things we’d done, and it was easy for us to come up with great, original recipes. We will make seven to ten dinners for our customers each week—a whole week’s worth of food for them—and now it’s easy for us to take any recipe and make it healthy and make it in very large quantities. We also have tight relationships with our farms, so we receive fresh produce, and then it is out being delivered as a meal the next day. And we’ve got enough recipes that we won’t recycle a meal for a few weeks, so the customers get a real variety even though they have a limitation to their diet. To learn more and order from All Real Meal, go to www.allrealmeal. com.

We were so determined because we were born to work for ourselves and to make a business that gives back—a business as a tool to do something great for the world.

WINTER 2016/2017 | AROUND CONCORD

BUSINESS

Getting Started &

Getting Ahead

NETWORKING AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT FOR YOUNG PROFESSIONALS AND ENTREPRENEURS

oncord is—and should be—one of the most active and vibrant business communities in the state. It is home to state and federal agencies, manufacturing, and health care, as well as a range of educational and professional services. And yet it faces the same challenge as much of the state: how to prevent the graying of the state by retaining and attracting young talent that may see better prospects in more urban areas. One solution is the Concord Young Professionals Network (CYPN) founded and run by the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce. “We’re very proud that the CYPN is providing a mechanism for young professionals to meet and establish personal and professional relationships as a way to promote Concord as a place these people can succeed in their careers,” says Chamber President Tim Sink.

HOW CYPN SUPPORTS YOUNG PROFESSIONAL S The goal of the CYPN is to attract young professionals from around the state and region by highlighting the opportunities available to them. This includes helping them with career development, job-seeking skills, and networking with their peers. For those already in Concord, these same programs, especially career development and networking opportunities, are intended to continue their professional and social development within the community. The CYPN is also designed to help young entrepreneurs who, rather than seeking a job, are hoping to launch their own businesses. The success of the CYPN is testified to by Elyssa Alfieri, owner of Lilise Designer Resale, who says,

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“When I go to CYPN events I’m in a room full of people who love what they do and are excited to talk about it. It’s so nice to be surrounded by people that you know are the go-getters in their organizations.” CYPN PROGRAMS According to Christina Baker, the Chamber’s events manager, the programming is designed to provide effective professional support while also being fun. For example, one recent event was a speedmentoring session in an area restaurant, which was run like a speed-dating night. Business leaders from a range of professions were seated at tables, and attendees were given a set amount of time to Members of the Chamber's Concord Young Professionals Network meet at Area 23 for a monthly networking event. Photo by Christina Baker.

www.concordnhchamber.com

ask questions and receive feedback on their own professional efforts and insights. Another ongoing program is a personal-enrichment wellness series run in partnership with Concord Hospital. “We have also done well with connecting our CYPN members with nonprofits to serve as volunteers on nonprofit boards, which brings these young people into volunteer leadership positions,” says Tim. MEASURES OF SUCCESS Engaging young professionals, entrepreneurs, and business owners with leadership opportunities in organizations that support the community helps establish these people as community leaders. It also further enhances their stature within their career field and/or promotes their business within the community. Christina adds, “A lot of what we consider success comes from people reporting back to us. For example, a lot of people show up at events because they are looking for a job, and within a couple of months they have found a good job.” Elyssa of Lilise agrees, saying, “I have built countless relationships, gotten volunteer and board service opportunities, and helped connect friends and acquaintances for lasting partnerships, all while being able to promote myself and my organizations. Because of my work with the CYPN, I’ve been able to take part in high-level events and committees and even become a member of the Chamber’s Board of Directors. Had I not joined, I would never have had these opportunities.” Christina adds, “We also have members who’ve been nominated for the Union Leader’s 40 Under Forty and NHPR’s Rising Stars Awards.” Finally, the number of people engaging with CYPN is consistently strong, with seventy-five to one hundred attending each event and with a database of more than one thousand five hundred. HOW TO CONNECT The CYPN can be found online on the Chamber’s website at www.concordnhchamber.com. The CYPN also offers free networking events on the third Wednesday of every month at various Concord venues and Lunch & Learn seminars are held the first Thursday of each month. You may also call the Chamber at (603) 224-2508.

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www.concordphotoservice.com 31 No Main St Concord, NH 603.225.5891 WINTER 2016/2017 | AROUND CONCORD

BUSINESS

Concord

Craft Brewing C

oncord is quickly becoming a destination for some of the state’s and the region’s best beers. The newest entry to this distinctive group of craft brewers is Concord Craft Brewing Company. To get a better sense of why Dennis and Beth Molnar chose Concord and this new career path, we recently spoke with Dennis.

Why craft brewing? Part of it was a change for me. The company I was working for merged with another, which created the opportunity for me to think about what I wanted to be doing for the next however-many years of my life. Like many people who get into craft brewing, I’d home-brewed for a couple

of decades, and any time I traveled for business or Beth and I took a vacation, we sought out craft breweries and beers during our travels. So as we were thinking about what to do next, we sort of had that eureka moment where we thought, let’s open our own craft brewery, and our home of Concord is the perfect place for it. The other piece is that in the early 1990s, I’d been home-brewing for a while and a friend’s father, who owned several restaurants, mentioned wanting to open a restaurant with its own brewpub. He needed someone to brew for him, so we explored what it would take to make this happen. Unfortunately, at the time, the cost of equipment and getting set up was more than he was willing to take on.

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www.concordnhchamber.com

Beyond home-brewing, how else did you prepare? Years ago as we explored the brewpub idea, I was able to take a course in Washington, DC, on how to establish and run a commercial brewery. It scared me, but it didn’t scare me completely. Then when Beth and I thought about opening our own craft brewery, it led us to send Beth to the American Brewers Guild course in Middlebury, Vermont, where she received a certificate in brewing.

So what is Concord Craft Brewing’s philosophy? We like more-flavorful beers, and there is a whole range of these kinds of beers that are not necessarily as heavy as the stouts, such as Belgian triples, French fruit beers, and German wheat beers, as well as English porters, IPAs, and ales. We are more into ales and English-inspired beers, but the idea is to bring the people of Concord beer with a bit more flavor and to push the flavor envelope for all beer drinkers, including those who prefer beers on the lighter side

So our first goal is not to distribute throughout New England or nationally but to be the best brewer in Concord.

and those who prefer a more-hoppy beer such as an amber. And though we will have a range of brews to meet the range of tastes, we will have a flagship beer that will be an IPA because this is the standard that all craft brewers are measured by. It’s a flavorful beer with a full blend of malt and hops.

What will make your brewery unique? First, the best and most efficient source of heat for brewing is steam, and we are, for the time being, in the

Concord Steam District. However, as you know, they will be shutting their operations, so by next year we will have installed our own steam-producing boiler. We also are going to work hard at focusing our efforts locally. While we want to push the flavor profile of beer drinkers in and around Concord, we also want customer input to help us create innovative beers that our neighbors will enjoy. In a way, we’re going back to the roots of brewing before Prohibition, when most brewers couldn’t distribute their brews nationally because of the limits of transportation and the lack of cold-chain distribution to keep the beer fresh. Back then, each city and town had its local brewery, and for the most part, each brewer created his own unique take on the preferred beers of the day that reflected what people wanted to drink in their town or region. So our first goal is not to distribute throughout New England or nationally but to be the best brewer in Concord. To be Concord’s brewer.

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HOME & GARDEN

My Secret Source for Upholstery AN UNEXPECTED FIND FOR YOUR FURNITURE BY AMY MITCHELL

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Inset: This is the ottoman as it appeared on Craigslist and then reupholstered in Amy's library/ music room.

s an interior designer and architectural color consultant, I am a passionate devotee of antique homes. My own is more than two hundred years old and provides ample opportunity to test my design and color skills. When my husband and I decorated our library/music room a year or so ago, I set a secondhand, wobbly chinoiserie tea table in front of the fireplace. The price

was right, and it looked nice from a distance, but with two rambunctious boys, it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t proving durable, and with a fire blazing there was no place to put my feet up. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d always wanted a rich, tufted leather ottoman there, but I was out of cash and out of luck. What to do?

www.nh.gov/nhdoc/divisions/corrrectional/index.html

The Ottoman

PHOTO BY ERIC ROTH. INSET PHOTO BY AMY MITCHELL.

First I went to Craigslist, where I found a twenty-seven-inch-square ottoman originally sold by Calico Corners for $75. Their frames are bench-made in North Carolina, and the company itself is well respected, so I knew the piece was high quality and probably worth more than $700 new. Unfortunately, as cute as it was, the chocolate leopard upholstered cover was not in the color scheme of the room. Next, I hunted through eBay, where I found a Ralph Lauren full-grain leather hide from one of my fabric stores for $175. And finally, with $250 already spent, I needed to find an affordable upholsterer to replace the chocolate leopard with my leather cover. First let me say that there are many upholsterers in our area of the state and definitely in New England. However, with a tight budget and a relatively small project, I needed a quality—but inexpensive—option. That’s when I turned to a little-known option affectionately called the New Hampshire State Prison for Men at North State Street here in Concord.

Huh? Prison? Now for a little background. The upholstery shop at New Hampshire Correctional Industries (NHCI) was founded in 2000 and is housed in a warehouse across the street from the prison. So no, you don’t have to go into the prison with your furniture. The impetus for NHCI was an editorial mistake made by the venerable Boston Globe. The Globe reported there was a shop—there wasn’t—and after more than sixty calls from the public expressing interest, the powers that be (or was that were?) decided it was a good idea to start one. Two inmates with upholstery experience were brought to Concord and the program was born.

The shop is exclusively a mentorship program with inmates teaching inmates. The rules are, as you might imagine, incredibly strict, and employment is a privilege to be earned. A violation of any one of more than seventy prison rules can be grounds for permanent expulsion. For example, all the tools are kept on a “shadow wall” where a painted black shadow corresponds to the specific tool. Tiny red tags with numbers show which inmate has checked a tool out. At the end of the day, every single tool must be accounted for, down to the smallest needle. Anyone like to sew? How carefully do you keep track of each needle? One missing needle at NHCI leads to an automatic lockdown until it is found. The benefits of the program are twofold. NHCI offers a means for inmates to spend their time constructive-

ly while learning a new skill that could help them when their term is up, and they earn some money—$3 per day for new workers and $5 per day for mentors. The program also offers a quality, low-cost resource for people seeking to reupholster a piece of furniture. The base price for a sofa is $410 and $265 for a chair. The state is aware that it is undercutting the prices of established upholsterers. Therefore, the program is never advertised and relies only on word of mouth. There are also reasons why someone would choose a private upholsterer over NHCI.

Back to the Ottoman The now reupholstered and refurbished ottoman is warmly ensconced in our library/music room and looks exactly as I’d first envisioned it way back when. Yay!

My costs came out as follows: • $75 for the ottoman • $125 for the leather • $175 for upholstery labor ($125 plus $50 for tufting) • Total: $375 Estimate for retail: • $700 for a similar Calico Corners ottoman without fabric • $300 for leather hide (estimate based upon $10 per square foot of leather) • Total: at least $1,000 Not too shabby. But is it worth the time, the searching, the headaches, the doubts, and so on? If you’re particular like I am and short on funds, it’s worth a thought or two.

When and When Not

to use Correctional Industries Although the upholstery shop at the New Hampshire State Prison for Men is a fine alternative, it is not quite up to the standards of a professional shop. Here are a few situations where it makes sense to go with the former and reasons to stick with the latter.

Why Choose New Hampshire Correctional Industries?

 You can’t beat the price.  You’re providing occupational opportunities to people who need them.  They do everything a good upholsterer should—match patterns, fix frames, retie springs, and remake foam and down cushions.

Why Choose a Professional Upholsterer?

 Many professional upholsterers have insurance to protect the customer in case of major mishaps. New Hampshire Correctional Industries does not. The more expensive and complex the project, the bigger the risk of going the uninsured route.  NHCI’s wait is a big drawback. A professional upholsterer can give you a more exact timeline for when the project can be completed.  A pro will examine your fabric sample and let you know if your fabric needs a knit backing or not, as well as other details. With NHCI, you have to find out much of that information for yourself ahead of time.

WINTER 2016/2017 | AROUND CONCORD

HOME & GARDEN

SERVING NEW HAMPSHIRE

TILE AND STONE NEEDS FOR OVER 30 YEARS

Easy Ways to

Add Color to Your Home BY DEBBIE KANE

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24 South Street

Concord, NH 03301

Learn more

www.companyc.com

t may be cold and gray outside, but your home doesn’t have to be. You can’t do much about the weather, but you can easily brighten your home décor without committing to big changes like painting an entire room or buying new furniture. The simplest way to add pop is with colorful accents. Think throws, pillows, window coverings, and decorative accessories in a variety of textures. “One of the strongest trends in home fashion is an artisanal, handmade aesthetic featuring appliqué, embroidery, beading, and hand-felting in colors designed to make a statement and uplift neutral interiors,” says Jay Martin, marketing manager for Company C in Concord. New Home in Campton, NH

Jay also suggests: • Pillows and throws add warmth and texture to a sofa or bed. And they’re easily packed away when warm weather returns.

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Providing construction excellence for over 30 years

• Don’t overwhelm a room with color. Layer it in, using a neutral color as your base. Introduce accent colors with accessories, like a sumptuous throw in jewel tones or bold accent pillows. You can easily refresh your room by swapping out pieces. • Velvet, purple hues, and swirling paisley are trending this winter and are the perfect jewelry for a sofa. Just these small changes will lift your rooms as well as your spirits.

For more information: Company C 102 Old Turnpike Road, Concord, NH (800) 818-8288 ext 5016 www.companyc.com

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WINTER 2016/2017 | AROUND CONCORD

HOME & GARDEN

Post-Holiday Strategies to

Declutter Your Home BY DEBBIE KANE

etting organized is among the top ten resolutions Americans commit to annually. So while there’s a place for everything, sometimes we have trouble deciding just where those places are in our homes. There’s no better time to organize than after the holidays. Here are four tips for decluttering your life, courtesy of professional organizer Lesley “Jazz” Barnette of Jazz Personal Management in Manchester:

1 In with the new, out with the old. For every gift or

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new purchase, remove at least one or two items from your home. “When we bring in more things, that’s when stuff piles up,” says Lesley.

2 Organize holiday decorations as you remove them. Take time when removing holiday decorations to put them in clear plastic bins so you can easily identify them next time. Also, going through ornaments and deciding which are meaningful to you can help you decide whether to keep them another year.

3 Re-gifting is okay. That plaid sweater from your

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mom and the unusual vase from your aunt aren’t your taste, so why not pass them along to someone who appreciates them? “Re-gifting isn’t really a faux pas anymore,” says Lesley. “Just don’t give it back to the person who gave it to you!”

4 Reassess what you have. Open closets, drawers, and

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cupboards, and inventory what you own. Do you love it or need it? Lesley, who specializes in downsizing and helping clients move, says, “There’s a really good feeling from letting go and getting rid of stuff. It’s okay to let it go.”

To learn more: Jazz Personal Management 129 Russell Street, Manchester, NH (603) 625-5882 www.jazzpersonalmanagement.com KATHLEEN AHLIN

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Shop Local In & Around Concord

UNIQUE SHOPPING

Chickadee Lane Interiors

Lilise Designer Resale

9 Pleasant Street Concord, NH (603) 856-7825 www.chickadeelaneinteriors.com

113 Storrs Street, Concord, NH (603) 715-2009 www.liliseresale.com

Hours: Tue–Sat 10am–6pm

Women’s name-brand consignment and vintage clothing, shoes and accessories. Luxurious gifts at practical prices! Open 10am–5pm Mon through Thu, 10am–6pm Fri and Sat. Consignment by appointment only.

Marketplace New England 7 No. Main Street Concord, NH (603) 227-6297 www.marketplacenewengland.com Hours: Mon–Wed 9:30am–6pm, Thu–Fri 9:30am– 7pm, Sat 9:30am–6pm, Sun 11am–4pm

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13 Warren Street, Concord, NH (603) 225-2591 832 Elm Street, Manchester, NH (603) 218-3885 www.granitestatecandyshoppe.com

Hours: Tue–Fri 10am–5:30pm Sat 10am–4pm, Closed Sun & Mon

Hours: Mon–Sat 9am–5pm

Hours: Sun 10am–5pm, Tue–Sat 10am–8pm

WINTER 2016/2017 | AROUND CONCORD

NEIGHBORHOOD PROFILE |

BY MATT INGERSOLL , PHOTOS BY IAN RAYMOND

Quiet Charm

SOULA MALOUTAS & THE GAS LIGHTER From the moment you walk through the front door of the Gas Lighter Restaurant at 204 North Main Street, you’re treated like family. In fact, you might as well be walking into owner Soula Maloutas’s own dining room—or into a place straight out of Mayberry, that quaint small-town setting made famous in The Andy Griffith Show. Her smile is infectious, the food delicious, and the warmth and charm of Soula’s restaurant will remind you what it means to be enveloped in a true neighborhood eatery. To say the least, it’s an easy place to become a regular. The restaurant itself has been through a few iterations dating back to World War II, and according to Soula, it may be the longest consistently run eating establishment in Concord. Soula and her late husband Miltiadis—known to all as Milton— bought the Gas Lighter in January of 1977, nearly forty years ago. Through the years, Soula and her husband maintained the Gas Lighter’s simple yet cozy and inviting appearance. This includes the captain’s chairs and the original gaslights that were lit back in the day when the electricity failed. A ONE-WOMAN SHOW For many of her longtime customers, the restaurant is a welcoming and familiar home. “There used to be a lot of kids from

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A smiling Soula Maloutas behind the line of the Gas Lighter Restaurant that she and her husband Miltiadis bought forty years ago.

Franklin Pierce [University] that would come here, and now they are all lawyers and judges, and anytime they visit Concord, they always stop to see me. They say, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re still here!’” Soula says with a laugh. “I say yes, I’m still here.” Children who came to the restaurant with their families have grown up and brought their own children and grandchildren. That’s the kind of warm and comfortable environment at the Gas Lighter. If the restaurant is full during a dinner or lunch rush, nearly everybody will know each other, Soula says. One other thing that hasn’t changed since 1977 is that Soula is the heart and soul of the place. She works at least nine to ten hours a day, six days a week (they are closed Sundays). Other than a few hired servers—her daughters helped out when they were young—Soula is a nearly one-woman show. You also wouldn’t know that she’s never taken any formal cooking lessons. For that matter, Soula and her husband did not speak even one word of English when they took over the restaurant. SOUL A’S STORY Soula is a native of a small community of just over two thousand in Northern Greece called Livadi, which itself is located in the region of Thessalia. Livadi was so small that it didn’t have a high school, forcing Soula to move nearly an hour away to

They say, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re still here!’ Soula says with a laugh. I say yes, I’m still here.

the town of Elassona at age twelve. There she rented a room and cooked her own food from recipes she got from her mother. At nineteen, Soula moved back to Livadi where she met and later married her husband Miltiadis. The couple soon decided their small community—lovely as it was— wouldn’t provide them with the life they dreamed of. And so they made the decision to move to Boston, where Miltiadis had family and they could live with his sister. Within a few weeks of making the move from Greece, Miltiadis found a job as a dishwasher at The Ritz-Carlton. Then in 1971, Maria, the first of their two daughters, was born. With a young child and sharing a small apartment with Miltiadis’s family, Boston felt crowded and never really like home to the young couple. “About a year after we came to the United States, we moved to Concord from Boston because we wanted to live in a smaller community,” Soula says. “Boston was just too big and even though we had no family and didn’t speak English, we thought Concord would be a good place for us.” In September of 1971 they moved to Concord and Miltiadis found work in restaurants—including the Gas Lighter—working in the kitchens primarily as a dishwasher. Meanwhile, Soula found a job on the assembly line at Sprague Electric in Concord, but after a short while she and her husband made the decision that she should be home with their child. In 1973, Soula gave birth to their second daughter, Cleo. Even the kids didn’t learn to speak English until after starting kindergarten, Soula says, because it was never spoken at home. Once the girls entered grade school, they quickly became fluent English speakers, which helped Miltiadis and Soula begin to learn the language themselves. The Maloutases worked hard, cared for their young children,

and saved every penny they could. The first reward for their hard work was the home they purchased in 1975. Two years later, the opportunity of their lifetimes arrived when they purchased the Gas Lighter Restaurant from one of Miltiadis’s former employers.

FOR THE FAMILY, BY THE FAMILY Longtime restaurant patrons would remember the Gas Lighter as Concord’s first sports bar because it was among the few restaurants in the area with a television in the early 1970s. Concord being the sports town that it is, the Gas Lighter became a central hub for all the local sports teams and fans to gather to watch big games. Along the way, the Gas Lighter also developed a reputation for its burgers and for what many patrons have remarked is “the best cold beer in town.” Fast-forward nearly four decades, and you’ll notice one important change. Soula has brought back the recipes she learned from her mother as a young girl and cooked for herself in her single room. Besides a great burger and fries, you can now get authentic spanakopita, gyros, chicken souvlaki, and kataifi, among a number of other traditional dishes that would be comfort food to any homesick person with Greek origins. These newer dishes and smoothing some of the rougher sports-bar edges have added a new dimension to the Gas Lighter. “When I first started working here, some ladies would come in, but it was mostly men for a long time,” Soula says. “I changed the menu to say it’s a family restaurant, and now it’s very mixed.” Soula’s two children went on to graduate from Concord High School and then college, and now Soula is joined in the restaurant by her grandchildren, ages nine and seven, just like her daughters once joined her. It’s quite a life’s journey for one of our neighbors and one that is a true example of living the American dream.

From left: A plate of homemade spanakopita, Soula at work in the kitchen, and the exterior of the Gas Lighter, which has changed little over the past forty years.

WINTER 2016/2017 | AROUND CONCORD

Reimagine

STEP OUT YOUR DOOR INTO A CELEBRATION OF COMMUNITY THIS HOLIDAY SEASON BY DEBBIE KANE

CANTERBURY SHAKER VILLAGE

“

Seems we’re all so busy trying to beat the

other fellow in making things go faster and look shinier and cost less that Christmas and I are sort of getting lost in the shuffle.

”

—Kris Kringle, Miracle on 34th Street, 1947

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A lighted walkway welcomes visitors to a variety of holiday events at Canterbury Shaker Village. Photo by Caroline Amport Piper.

Holiday Shopping F

or many of us, holiday shopping is a blitz. Crowded malls, cascades of emails from online retailers, and overloaded Internet servers as we try to select, order, and ensure that the items we’ve bought arrive in time. The results? We feel more like Scrooge than Buddy the Christmas Elf. We lose ourselves in the effort to do it all, so that the weeks and days up to the holidays, as well as the special days themselves, feel more like something to get through than a celebration of light and love. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Yes, it will be busy, and yes, there will be some headaches, but we can also choose to take a breath, slow down, and enjoy the season. Traditional holiday celebrations light up all the towns of the capital region and offer us a chance to take a day or weekend and give ourselves and our families the gift of a fuller holiday experience. There’s the old-fashioned Christmas at Canterbury Shaker Village or an evening of shopping, dinner, and a show here in Concord, and so much more. We hope you’ll create your own experiences and that the following will spark some ideas for authentic, shared holiday moments for you and your loved ones. So bring your list, check it twice, and then enjoy all that makes for a merry holiday season.

MIDNIGHT MERRIMENT

Decorated store windows at Bravo on Main Street in Concord.

GIFTOPOLIS

Handcrafted gifts, art, and home goods at Giftopolis during Midnight Merriment in downtown Concord.

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MIDNIGHT MERRIMENT WHEN WHERE

Friday, December 2, 5:30pm to midnight Downtown Concord

lthough this annual shopping event will be celebrating its twenty-fourth anniversary, this will be the first year it will be held with the Main Street renovation project complete. There’s plenty of free parking and lots of space to explore the more than one hundred shops and restaurants located in and around the downtown area. They’ll all be staying open late and offering special promotions, as well as displaying beautifully decorated windows, lights, and the kind of hospitality one expects in our tight-knit New England home. And there’s a lot to do besides scouting out that perfect gift. Amusements include a beard contest (embellishment optional), tree lighting, visits with Santa, gift-wrapping, and a range of entertainment, open galleries, and more. We would be remiss not to mention that the annual Giftopolis will be held in the Eagle Square Atrium. Hosted by the Concord Arts Market, Giftopolis celebrates the best handmade arts and crafts from New Hampshire and New England. You’ll find every-

MIDNIGHT MERRIMENT

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thing from clothing and jewelry to fine art, pottery, and on and on. It’s a wonderful opportunity to see what local craftspeople are up to and to support them while finding unique gifts. Over the following days and weeks, you’ll also have opportunities to enjoy the Discover Downtown Holiday Series. This series of events creates a compelling, community-based holiday shopping experience in Concord. But don’t think that a fun night supporting community businesses and artisans has to be all about shopping. Concord’s theaters are also providing a range of offerings that allow you to round out any weekend tour of Concord’s downtown with dinner and a show. Red River Theatres (11 Main Street) presents a visit with Santa Dude, inspired by the character captured in all his glory by Jeff Bridges in the movie The Big Lebowski. Throughout the holiday season you can also catch Girl with a Pearl Earring, the Royal Shakespeare Company’s King Lear, and the Exhibition On Screen Series: Manet from the Royal Academy of Arts in London, as well as a wide range of movies and other events you’re not likely to find at the multiplex. Across town, the new Hatbox Theatre (270 Loudon Road) will present an original adaptation of Charles Dickens’s classic A Christmas Carol featuring a local cast. On December 6, they will also host

Shopping near the clock tower in downtown Concord during Midnight Merriment.

TAKE A BREAK WITH A BOOK, LIBATION, AND LIVE MUSIC Need a bit of sustenance and a steaming cup of tea with honey or a hot chocolate as you browse through downtown Concord’s shops or take an evening walk to enjoy the Christmas lights?

Above: Red River Theatres in Concord is the perfect place to grab a movie and a bite before or after holiday shopping. Photos by Allegra Boverman. Below from left: Three of the many upcoming shows during the holiday season at Capitol Center for the Arts: The Twelve Days of Christmas, The Mavericks, and The State Ballet Theatre of Russia.

There’s no better place than True Brew Barista at 4 Bicentennial Square. There you’ll find a full range of coffees and espressos, smoothies, tea, hot cocoa, and, if you’re in the mood, one of their twenty-four craft beers on tap. There’s also a variety of sandwiches, baked goodies, Bavarian pretzels, and their very own unique Barista Balls. True Brew Barista also offers a range of specialty lattes. These include the Fluffy Bunny (toasted marshmallow and caramel), the Moose Knuckle (caramel, macadamia nut, and German chocolate), and the Scrappy Cocoa (hazelnut, salted caramel, and chocolate). True Brew Barista is also known for its live music. Every Thursday they host an all-ages, all-originals open-mic night, and they regularly feature local musicians as well as those touring the region.

their Tales Told monthly series, based on NPR’s The Moth. Audience members put their names in a hat, and names are selected at random to tell a true, original story. And the Concord City Auditorium, affectionately known as the Audi (2 Prince Street), will host its annual open house on December 4 with a potluck supper, special entertainment, and the famous Audi punch. That same weekend, the Audi will host the Concord Dance Academy’s Holiday Spectacular. Other shows include the Community Players of Concord’s Once on This Island: A Caribbean Musical Masquerade (November 18 to 20), The Nutcracker (December 10), Symphony New Hampshire Holiday Pops Concert, and more. Over at Capitol Center for the Arts (44 South Main Street), there’ll be a full holiday season planned that includes Dueling Pianos, the Mavericks, Mannheim Steamroller, The Twelve Days of Christmas, the Rocking Horse Christmas Show, and Holiday Pops! to name a few. In all, this represents an authentic holiday experience of gifts, community, food, and entertainment from Thanksgiving through the New Year. Just step out your door.

Prefer to sip a Sunday Driver (English toffee, chocolate, and hazelnut latte) with a nosh while perusing the huge selection of books, magazines, and literary journals at Gibson’s Bookstore? Well then, there’s the sister store to True Brew Barista, True Brew Café. The café offers the same drinks, sandwiches, and baked goods, but they also make a range of sweet and delicious crepes. You’ll find that just-right book for yourself or a friend at the café, but you will only find the music and a libation at the Barista. Whatever your choice, you will find peace, warmth, and the means to soothe your shopping muse at either location. WWW.TRUEBREWBARISTA.COM

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CHRISTMAS AT CANTERBURY WHEN WHERE TICKETS

Saturday, December 3 & 10, 3 to 8pm Canterbury Shaker Village, Canterbury $18 adults, $8 children ages six to seventeen and free under five

n an era when cell phones and social media are ubiquitous, the Canterbury Shakers’ love of community and simple living is a welcome respite and a reminder of what we’ve lost as we’ve rushed headlong into technology and the never-ending workday. Established in 1792 and operating as a museum since 1992, Canterbury Shaker Village transforms itself into a family-friendly holiday destination for two Saturdays each December. Entering its eighth year, the Christmas at Canterbury celebration is based on the notion of cleansing the spirit. Shakers considered the end of the year an opportunity to get

STARRY, STARRY WEEKEND Marklin Candle Design products, as well as many other gift options, are available at Der Markt in Contoocook. Photo by Joe St. Pierre.

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together with others, put aside their differences in a spirit of community, and move into the new year with a renewed spirit and faith. “The event ties into our mission to rejuvenate the human spirit,” says Canterbury Executive Director Funi Burdick. “The Shakers would have their own holiday celebrations but bring the larger community in to share in the festivities.” We know this may cause some separation anxiety for many, but leave your phone in the car and experience a Christmas from a simpler era. Besides just enjoying the grounds and interacting with the community, you can take in a range of musical performances, tree lighting, ornament making, cookie decorating, and much more. In particular, enjoy the foot-stomping music of the Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki Trio on December 3 and an old-fashioned magic show featuring Andrew Pinard portraying nineteenth century magician Jonathan Harrington. Andrew will demonstrate his slick sleight of hand three times each evening.

TAKE A BREAK AT THE CANTERBURY COUNTRY STORE

Clockwise from top: Canterbury Shaker Village holds many events for children and families that keep holiday history alive. Photo by Caroline Amport Piper. Outdoor vase candle display at Der Markt. Exclusive holiday candles from Marklin Candle Design available at Der Markt. Photo by Joe St. Pierre. Holiday decorations and ornaments on display at Der Markt.

STARRY, STARRY WEEKEND WHERE WHEN

It’s also a great place to catch up on local gossip. WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/ CANTERBURYCOUNTRYSTORE

Various locations in Hopkinton & Contoocook Thursday, December 1: Preview Night, 5 to 7pm Friday, December 2: 10am to 8pm Saturday, December 3: 10am to 6pm Sunday, December 4: 10am to 4pm

Canterbury doesn’t have a coffee shop, but it does have the Canterbury Country Store (3 Center Road). Located in the center of town adjacent to the post office, the communityowned store has an interesting variety of homemade and homegrown products from hot coffee, fresh bread, and preserves to sweets, soaps, and even hand-knit mittens.

here’s a reason Hopkinton and Contoocook are part of New Hampshire’s Currier & Ives Scenic Byway. They are quintessentially quaint New England towns. Starry, Starry Weekend fully embraces the concept of a small-town holiday by featuring three days of events that capture the sights and sounds of the season. “It’s all about community,” notes Christine Marklin, co-owner of Marklin Candle Design and Der Markt at Marklin in Contoocook. “We have a very special community with incredibly talented people.” Highlights include shopping events at various retail stores and arts and crafts for sale in Contoocook’s renovated historic train depot (a preview night of the event provides an early glimpse of locally made gifts and décor), decorating gingerbread houses, a visit with Santa, and much more. Make sure you get the chance to check out Der Markt at Marklin, the retail store for Marklin Candle Designs (28 Riverside Drive, Contoocook). This is one of the country’s foremost makers of liturgical candles (they made the candle used by Pope Francis during his 2015 memorial service at Ground Zero in New York City).

TAKE A BREAK AT A TRADITIONAL DINER Located in the center of Contoocook, the Country Fare Diner (12 Maple Street) dishes up traditional diner fare and local conversation (the weather was the hot topic on a recent visit). They can be found on Facebook, or give them a call at (603) 7464140. If a café is more your speed, grab coffee or a brew next door at the Everyday Café (14 Maple Street). This café and pub serves breakfast all day and a tasty array of baked goods, sandwiches, and burgers. New Hampshire beers and wines are available too. Find them online at www. theeverydaycafenh.com. WWW.THEEVERYDAYCAFENH.COM

WINTER 2016/2017 | AROUND CONCORD

WARNER’S WINTER WONDERLAND

Der Markt is a shopper’s delight, featuring glassware by Simon Pearce, fanciful home accessories, artisan clothing and jewelry, locally made foods, and Marklin’s distinctive handmade liturgical candles. There’s a selection of plain as well as decorated pillar candles, including a line designed by New Hampshire’s famed illustrator and author Tomie dePaola. Watch for the sheep that roam freely at the Marklins’ fourteen-acre Windhover Farm, a working farm along the Contoocook River—the candle-manufacturing facility and store are on the property. Top & above left: The dining room at Schoodacs Coffee & Tea in Warner. Above right: A wide selection of holiday books for sale at MainStreet MarketPlace & Gallery and MainStreet BookEnds. Photos by Joe St. Pierre.

WARNER'S WINTER WONDERLAND WHERE

TAKE A BREAK FOR WARM QUICHE OR A HOT BOWL OF SOUP Consider your shopping options over a perfectly brewed cup of artisanal java or tea at Schoodacs Coffee & Tea (1 East Main Street, Warner). They also offer a variety of soups, quiche, and baked goods to nosh on over a warm cup or to take home for your holiday meal. Housed in a renovated historic home, Schoodacs has a large, welcoming front porch where you can sit and catch your breath in the cool air and ponder what in the world a schoodac might be.* *Hint: It’s rumored to be the sound made by saw blades, which harkens back to Warner’s early history as a sawmill town.

WWW.SCHOODACS.COM

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MainStreet MarketPlace & Gallery and MainStreet BookEnds

WHEN

Saturday, December 3

ust up Route 103 from Hopkinton and Contoocook, the town of Warner kicks off the holiday season with its Winter Wonderland event. This is a chance to join the community of Warner as it celebrates all that it means to be in New England during the holidays. Features include traditional caroling by the Northeast Catholic Choir, a festival of trees in the town hall, artists and artisans, food, live storytelling, and more. “It’s a sweet event that’s not just about shopping,” says Katherine Nevins, owner of MainStreet BookEnds and an organizer of the event. “The idea is to bring back the feeling of an old-fashioned holiday.” Be sure not to miss the activities in the barn at MainStreet BookEnds (16 East Main Street, Warner). Local artists and artisans display and sell their work in this rustic studio space behind the bookstore, which was the birthplace of Charles A. Pillsbury, local philanthropist and cofounder of the Pillsbury Company. There will be cozy live readings of The Night before Christmas by the

bookstore’s woodstove throughout the day. Efner Tudor Holmes will read her children’s classic The Christmas Cat, artist Nan McCarthy will display her work, woodworker Gary Young will have a selection of hand-carved wooden bowls, and author Jeffrey Zygmont and photographer Leslie Tuttle will be on hand as well.

OUR LAST WORD Whether you celebrate Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Christmas, the winter solstice, or your own unique take on the holiday, gift shopping and giving can be part of what brings people and communities together. It’s the thought that counts, so look past the inbox and the Internet, and take advantage of all that it means to be a New Englander during the holidays.

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STARRY, STARRY WEEKEND STARRYSTARRYWEEKEND.BLOGSPOT.COM

Marklin Candle Design WWW.MARKLINCANDLE.COM

WARNER'S WINTER WONDERLAND MainStreet BookEnds WWW.MAINSTREETBOOKENDS.COM/ EVENT/WARNERS-WINTER-WONDERLAND Schoodacs Coffee & Tea WWW.SCHOODACS.COM

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603-225-6677 | 130 Broadway, Concord WINTER 2016/2017 | AROUND CONCORD

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Left: The doors to David’s Four Seasons of Acadia open to reveal a masterfully carved interior panel. Photo by Bill Truslow. Right: David at work in his shop. Photo by John Hession. Below: The Four Seasons of Acadia cabinet featuring David’s distinctive black ice veneer work in dyed birch. Photo by Bill Truslow.

So Fine An Eye DAVID LAMB FORGES A TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY HYBRID OF CONTEMPORARY ARTFULNESS WITH SHAKER AND EUROPEAN TRADITIONS by laura pope

oted Canterbury craftsman David Lamb can boast of many titles and accolades. He was New Hampshire’s Artist Laureate for two terms, 2010 to 2014. He’s a founding member of the inimitable twentyfive-member (plus guest artists) New Ham shire Furniture Masters, and he’s a highly reputed commissioned artist as well as media darling in national and regional magazines, newspapers, and television. The title he prefers, however, is that of cabinetmaker. It sounds far less grand to modern ears than furniture master, but the former has its roots in the trade name for a traditional, versatile craftsman. While the cabinetmaker nomenclature references tradition, it by no means captures the scope or versatility of David’s work. Most pieces originate from commissions for traditional as well as traditional–contemporary amalgam pieces, sometimes involving collaboration with another artist. These collaborations can include artists or crafts-

people who work in stone, metals, gold leaf, painted landscapes, and special finishin techniques. FIRST COMES CRAFTSMANSHIP David spent his early years in Kingston, New Hampshire, and moved at age thirteen with his mother and stepfather to Canterbury Shaker Village where he lived in the East House, which used to house the village’s children. Bud Thompson, his stepfather, visited the village in the late 1950s, fell in love with it, and soon after worked with the community to recreate the village as a museum, becoming its first curato . “There were still about a dozen Shakers alive back then,” David remembers. During his first year at the village, David met Alejandro de la Cruz, “A real character, a family friend who lived down the street and was a noted craftsman who was formally trained in Spain under two masters. We were neighbors, and I was aware of what he did, admired what he did, and I was also aware of Shaker aesthetics.”

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With the right time and the right place in alignment and his points of curiosity and creative inklings in convergence, a rare opportunity surfaced for the teenaged cabinetmaker-to-be. With an invitation from Alejandro to work alongside his teenaged nephew Marco, David began a three-year apprenticeship to learn the trade every Saturday in the master’s studio. “It was three years of playing scales, so to speak, in that it was primarily repetitive training,” David recalls as he sits in his current spacious studio in Canterbury near Shaker Village. “For instance, we would make square, tapered pegs while Alejandro worked at the next bench describing what he was doing with a piece of furniture—aesthetically, technically, and philosophically.” After completing his apprenticeship, David took a year off from making furniture, and then enrolled in the two-year Artisanry Program at Boston University.

Top left: The White Mountain Breakfront with frost birch doors and mahogany. This is the fourth Lambovich collaboration. Photo by John Hession. Left: Detail of the Palladian frost tabletop. Photo by Bill Truslow. Above: Detail of mahogany Griffith Library Table. Photo by Bill Truslow. Right: Palladian frost demi-lune table. Photo by Bill Truslow.

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“It was the late ’70s, and it was a relatively new program headed by Jere Osgood of Wilton, New Hampshire.” The other instructor at Boston University was Alphonse Mattia. “Alphonse and Jere were products of art schools. I had taken a year off between high school and college, making furniture based on a foundation of a traditional, somewhat-rigid apprenticeship, but at BU, there was an emphasis on drawing out expressiveness. “Essentially, first comes craftsmanship and with time, artistry. For me, artistry meant making things that are beautiful, comfortable to live with—but also developing new approaches in carving and veneering. “For more than forty years, I have mixed the two things—the tradition of apprenticeship and art-school expressionism. It’s a progressive thing as it combines two ways to look at things and it doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a springboard to generate new ideas. It’s also very valuable to get opposite

thinking in place. It allows the mind to problem-solve, technically or aesthetically.” NEW HAMPSHIRE FURNITURE MASTERS Several years after his Boston University education ended, Jere Osgood and David teamed up with eight other craftsmen in 1993 to create the New Hampshire Furniture Masters organization. The goal of its founders was to meet a number of needs, which included bringing together master craftsmen who often work in isolation, expanding awareness to this body of talent, increasing the number of craftspeople practicing it, and as stated on their website, “To cultivate an audience for their goods close to home . . . and showcase a select group of the members’ creations in a series of exhibitions, house parties, and an annual auction.” At the annual Furniture Masters main event in September—held this year at the

3S ArtSpace in Portsmouth—David’s work was on display along with that of several other members of the group. “We loved being in Portsmouth in a hip, new gallery, as we’re typically in hotels and historical spaces for our annual reception, dinner, and auction,” David says. “The lofty 3S gallery space allowed us to hang items from the ceiling so viewers could see this roomful of exquisite work at eye level and above. We had a packed turnout, and we saw a lot of new faces.” Interacting with new audiences, admirers, and event attendees is vital for working craftsmen. “Buying our work is really a conversation,” he says. “Some come to these events to look at the work and then think for years about having something made before they commission a piece; some come ready and informed and hire on the spot. It’s important for the clients to meet the makers; a purchase at the Furniture Masters auction is usually not an impulse buy.”

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THE INTERPL AY OF TRADITIONAL AND CONTEMPORARY The dual approach of tradition-meets-contemporary is evident in David’s recent commission. An elegant cabinet-on-stand, the piece is entitled Four Seasons of Acadia and was commissioned to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of Acadia National Park. The cabinet, which is on display at the Gallery at Somes Sound in Somesville, Maine (near Bar Harbor), stands five and a half feet tall, is two feet wide, and features a classical form with a contemporary, frosted veneer. “I’m enamored with early nineteenth century Federal furniture made with mahogany and yellow birch inlay or panels, and I wanted to follow that but implement it in contemporary ways,” David says. The idea of a frosted veneer on the facade of the cabinet represents winter and is a decorative element that came from David’s most reliable source of inspiration, nature. “I wanted to create a black ice effect, so I veneered the golden birch by applying a dark dye over the wood in a ghosting method to make the surface look like a frosted

window. It’s similar to feathering. “I wanted to imitate the fractal patterns in black ice. There is a root sensibility behind the idea, and I used a somewhat crazy way of expressing it. I wanted to impart a strong, stark impact.” When the facade panels on the cabinet are opened, another surprise is revealed—a panel of hand-carved artwork in curly maple and birch that, like a painting, tells the story of the other three seasons—spring, summer, and fall. “It’s my version of Acadia. Cadillac Mountain is there, so are the arched bridge, the wildflowers, the water.” While innovative pieces such as the Four Seasons of Acadia display the interplay of the traditional and the contemporary, the bulk of David’s work is commissions for traditional furniture. Examples include the seventeenth century round table adorned with European gold leaf, piercings, and a marble top he recently finished. The affable furniture maker has also found harmony in collaboration with other craftsmen and fine artists. This includes the highly respected painter James Aponovich.

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Fittingly, pieces of furniture made by the two are signed Lambovich. James’s vivid, floral still-life paintings adorn exterior sections or are revealed inside the several cabinets made by David in the Lambovich series. To see David’s own pieces and more of the Lambovich series as well as other collaborations, such as the Griffith Hall Table, Currier Demi-Lune Table, Lendl Sofa, and Center Table, visit www. davidlambfurniture.com. VINTAGE TOOL S AND A SENSE OF TRADITION With so fine an eye for sculptural, traditional, and classic forms, and a penchant for including contemporary techniques and collaboration, David’s love of vintage tools may not seem at all out of the ordinary. His appreciation for well-made equipment goes back to Alejandro, who also recognized the need for serious tools and had similar equipment. “I was just out of college and needed these super-expensive tools, so I bought used equipment. The items worked well, but they

www.davidlambfurniture.com

Above: David working on the Lambovich 1 collaboration upper cabinet. Photo by John Hession. Left: David’s shop with late nineteenth and twentieth century tools and equipment, including a John A. White Co. jointer, ca. 1905. Photo by Jon Binzen. Far left: Detail behind the doors of the White Mountain Breakfront. Artist James Aponovich created the image with the White Mountains in the background. Photo by John Hession.

happened to be one hundred years old. I acquired that equipment out of necessity because it was affordable, and then I realized that John White Machinery was locally made in Concord and Dover.” The eight band saws and other machines—nearly two dozen in all—are in use and on display in David’s spacious forty-five-by-seventy-five-foot studio. His original twenty-four-by-forty-foot workspace, the very space where he worked with Marco and Alejandro decades ago, was vastly enlarged when he bought, dismantled, moved, reassembled, and attached an 1890s-era high-posted, timberframed building built as a warehouse for the Gilmanton Mills in Belmont to his studio. It serves as David’s working studio and museum. “What I do is sculptural, which is why I love the sculptural appearance in the machinery. In a weird way it’s inspirational. The machines are well made, and I recognize the craftsmanship it took to make the patterns and casings for the machinery. I like that sense of tradition.”

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Bird Feeders • Bird Seed • Bird Baths • Suet Bird Houses • Poles • Accessories & More Plus gifts for family, friends & the birds 102 Fisherville Rd | Concord NH | 224-3522 | Mon – Sat 9 – 5 WINTER 2016/2017 | AROUND CONCORD

Desserts Just

THE PERFECT LAST BITE OF A HOLIDAY DINNER

BY RACHEL FORREST PHOTOS BY JOHN BENFORD

f one thinks of a holiday meal as a beautifully layered and crafted work of art, dessert is the masterstroke. It is the smile of the Mona Lisa or the intimacy in the gaze of Vermeerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Girl with a Pearl Earring.

And it could be a simple yet gracefully prepared

gingersnap or a delicate and elegant milleâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;feuille. Or maybe Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners will wind down with a slice of apple pie and vanilla ice cream from a recipe handed down from one generation to the next.

Left: Apple pie from The Crust and Crumb. They also offer an apple-berry pie. Right: The Crust and Crumb is located on North Main Street in Concord, directly across from the State House.

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Left: The Crust and Crumb makes their flourless chocolate torte in three sizesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the full-size torte, mini-tortes, and "flourless bites." Below: Coconut macaroons from The Crust and Crumb. Alison Ladman, owner and baker at The Crust and Crumb, shows off one of their apple pies. A collection of whoopie pies, including maple-filled pumpkin, salted caramel, and classic, along with classic and salted caramel filled oatmeal cream pies, from The Crust and Crumb.

WINTER 2016/2017 | AROUND CONCORD

Right: Aissa Sweets is located at 128 Hall Street, Unit H, in Concord. Below: Owner Ahmad Aissa of Aissa Sweets ladles syrup over trays of baklava hot from the oven. Far right: A "flight" of baklavas from Aissa Sweets: (front to back) coconutchocolate chip, chocolate, and traditional walnut.

DELICIOUS OPTIONS ABOUND It needs to be that just-right ending, and with so many options in and around Concord, you might want to reconsider doing the same old thing. Consider the traditional French Christmas dessert, Bûche de Noël, from Jacques Pastries or that old-fashioned apple pie made by Just Like Mom’s Pastries. As you plan the canvas of your feast, whether it’s roasting the perfect turkey, standing rib roast, or smoked ham, save room for desserts from great local bakeries. Liz Wellman, a recent graduate of Southern New Hampshire University’s Baking and Pastry Arts program, is the new baker at The Newell Post Restaurant. Her creations can be purchased and taken home and are featured on the menu to top off your meal in their cozy restaurant. She’s also looking forward to holiday baking. “We’ll have the

FOR FLAKY, BUTTERY PIECRUST: TIPS FROM OUR BAKERS

reating the perfect piecrust—one that’s flaky and buttery but not dense or too soft—can be a bigger challenge than the amateur baker might think. Many novices seem to settle on a crust recipe and method and remain content with the results, even if they’re inconsistent or not quite what they would prefer. Whole courses could be taught on the art and craft of piecrusts, but here are a few tips from local bakers (you may notice a theme).

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staples, and I’ll create what I feel will sell well in the case. Cakes sell very well, especially with fresh fruit filling and custard filling and flavored buttercream. We’re also doing painted sugar cookies with pumpkins and apples and footballs for fall and winter. I’ll be making a maple walnut cream pie for the holidays too.” Restaurant owner Deb Newell says she was surprised at one pie flavor that suddenly became very popular. “We’ve made strawberry-rhubarb pie, but someone called and asked for rhubarb only,” she says. “Now it’s really selling. We make a lot of pumpkin cheesecake, Indian pudding, and a Cape Cod cranberry cake. It’s a wonderful cake with a consistency more like shortbread and a fruit crumble on top that Liz came up with.” Deb adds that their specialty pumpkin-swirl cake with cream cheese and pumpkin filling is also a great holiday dessert. Then there’s Just Like Mom’s Pastries, which has been prepar-

Liz Wellman – The Newell Post Restaurant and Bakery “Work with cold ingredients, even your flour and water. You want your butter and shortening to stay solid because you want them to melt in the oven, which will make the layers separate, thereby making a nice, flaky crust. Roll out your crust nice and thin too.”

Karen Carr – Just Like Mom’s Pastries “Make the dough and chill it before it goes into the oven. I use all vegetable shortening too.”

Alison Ladman – The Crust and Crumb Baking Company “Make sure all the ingredients are cold. Don’t work with warm fat, and use a high-quality fat such as butter or lard.”

Left: Ma’amoul are traditional datestuffed cookies. Below: A piece of Aissa Sweets' chocolate baklava with a cup of their cardamom-infused coffee.

ing holiday pies and desserts for their customers since 1987. Baker Karen Carr is not only working on a selection of pastries and special-occasion cakes and pies but also bringing her expertise to the world of gluten-free cooking with success. “We won an award from the Concord Insider for the best gluten-free brownie,” she says. “I use chocolate as a thickener in some of the gluten-free pastries, and my piecrust uses a rice flour and a sticky rice flour, which I hand roll.” Karen’s also offering innovations on her traditional pecan pie this year by including pumpkin pecan, chocolate pecan, and butter pecan pies. Her popular apple-salted caramel crumb and exotic banana-chocolate coconut pies will also be available. GREAT GIFTS FOR HOSTS AND HO STESSES Desserts and pastries also make lovely host and hostess gifts. One of the best and perhaps more unique takes on holiday pastries is a festive boxed selection of delicate Syrian pastries from Aissa Sweets. While there, be sure to pick out an array of flaky, sweet baklava to serve with brunch or to enjoy with after-dinner coffee. Ahmad Aissa and his wife Evelyn started their bakery in Dover but before long found a new home here in Concord. They recently opened a café in addition to their production bakery, which distributes to Whole Foods and similar grocers throughout New England. “The café has our sweets but also filo-dough wraps for lunch and coffee so people can come in and enjoy baklava and get some to take home,” says Ahmad. “We have three kinds of baklava—classic, chocolate walnut, and coconut chocolate—and the ingredients are as locally sourced as possible.”

DIGESTIFS, A SWEET LITTLE NIP TO END THE MEAL

onsider the complementing flavors of a bite of homemade chocolate and coffee ice creams layered on graham cracker crust and doused in chocolate sauce, followed by a woody sip of Irish whiskey. Or perhaps an espresso martini paired with a baked apple that’s dripping with melting vanilla ice cream. Digestifs, as the French call them, have long been the perfect cap to a well-crafted meal. They blend on the palate the bite of a distilled spirit with the sweet flavors of dessert, thereby creating a close to the meal and assisting digestion, and perhaps urging the happy diner toward a nap. Often, one will want to pair the choice of drink with the dessert and coffee served at the end of the meal. Sean Brown, operations manager for the family of Common Man restaurants, says the dessert pairing at the end of a meal includes several special drinks at his restaurants. This includes one or two made with a custom bottle of straight rye whiskey from WhistlePig, a microdistillery located in Shoreham, Vermont. “WhistlePig rye whiskey has a cult status, and we were lucky enough to work with them this summer,” says Sean. “We spent the day looking at the facility and went into the warehouse to sample fifteen different barrels that had aged for ten years. We picked the barrel we loved best—Barrel 222—and they bottled it with our label. It’s smooth and sweet with a little spice and will complement desserts.” He recommends sipping it neat or mixed as a Manhattan or old-fashioned. “Chocolate cake and some of that rye is perfect,” he adds. Sean says there are also several new drinks on the menu that could be dessert in and of themselves—or even dessert and coffee in one. “We have some new martinis like one made with Coole Swan, an Irish cream liqueur made with single-malt Irish whiskey, Belgian white chocolate, and cream,” he says. “We add Trader Vic’s chocolate liqueur and fresh-brewed coffee from Café Monte Alto, a local coffee roaster in Plymouth. The beans are shipped to them green and then roasted in Plymouth. We sometimes get them when they’re still warm.” You might also like to try the house coffee drink made with a cinnamon-sugar rim with Grand Marnier, Kahlua, Café Monte Alto coffee, and fresh whipped cream and cinnamon, served since 1971. We should add that these are only a few suggestions and that the Common Man is one of a number of restaurants blessing our community with a wide range of the new, the known, and the unique. If you haven’t thought of it, perhaps it’s time to get out and explore the world of digestifs, which includes cognac, calvados, Fernet Branca, limoncello, grappa, port, ouzo, whiskey, akvavit, and a range of cocktails such as a brandy alexander, grasshopper, or a golden dream. After all, a sweet that bites is a nice way to end any meal.

WINTER 2016/2017 | AROUND CONCORD

Right: Aissa Sweets offers three types of baklava: (clockwise from top) coconut-chocolate chip, traditional walnut, and chocolate. Far right: Aissa Sweets' coconut-chocolate chip baklava, fresh from the oven.

In addition to baklava, the bakery offers Ma’amoul, a traditional Syrian shortbread pastry stuffed with dates, pistachios, figs, and other fillings. These are a popular dessert throughout the Middle East and are enjoyed in one form or another by Muslims, Christians, and Jews. “We’re working on using different products for the stuffed cookies, like dried fruits and cranberries,” says Ahmad. “For the holidays we have nice packaging for gifts, too. In Syria, it’s not just for dessert. They do it in a different way, maybe in the morning with tea or coffee and then some after meals, so really both ways.” LOCAL SOURCING At The Crust and Crumb Baking Company in Concord, local sourcing is key. They are the first and perhaps only Certified Local Bakery by the state’s Farm to Restaurant Connection, which seeks to promote locally grown agricultural products to restaurants, schools, food markets, hospitals, and the public. “A lot of our produce, like apples, we can just get here in New Hampshire,” says baker and owner Alison Ladman. “We get apples from Loudon, peaches from the farmers’ market, and all the meat we use in our pork pie is from a farm in North Haverhill. We get local dairy as much as

A SHORT HISTORY OF DESSERT

n the twenty-first century we save room for dessert, or bribe the kids into finishing the broccoli with promises of ice cream. Dessert is a sweet ending to a savory meal, but that wasn’t always the case. Debra Friedman, senior vice president and food historian at Old Sturbridge Village, an 1830s living history museum in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, says that dessert as we know it is a relatively modern concept. “What they thought of as dessert was very different,” Debra says. “We think of pie and pudding as dessert, but in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it was more of a side dish to make the meal heavier and to add caloric value.” She adds that turning simple ingredients into fancier dishes was also a sign of status. “The sweeter dishes were used to elevate lowly foods like fruits and vegetables. An apple made into a sauce is fine with roast pork, but surrounding it with spices, sugar, butter, and eggs gave it more status, more value.” Meat and fowl also had high value. Scraps of meat would be used in savory pies, and pies in general would be baked once a week and enjoyed at all meals, as were puddings made with meat scraps. “Pudding meant black or white pudding because these were filling and curbed the appetite so the diners wouldn’t eat as much meat,” says Debra. “They had bread or rice pudding, but eventually they began to use sweeter ingredients, even using vegetables for carrot pie, for example. When you think about it, it can be made the same way as pumpkin pie.” Preserving those fruits and vegetables to use all year long was also important, so dehydration was a commonly used technique. “In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, they couldn’t get vegetables year-round,” says Debra, “so they’d prepare a pumpkin or squash leather by making a puree and putting it on a baking sheet in the oven to get precooked and dehydrated. They’d take a handful of that and rehydrate it in milk to make a paste and use it in pie. It had an intense flavor.” While puddings and pies were more savory dishes during a meal, eighteenth and nineteenth century families were not without a sweet ending to a meal. “They’d have a gelatin maybe, like a cow’s-foot jelly with cream and coloring whipped up, and cookies were served as dessert but not puddings or pies.” Find out more about New England history at Old Sturbridge Village at www.osv.org.

possible, but no one makes cream cheese in the amount we need. We also get butter from Cabot Creamery in Vermont for consistency.” Getting local grains for cakes and crusts is also a challenge, but Maine is a good source, she adds. “New Hampshire has too many hills and valleys for growing grains, but Maine has more plains so we can get grains from fairly nearby.” Look for traditional holiday pies at Crust Raspberry and cranberry-orange scones at The Crust and Crumb.

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and Crumb, such as forest berry, apple, and pumpkin, and her maple bourbon pecan pie made with local maple syrup. Alison says they’ll be making up to 350 pies a day. There’s more than dessert here as well, with their sourdough boules and Shaker squash rolls for the dinner table, made from an old Shaker recipe from Chef James Haller. These will be available at the Shaker Village during the holidays as well as at the bakery. Some of us may want to finish the holiday feast with a pie made with our own hands mixing the layers of dough and butter. However, we are lucky to have a number of wonderful bakeries to help us find that just-right final brushstroke to our holiday-meal masterpiece.

WHERE TO FIND THE SWEET TREATS

here are many wonderful bakeries in our area, and it's worth taking the time to explore each one in order to find your favorite scone, croissant, cake, or pie. And this is true whether you’re an amateur home baker looking for a few new twists, or you love desserts but don’t have the time or inclination to bake.

erving Greater Concord and New England for 50 years.

INSURANCE • BONDS • BENEFITS

...an Assurex Global Partner

1-800-238-3840 • www.rowleyagency.com

Here are a few to get you started:

Aissa Sweets 128 Hall Street, Unit H Concord, NH (603) 856-8735

WWW.AISSASWEETS.COM

The Crust and Crumb Baking Company 126 North Main Street Concord, NH (603) 219-0763

WWW.THECRUSTANDCRUMB.COM

45 Constitution Ave., Concord, NH and offices in Portland, ME and Bennington, VT

Jacques Fine European Pastries 128 Main Street Concord, NH (603) 485-4035

WWW.JACQUESPASTRIES.COM

Just Like Mom’s Pastries 353 Riverdale Road Weare, NH (603) 529-6667

WWW.JUSTLIKEMOMSPASTRIES.COM

The Newell Post Restaurant 15 Fisherville Road Concord, NH (603) 228-0522

WWW.NEWELLPOSTRESTAURANT.COM/ BAKERY

Alan’s of Boscawen 133 No. Main Street, Rte. 3, Boscawen, NH (603) 753-6631 | www.alansofboscawen.com Alan’s of Boscawen, a family-owned restaurant, has been a local favorite in the Concord area for over 25 years providing great food, catering, and dining experiences. Featuring live entertainment Fri & Sat 8:30pm–12am. Open daily, including breakfast Sat & Sun.

Book your Holiday Party!

WINTER 2016/2017 | AROUND CONCORD

Grace

Finding

A STORY OF LOVE, KINDNESS, AND FAITH BY SUSAN NYE

f you grew up in New England, political rather than religious topics with you couldn’t help but become these waves of immigrants. aware of an abundance of reliOutside of school, we learned about gious sects and faiths. They are other religions from our neighbors. Adwoven into our region’s history, mittedly, ours was a fairly homogeneous and their houses of worship dot suburb. For the most part, our neighbors our landscape as resolute and practiced some variety of Christianity. stoic reminders of our heritage. There were no yarmulkes, shaved heads, The author, Susan Nye, and her cousin Grace. Puritanical pilgrims settled the region or hijabs on Jackson Road. I confess that and morphed into a multitude of conmy envy was palpable when my Catholic gregations with sometimes-divergent beliefs. Some of these we friends donned their fluffy white dresses for their First Comlearned about in school. Perhaps in history class you too studied munion. My parents were not sympathetic, however, and we the First, Second, and Third Great Awakenings, which began in the 1730s and emphasized rigorous standards of personal morality. This was my first introduction to evangelicals. I wasn’t sure if I should giggle or be horrified by the fiery oratory of Jonathan Edward’s famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” The melting pot continued to bubble as Catholic and Jewish immigrants arrived in New England. The potato famine forced Irish Catholics from their home, and our history lessons covered the shameful story of prejudice summed up by the phrase continued our sporadic attendance at the local Congregational “no Irish need apply.” Rural poverty drove Italian Catholics Church. across the Atlantic starting in the late 1880s. At about the same Jealousy aside, religious practices in mid-century New Engtime, anti-Semitic violence encouraged Eastern European Jews land were pretty staid. The Shakers had dwindled to a handto immigrate to America. From Sacco and Vanzetti to Julius ful. Once centers of faith and prosperity, their villages had all and Ethel Rosenberg, our history classes covered decidedly but disappeared or become museums. As for faith healing, we

The church views God as

infinite love.

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equated it with another time or with revival meetings, Bible thumping, and the South. For the most part, we Northerners were either too circumspect or too hip for such raw displays of emotion. Circumspect or not, we do have our Christian Scientists. Founded in Boston in 1879 by Concord’s own Mary Baker Eddy, the Church of Christ, Scientist is rooted in Eddy’s Protestant upbringing, the Bible, and spiritual healing. The church views God as infinite love and con-

Above: The author outside the Mary Baker Eddy house in Concord. Photo by Allegra Boverman. Left: Mary Baker Eddy. Photo courtesy of The Mary Baker Eddy Library, Boston, MA.

tends that prayer has the power to heal, redeem, and restore. Mary Baker Eddy was born on a farm in Bow, New Hampshire. The youngest of six children, she was raised in a deeply religious Congregational home. At a time when conventional medicine often did more harm than good, she was a sickly child who grew up to be a sickly adult. For many years, she explored alternative healing methods including water cures, placebos, and hypnosis. I suppose it was only a matter of time before she resorted to healing through faith. Bedridden in 1866 after a fall, she had an epiphany of sorts while reading her Bible. Miraculously cured, she credited that moment with the discovery of Christian Science. She spent the next nine years studying scripture, writing, teaching, and helping other people heal. She published her findings in Science and Health in 1875. The book outlined the beliefs behind her healing method. Christian Scientists believe that illness is an illusion—the product of bad thoughts, fears, or a lack of faith in God’s power and goodness. Eddy taught that prayer and scripture devoted to healing could bring about a new, positive perspective and restore one’s health. Instead of doctors and nurses,

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Christian Scientists call upon practitioners. Practitioners have no medical training but are well versed in Christian Science beliefs. They provide prayers and spiritual assistance, recommend scripture readings, and suggest Christian Science literature. Christian Scientists believe that prayer and belief in the power of God can heal both the body and the mind. When Eddy first wrote about Christian Science, a dose of mercury or bloodletting was considered effective medicine. In that environment, prayer was probably a reasonable alternative. However, modern medicine puts a decidedly different perspective on illness, injuries, and spiritual healing. Many people, including children, have suffered needlessly and even died when a medical cure was readily available. There are countless cases of prayer doing battle with injuries and curable diseases and losing. Christian Scientist or not, religion plays an important role in the healing process for many. Prayer along with quiet bed rest can be quite effective in tackling a cold or the flu. However, it cannot mend a broken bone, heal a burst appendix, or cure cancer. Medical science continues to make breakthroughs, and after peaking in the mid 1930s, the Christian Science population continues to decline. As a child, I was at least vaguely aware of this controversial religious group. A couple of times a year, we’d pass the

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From the left, Libby Nye (Susan's mother), Grace, and Susan.

spectacular Christian Science Center designed by I.M. Pei in downtown Boston, and several of our relatives and friends were members. My mother was always quick to note that our friends were the commonsense kind of Christian Scientists— the kind who went to the doctor when they were really sick or had a broken leg. She wasn’t so sure about the relatives, but then, you can pick your friends. Our cousin Grace was a Christian Scientist, and in her later years we became very close. Both sides of my family can boast of long lines of octogenarians and even nonagenarians, and Grace was the last of my grandfather’s generation. She will always hold a special place in my heart. Sharp, with all her wits and then some, Grace had a wonderful sense of optimism and a kind spirit. Her story didn’t quite fit the stereotype of a woman of her generation. By twenty-four, Grace had married, buried a child, and divorced. Women then rarely divorced, but there were whispers that her husband drank and was abusive. Years later, she married again. Harry was a keeper, and they enjoyed a long and happy marriage. He traveled throughout New England selling watches and precious stones. Grace traveled with him, selling her own line of costume jewelry.

We loved Grace because she listened, paid attention, and was never judgmental. When I gave up teaching and tackled an MBA, Grace was all for it. When my sister went through a difficult divorce, she was all support. She encouraged my brother as he navigated college in Boston. She embraced my sister’s daughter like the grandchild or great-grandchild she never had. She was a true friend. In addition, as Mom would say, Grace was one of the commonsense Christian Scientists. I liked to describe her as my ninety-something-year-old Christian Scientist cousin with the pacemaker. Always intrigued by dichotomies, I liked that about her. Her faith was not blind but a compromise of her positive outlook and her pragmatism. In spite of her pacemaker, Grace did work with practitioners. Christian Scientists are not a particularly boisterous bunch when it comes to healing through faith. Search as you might, you won’t find a laying on of hands, speaking in tongues, or a raucous revival meeting. Frankly, I can’t imagine Grace leaping up and shouting, “It’s a miracle!” After all, when I knew her, she was past ninety and neither leaped nor shouted. However, there were times when she took to her bed and called a Christian Science practitioner. She never said she was ill. She simply said, “It’s not a good day.” Instead of calling a practitioner, Grace telephoned me for

Had it been, she would have stayed home, read her Bible, and consulted with a practitioner. However, I know Grace didn’t die from a lack of faith or positive outlook. Although she sometimes seemed indomitable, Grace died because she was human, had a heart condition, and was ninety-three. Grace never tried to convert us, never talked about religion or healing. She was just happy to love my family and be with us. After all the time we’d spent together, her funeral gave me my first up-close view of her religion. Since Grace was the last of her generation, I’d attended too many funerals in the past five or so years. This one was by far the most uplifting. Christian Science funeral services reflect the church’s attitude toward life and death. Life is eternal, so death was just another stage in Grace’s immortal journey. There are no ministers within the Church of Christ, Scientist, so a reader led the service. A gentle man, he knew my cousin well and spoke fondly of her. Passages from the Bible were read, and I suppose from Eddy’s Science and Health. There were hymns; I like to think we sang “Amazing Grace.” Maybe we did, maybe we didn’t. Although I have long since forgotten the details, joy, love, and friendship toward my cousin were the overwhelming sentiments expressed. After the funeral, I might have toyed with the thought of joining the Church of Christ, Scientist. Well, maybe for about

help one dreary Sunday in April. Something was not quite right, and she needed to go to the hospital. We spent an endless afternoon in the emergency room and were then sent home. Grace was right—something was off, and in less than a week, she was back at the hospital. This time, the doctors and nurses didn’t send her home. A few days later, at ninety-three, my Christian Scientist cousin died in the hospital of a heart attack. True believers would say that Grace died because her faith was not absolute.

a minute. I’m not really a joiner, especially if it means giving up my morning coffee and evening glass of wine. While sad to lose her, her funeral service had made me smile. As peculiar as some of her beliefs are to me, I am still cheered that my cousin had such a warm circle of support. All these years later, I still think of Grace, maybe not often but from time to time. I am strengthened by the power of her positive thinking, her common sense and compromise, and most of all, her kindness.

Life is eternal, so death was just another stage in Grace’s immortal journey.

WINTER 2016/2017 | AROUND CONCORD

EVENT CALENDAR

THEATER

•

MUSIC

•

DANCE

What's Happening

•

LECTURE

•

ART

December 3

The Mavericks: Sleigh Bells Ring Out!

In & Around Concord

Capitol Center for the Arts, 8pm WWW.CCANH.COM December 3–4

Concord Dance Academy: A Holiday Spectacular Audi, 3, 1 & 6pm; 4, 1pm WWW.THEAUDI.ORG December 3, 10

Christmas at Canterbury Join us inside the historic Shaker buildings to watch an old-time nineteenth century magic show, make Christmas cards for loved ones, decorate gingerbread cookies, create ornaments for your tree, and more. Canterbury Shaker Village, 3–8pm WWW.SHAKERS.ORG December 4

Friends of the Audi Holiday Open House Audi, 6pm WWW.THEAUDI.ORG

November 25–December 31

Gift of Lights: NHMS Winter Wonderland

December 4

Spanning over two miles, the Gift of Lights features more than 60 holiday scenes and over 400 light displays. The course winds around the outside of the track’s grandstands and includes a portion of the NHMS road course. New Hampshire Motor Speedway, 4:30–9pm WWW.NHMS.COM

Handel’s Messiah

NHMS/ALAN MACRAE

Through December 23

Exhibit: Melissa Anne Miller McGowan Fine Art WWW.MCGOWANFINEART.COM November 25–December 18

buildings, and old-fashioned hospitality throughout the downtown. Bust out of the big box and come experience the charm of holiday shopping in downtown Concord. Downtown, 5:30pm–12am WWW.INTOWNCONCORD.ORG

Dickens’ A Christmas Carol Hatbox Theatre, Fridays & Saturdays 7:30pm; Sundays 2pm HATBOXNH.COM

Benjamin Greene conducts the 75-member Concord Community Chorus, a professional orchestra, and soloists in this annual performance. Be sure to arrive early to ensure seating. South Congregational Church, 7pm WWW.WALKERLECTURE.ORG December 6, January 10, February 7

Tales Told Inspired by The Moth series, audience members will put their names in a hat and will be called up at random to tell a true, original story. Audience members will act as judges with a winner to be announced at the end of the evening. Hatbox Theatre, 7:30pm HATBOXNH.COM

December 1, January 5, February 2

Tasty Thursday at the Co-op! Join us on the first Thursday to try before you buy, meet local vendors, and receive double co-op loyalty rewards. Concord Food Co-op, 4:30–6:30pm WWW.CONCORDFOODCOOP.COOP December 2

Through December 24

Reunion Exhibit: Rhode Island School of Design, Class of 1967 Meet the artists: October 9, 3–5pm Mill Brook Gallery & Sculpture Garden THEMILLBROOKGALLERY.COM

Midnight Merriment Enjoy unique locally owned businesses, beautifully decorated windows and historic

Discover more of what's happening 60

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Hand Layers, fabric weave by Deidre Scherer.

www.aroundconcord.com

PRESENTED BY THE MUSIC HALL & STRAWBERY BANKE MUSEUM

Celebrating 12 years of shows, strolls, & shopping!

December 7

Mannheim Steamroller Christmas by Chip Davis Capitol Center for the Arts, 7:30pm WWW.CCANH.COM

Vintage Christmas in Portsmouth, a partnership between The Music Hall and Strawbery Banke Museum, offers a winter wonderland of fun and festivities for the month of December. For details and a complete itinerary of events, go to VintageChristmasNH.org.

December 9

Snowflake Social Enjoy free seasonal samples throughout the store to inspire your holiday parties. Concord Food Co-op, 4–6pm WWW.CONCORDFOODCOOP.COOP

Vintage Christmas is Sponsored by

In Partnership with Discover Portsmouth; Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra; z107

December 9

The Twelve Days of Christmas Capitol Center for the Arts, 7pm WWW.CCANH.COM December 10

Turning Pointe Center of Dance: The Nutcracker Ballet

Photos: David J Murray/Clear Eye Photo

Audi, 2pm WWW.CONCORDCITYAUDITORIUM.ORG December 10

Holiday Folk Concert Celebrate the season with an evening of holiday music and folk favorites! Concord Community Music School WWW.CCMUSICSCHOOL.ORG

Be our guest this holiday season!

THE MUSIC HALL presents THE OGUNQUIT PLAYHOUSE production of

NOVEMBER 30 - DECEMBER 18

December 11

Symphony New Hampshire Holiday Pops Concert

Make time for magic with friends and family this holiday season! Experience gorgeous holiday scenes, snow in the theater, and be whisked away to this fairytale as old as time.

Audi, 3pm WWW.THEAUDI.ORG December 13

The MET Live in HD: L’Amour de Loin Capitol Center for the Arts, 6pm WWW.CCANH.COM

PRESENTING SPONSOR:

SERIES SPONSOR:

December 14, January 11, February 8

Andrew Pinard: Discovering Magic Hatbox Theatre, 7:30pm HATBOXNH.COM December 15

Buzz Ball Capitol Center for the Arts, 7pm WWW.CCANH.COM

ITALIAN KITCHEN

December 16

Christmas with Rocking Horse Studio Capitol Center for the Arts, 7pm WWW.CCANH.COM

Operated by George Georgopoulos and family, Veano’s II offers all the traditional Italian favorites you love plus seafood, pizza, and more. Serving lunch and dinner, and now breakfast from Mon–Fri 7am–11am, Sat–Sun 7am–noon. Stop in for superb customer service, great food, and a warm friendly atmosphere— and don’t forget to check out our daily dinner specials!

30 Manchester Street, Unit 1 Concord, NH | (603) 715-1695 WINTER 2016/2017 | AROUND CONCORD

CALENDAR January 23 February 14

The MET Live in HD: Roméo et Juliette

Alexis Cole

Capitol Center for the Arts, 6pm WWW.CCANH.COM

Capitol Center for the Arts, 7:30pm WWW.CCANH.COM

January 23

Decades Rewind Capitol Center for the Arts, 7:30pm WWW.CCANH.COM January 27–29

Concord Community Concert Association: Mostly Mozart: A Festival of Music and Theatre Audi, 27, 7:30pm; 28 & 29, 2pm WWW.THEAUDI.ORG January 31

State Ballet Theatre of Russia: Cinderella December 16

January 10

New Hampshire School of Ballet: The Nutcracker

National Theatre Live in HD: No Man’s Land

Audi, 7pm WWW.THEAUDI.ORG

Capitol Center for the Arts, 6pm WWW.CCANH.COM

December 16–31

January 14

Jack and the Beanstalk

Get the Led Out

The Winnipesaukee Playhouse WWW.WINNIPESAUKEEPLAYHOUSE.ORG

Capitol Center for the Arts, 8pm WWW.CCANH.COM

December 18

January 18

Capital Jazz Orchestra: Holiday Pops

Doktor Kaboom! Live Wire! The Electricity Tour

Capitol Center for the Arts, 4pm WWW.CCANH.COM December 23, 30, January 27, February 16

Capitol Center for the Arts, 7pm WWW.CCANH.COM January 31–February 14

Exhibit: Love, Lust and Desire Opening reception: February 2, 5–7pm McGowan Fine Art WWW.MCGOWANFINEART.COM

Capitol Center for the Arts, 10am WWW.CCANH.COM

Greg Boggis Presents . . .

January 19–21

Producer and host Greg Boggis has been a staple of the New England comedy scene for over 20 years. Don’t miss this hilarious New Hampshire favorite son. Hatbox Theatre, 7:30pm HATBOXNH.COM

Opening reception: January 19, 5:30–7:30pm McGowan Fine Art WWW.MCGOWANFINEART.COM

Exhibit: Art and Bloom

January 20

Jazz in January

January 6–22

The Complete Works of Shakespeare Abridged Hatbox Theatre, Fridays & Saturdays 7:30pm; Sundays 2pm HATBOXNH.COM January 7

The MET Live in HD: Nabucco Capitol Center for the Arts, 1pm WWW.CCANH.COM

Join fellow jazz lovers for the Musicians of Wall Street Jazz Ensemble’s annual cabaret concert. Concord Community Music School WWW.CCMUSICSCHOOL.ORG

February 11

Laurie Berkner: The Greatest Hits Solo Tour Capitol Center for the Arts, 11am WWW.CCANH.COM

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www.aroundconcord.com

February 3–19

Marjorie Prime It’s the age of artificial intelligence, and 85-year-old Marjorie—a jumble of disparate, fading memories—has a handsome new companion who’s programmed to feed the story of her life back to her. What would you remember, and what would you forget, if given the chance to choose? What if someone else chooses for you? How much can you forget and still be you? Hatbox Theatre, Fridays & Saturdays 7:30pm; Sundays 2pm HATBOXNH.COM

February 8

Story Pirates Capitol Center for the Arts, 10am WWW.CCANH.COM

ADVERTISERS INDEX 102.3 The River ..........................................................................21

Granite State Glass ..................................................................32

A & B Lumber ............................................................Back Cover

H.R. Clough ................................................................................13

Able Insurance Agency ...........................................................43

Johnny Prescott Oil .................................................................... 2

Alan's of Boscawen ..................................................................55

Kimball Jenkins .......................................................................... 11

Audi, 10 & 11, 7:30pm; 12, 2pm WWW.COMMUNITYPLAYERSOFCONCORD.ORG

Annis & Zellers..........................................................................25

Lilise .............................................................................................33

February 21–March 23

Banks Chevrolet ........................................... Inside Back Cover

Exhibit: Valerie Hird

Bow Plumbing & Heating ........................................................31

February 10–12

The Community Players of Concord: Noises Off!

Salon Series at Capitol Center for the Arts: February 10 McGowan Fine Art WWW.MCGOWANFINEART.COM February 24–26

Ray of Light Hatbox Theatre, Friday & Saturday 7:30pm; Sunday 2pm HATBOXNH.COM February 25

The MET Live in HD: Rusalka Capitol Center for the Arts, 7pm WWW.CCANH.COM

Bank of New Hampshire ..........................................................21

Breathe Esthetics .......................................................................17 The Centennial Inn ................................................................... 19 Century 21 ..................................................................................43 Charter Trust ............................................................................... 9 Chickadee Lane .........................................................................33 Cobb Hill Construction ............................................................31 Concord Orthodonics ................................................................ 3 Concord Pediatric Dentistry ..................................................... 1

Mark Knipe.................................................................................33 Marketplace New England .....................................................33 Merrimack County Savings...................................................... 8 Mill Falls Marketplace .............................................................27 Nathan Wechsler........................................................................ 7 Northeast Delta Dental............................................................13 Pats Peak...................................................................................... 11 Portsmouth Music Hall ............................................................61 The Rowley Agency .................................................................55 Rumford Stone ............................................ Inside Front Cover

Concord Photo Service............................................................25

Serendipity Day Spa................................................................ 49

Duncraft Wild Bird Superstore.......................................33, 49

Sugar River Bank ....................................................................... 19

Exit Realty ...................................................................................32

Upton & Hatfield ........................................................................ 7

Fuller's Sugarhouse ...................................................................17

Valpey Financial .......................................................................... 5

Galleria Stone and Tile ........................................................... 30

Veano's Italian Kitchen ............................................................61

Granite State Candy Shoppe ..........................................33, 63

Vintage Kitchens ..................................................................... 30

For more information about print and online advertising opportunities, contact (603) 538-3141 or publisher@aroundconcord.com.

WINTER 2016/2017 | AROUND CONCORD

LAST WORD

After the long Melancholy of the fall, One longs for the crisp Brass shout of winter. —“New Hampshire” by Howard Moss, past poetry editor of The New Yorker (1948 to 1987)

SUBMIT YOUR WORK We are looking to showcase the talents of local photographers, artists, poets, and creative souls who call the greater Concord area their home. Submit your work for consideration for this page in a future issue.

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BANKS CADILLAC BRINGING LUXURY TO CONCORD SINCE 1957 Exceptional offers available on the 2017 Cadillac XT5

137 MANCHESTER ST. CONCORD, NH 603-229-4176 BANKSAUTOS.COM

Around Concord 30 Terrill Park Drive Concord, NH 03301

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