The Hippo: October 20th, 2016

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Food: A Year In Flavor

 

FEATURED FOOD 

A Year In Flavor

Tasting Features Four Season of Food, Wine & Beer

Written by Angie Sykeny  (asykeny@hippopress.com)

Images: YMCA Courtesy Photo

 

It may be the time of year for pumpkins and apple cider, but you can get a taste of all four seasons at the Granite YMCA’s Seasonal Sips event on Thursday, Oct. 27, in Manchester. The 10th annual tasting will feature 12 local restaurants and 14 wine and beer vendors, divided into winter, spring, summer and fall themed rooms in the Falls Event Center.

COURTESY PHOTO“We try to come up with something different, something new and unique each year to tie everything together,” Development Coordinator Jessica Riendeau said. “Instead of just being [about] sampling food and wine, the ambiance is important as well.”

Guests can meander freely throughout the four rooms, each of which will be decorated to celebrate a different season, and sample the various beverages and restaurant dishes. Restaurants are primarily from downtown Manchester and beverage vendors from southern New Hampshire. Many will bring seasonally inspired fare such as salsa from Margarita’s and Peachez fruit wine from Zorvino Vineyards for summer, and Grumpy Pumpkin Ale from Stark Brewing and pumpkin tortellacci with apple cider cream from The Common Man for fall. Other featured samples will include a beef, pork and guanciale polpetti (meatballs) from Campo Enoteca, Asian steak tips from Hooked and Ignite, chicken and sausage gumbo from Firefly and a Garden Creek meritage from Dunn Wine Brokers.

“Most of [the samples] are things you’d find on the restaurant’s menu, but with a twist so that they’re more of an appetizer size,” Riendeau said. “It helps the restaurants reach a demographic that may have never eaten at their establishment before, and it gives people the opportunity to say, ‘That was good food … and now I want to come to your restaurant and order a full meal or lunch.’”

New at the event this year, there will also be a wine pull where, for $15, guests can take their pick from a selection of concealed wine bottles valued at $15 and up. Finally, each room will have silent auction tables with items like restaurant gift certificates, sporting event tickets, adventure outings, spa packages and more.  Proceeds from the event will benefit youth programs in the greater Manchester area.

“There will be good food, good wine, good beer, but the most important part of the event is being able to give back and help kids in the community,” Riendeau said.


Seasonal Sips

Where: Falls Event Center, 21 Front St., Manchester
When: Thursday, Oct. 27, 6 to 8 p.m.
Cost: $30. Tickets are available online until 11 a.m. on the day of the event, and at the door.
Visit: graniteymca.org

Participating Vendors
Amoskeag Beverages, Circa Wines, Dunn Wine Brokers, E&J Gallo Winery, Great North Aleworks, Horizon, LaBelle Winery, Martignetti Companies, OneHope, Perfecta Wine Company, Pine State Beverages, Southern Spirit and Wines, Stark Brewery, Zorvino Vineyards

Participating Restaurants
900 Degrees, Campo Enoteca, The Common Man Concord, Firefly American Bistro, Fratello’s Italian Grille, Garden Grill & Bar, Hanover Street Chophouse, Hooked/Ignite, Margarita’s Mexican Restaurant, The Radisson Manchester, Republic, The Wild Rover Pub

Featured News: Beyond Candy *

 

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Beyond Candy

Halloween Treats, From Mummy Dogs to Frankenstein Pops

By Kelly Sennott    (ksennott@hippopress.com)

Images: Liz Barbour

 

There’s only so much candy corn you can eat, so why settle for traditional Halloween treats? Spice up your fare by adding a little scariness to your entrees, hors d’oeuvres, sweets and healthy snacks.

Creepy Entrees

All it takes is a little twist to make a traditional dish into one with Halloween flair.
 
If you’re craving pasta, Liz Barbour, owner of The Creative Feast in Hollis, likes cooking it in red wine, giving noodles a deep burgundy color — the drier the wine, the sharper the flavor. She finishes it off by sauteing the pasta in oil and garlic (to keep the vampires away) and serving it in a jack-o’-lantern pumpkin with a low-carved mouth, allowing the noodles to fall out like guts. She suggests using roasted sugar pumpkins because they’re fleshy and thick.
 
“Then, when somebody takes some of the pasta, they can scoop out some of the pumpkin,” Barbour said via phone last week.

COURTESY PHOTO

If you’re looking for a side dish, go orange — there are so many vegetables of this hue that are in season, from carrots and squash to local tomatoes. Sometimes, all your dishes need is a shape alteration, said Kristen Chinosi, owner of the Culinary Playground in Derry. Add some arms, legs and a head to your meatloaf, and you’ve got a dead body — for extra effect, stick a fork in its chest, add ketchup (blood) and draw a face (with olives for eyes, sliced red pepper for a mouth). If you’re serving butternut squash soup, pipe sour cream on top in a spiderweb pattern.
 
“Another one we do a lot is pizza,” Chinosi said. “Halloween night — that’s like the biggest pizza-ordering night of the year. But if you want to make it more healthful, you can make your own.”
 
Give the pizza a pumpkin shape and add the toppings — veggies, pepperonis, bacon, whatever — into a  jack-o’-lantern face. Chinosi said the Culinary Playground is hosting a parent-child workshop making these pizzas a couple days before Halloween. One of her goals, she said, is to show you can be healthy (or somewhat healthy) while still being festive.
 

Finger Food

It’s not hard to give finger food a holiday vibe; it might just be a matter of rearranging and restyling.
 
If you’re serving cheese and crackers, cut the cheese into maple leaf or skeleton head shapes, said Maureen Porter, who runs Leave it to Me Catering. If you’ve got dip, plop it into a hollowed-out gourd, or re-vamp your pigs in a blanket by making crescent roll mummy dogs. Chinosi suggested spooking up guacamole by turning it into a Frankenstein head — shape it like a rectangle and use black olives and veggies to design the hair and facial features. A big hit at the Culinary Playground, Chinosi said, are pumpkin-shaped cheese balls made with crushed Doritos.
 
For the ultimate finger food, Barbour suggested roasting fingerling potatoes and sticking olives on the end as fingernails.
 

Sweets & Adult Treats

Making creative Halloween treats might be easier in the sweet department because of things like colored frosting and creepy candy, like gummy worms, which Porter likes to press into ice cubes and serve with drinks at Halloween parties.
 
She said kids especially get a kick out of Frankenstein-themed pops, which involve dipping marshmallows in melted green chocolate and decorating them with chocolate sprinkles, pretzel sticks, candy googly eyes and gel icing. Another mummy munchy, courtesy of Porter, involves Rice Krispies Treats — dip them in melted white chocolate and pipe on “bandages.”
 
For grown-up parties, you can create the look of a bubbling witch potion by serving green Hawaiian punch and club soda in a bowl that sits inside a giant, hollowed-out pumpkin — between the bowl and pumpkin, stick dried ice and warm water to create a smoky effect.

Parent-child Halloween Dinner Date

Where: The Culinary Playground, 16 Manning St., Derry
When: Friday, Oct. 28, from 6 to 8 p.m.
What: Parent and child teams will make pumpkin-shaped pizzas and owl cupcakes.
Tuition: $40 per pair, for parent and child 6 years or older
 

Frankenstein Marshmallow Pops

From the kitchen of Maureen Porter, adapted from Pinterest
 
1 bag chocolate chips, semisweet
Small pretzel rods
Green candy melts
Marshmallows
Edible red or black markers or gel icing
Toothpicks, lollipop sticks or colorful straws
 
Stick toothpicks, lollipop sticks or straws into marshmallows and dip into melted green chocolate. Once dried, dip partway into melted semisweet chocolate chips (for Frankenstein’s hair). Stick a pretzel rod through bottom of marshmallow, add googly eyes and draw mouth and stitches with edible markers or gel icing.
 

Red Wine Pasta

From the kitchen of Liz Barbour
5 ounces chopped baby arugula
1 pound thick spaghetti
1 bottle red wine (zinfandel or red blend)
1 teaspoon sugar
⅓ cup olive oil
10 thinly sliced garlic cloves
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Kosher salt
Pepper, freshly ground
Extra virgin olive oil
 
Fill large pot with 12 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of kosher salt and bring to boil. Add spaghetti and cook, stirring occasionally for five minutes until pasta is partially-cooked. Drain pasta in colander, return empty pot to stovetop. Add wine and sugar to pot and bring to a boil. Cook for 2 minutes. Add spaghetti and stir until spaghetti is coated. Boil over high heat, stirring occasionally, until most of the wine is absorbed (about 6 minutes, al dente). While pasta cooks, place olive oil, garlic in large saute pan and turn heat to low. Cook garlic slowly until lightly-browned, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add crushed red pepper and chopped arugula. Add wine-cooked pasta to garlic and arugula and toss gently. Finish with grated cheese and drizzle with EVOO. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
 

Crescent Roll Mummy Hot Dogs

From the kitchen of Maureen Porter
 
1 8-ounce tube crescent rolls
8 hot dogs
mustard, mayo or ketchup for eyes
mozzarella cheese
black olives
1 large straw
1 regular straw
 
Heat oven to 375. Unroll crescent roll dough and separate into 4 rectangles. Press together to seal. Cut dough into ½-inch strips and join 3 together for long “bandage.” Wrap bandage dough around hot dogs, leaving space for mummy’s face. Repeat with all hot dogs; arrange on baking sheet covered with parchment paper and bake 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cut tiny slices of cheese with large straw, olives with regular straw, then stick to hot dog using mayo, mustard or ketchup.
 

Pumpkin-Shaped Cheese Ball

From the kitchen of Kristen Chinosi of The Culinary Playground
 
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 tablespoon minced onion
4 tablespoons salsa
1 teaspoon cumin
¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
Large handful Doritos, crushed
Piece of celery or green pepper stem for pumpkin stem
Bay or basil leaves for leaves
 
In a large bowl, mash together cream cheese, onion, salsa, cumin. Stir in cheddar cheese. With slightly dampened hands, shape into a ball (pumpkin). Sprinkle crushed Doritos onto pumpkin and gently press down. Turn pumpkin and sprinkle on remaining Doritos, pressing lightly over entire pumpkin until covered. Place ball on platter, push celery or pepper on top for stem. Push bay or basil leaves into stem for leaves. Serve with tortilla chips, baby carrots and celery.
 
*If making ahead of time, place filling cheese ball in fridge and chill; cover with Doritos right before serving. 

Arts: New England's Crown

 

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New England's Crown

Mount Washington's Subject of New Currier Exhibition

Written by Kelly Sennott (ksennott@hippopress.com)

Images: John Frederick Kensett

 

For a pocket of time, Mount Washington was at the center of the art world.

Artists traveled from afar to North Conway to capture the Northeast’s tallest mountain in pencil, ink or oil, and as a result, there’s an enormous mass of artwork depicting the 6,289-foot peak — much of which decorates the Currier Museum of Art’s latest show, “Mount Washington: The Crown of New England,” on view through Jan. 16.
 
“During the period the show covers … the White Mountain region goes from basically an unexplored, uncharted wilderness with a few settlers to the most popular tourist attraction in the United States for a number of decades,” said Andrew Spahr, director of collections and exhibitions at the museum. “And the interest in the images, stories and literature about the White Mountains reflects that — the huge volume that was produced about Mount Washington is just amazing.”
 

The Making

The show’s big — it takes a while to walk from one end to the other — and represents years of work.
 
Currier staff had made tentative plans for a White Mountain-themed show years back, but it was delayed for many reasons, including the 2008 museum expansion. It returned to the budget about three years ago, Spahr said.
 

COURTESY PHOTO

In preparation, Spahr toured the Mount Washington Observatory and spent time with its staff and at its library and weather museum. Many pieces are on loan from the observatory and regional institutions. Spahr had hiked the White Mountains before, but he was surprised by some of the things he learned, and he thinks museum patrons will be, too.
 
“People may think they know about Mount Washington, but there’s just such a rich history in all these areas — art, science, tourism and adventure. So much has been published. There have been so many images, and there’s always something new to discover,” he said. “It’s the largest show the Currier’s ever done in terms of the number of objects and the amount of space it takes up in the building.”
 

Painters Travel to North Conway

The show contains 40 paintings and a selection of historic prints, vintage photographs, scientific reports and guidebooks. They’re organized chronologically and span the 1820s to the late 1870s.
 
In the first room are some of the paintings that put Mount Washington on the map — pieces by Hudson River School artists like Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Cole, Jasper Francis Cropsey, John Frederick Kensett and David Johnson, plus acclaimed painters like Winslow Homer and George Inness.
 
One of the most famous is at the very beginning: “View in the White Mountains,” painted by Cole in 1827, which first attracted the artist community. Later, “Mount Washington from the Valley of Conway,” painted by John Frederick Kensett in 1851 after a trip to North Conway with his friend, fellow artist Benjamin Champney, helped garner an even wider audience, when the American Art-Union made a print of it that went out to about 13,000 subscribers.
 
“Within one year, interest in Mount Washington basically skyrocketed because this image was reproduced as this print. It went all over the East Coast and the art world,” Spahr said. “So this really catapults the whole idea of artists coming to North Conway to paint.”
 
Along the walls, viewers will find these paintings (and prints, drawings and images). They depict the White Mountains at all angles, from the summit houses and peaks to the valley looking up at steep notches and picturesque waterfalls.
 
The exhibition also tells what it was like painting the region those early years — artists sometimes hiked miles to find the perfect view.
 
It wasn’t long before the mountain reached international audiences. “An Indian Summer Morning in the White Mountains,” painted by Jasper Francis Crospey in 1857, showcases New Hampshire foliage, and when Crospey brought it to England, people questioned the colors; luckily, he’d kept a scrapbook of pressed autumn leaves as proof, earning him an audience with Queen Victoria, Spahr said. One of the last paintings in the show is Bierstadt’s enormous 10-foot-wide “The Emerald Pool,” painted in 1870. The stop in Manchester is its first time in New England since its creation.
 

Why Mount Washington?

“If you talk about the mid-19th century, America’s just starting to find itself as a country, and very few people had been out West,” Spahr said. “Other than Lewis and Clark, many people hadn’t seen the Rockies or Yosemite, so those were the kind of things that were yet to be documented or promoted. They were looking for symbolism in the Eastern landscape, and Mount Washington was one of the things that was right there and readily available.”
 
It was also pretty accessible. The Crawford Path leading up the mountain is the oldest hiking trail in the United States, laid out in 1819. By 1861 you could ride a carriage to the summit, and by 1869, a train — which was also the first of its kind in the country.
 
“Sylvester Marsh was a New Hampshire native and businessman who patented the mechanism used for the cog railway. … The earliest locomotives were made at the Manchester Locomotives Works here in Manchester,” Spahr said.
 
Its above-treeline terrain made the site a place of interest for scientists, too (and sometimes, scientific projects called on artists to illustrate the latest research). Spahr was particularly interested in the pictures documenting an expedition the winter of 1870-71 — the first Mount Washington overnight excursion. They display an ice-capped mountain and crew members lying on the ground to measure wind speed.
 
“At the time, the public thought it was a silly enterprise. They didn’t understand what the need for gathering the information was,” Spahr said. “But if they could begin to understand meteorology, they could begin to develop ways to predict storms, which would be advantageous economically — it could help in predicting storms for shipping at sea, and also in predicting weather for farmers.”
 
By the end of the 1870s, Mount Washington began to dwindle from artist interests; painters began looking westward and dabbling in impressionism.
Still, almost 200 years later, the mountain gets about 250,000 visitors a year. One of the Currier’s goals is to show the art world’s role in those numbers.
 
“For anyone who’s interested in Mount Washington, [the show] provides some cultural context as to why and how Mount Washington became such an iconic image and idea in the public imagination,” Spahr said.
 


“Mount Washington: The Crown of New England”

Where: Currier Museum of Art, 150 Ash St., Manchester
When: On view through Jan. 16
Admission: Museum admission is $15 for adults, $13 for seniors, $10 for students, $5 for youth, plus an extra $5 special exhibition fee
Storytime in the Gallery: Monday, October 24, 11:30 a.m.; hear a children’s librarian read Mountain Dance by Thomas Locker and then create your own landscape inspired by mountains, recommended for ages 2 to 5, free with museum general admission

Music: Double Life

 

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Double Life

Jim Breuer on Standup & Getting Down

Written by Michael Witthaus  (music@hippopress.com)

Images: Jim Brewer Courtesy Photo

 

In 2010, Jim Breuer made a special called Clearing the Air. In it, he tried to turn the page on some bits that made him famous, like SNL’s Goat Boy and the stoner in Half Baked, to comedy with more depth and dimension. It was a pitch to his future fans, Breuer explained recently.

“From here on in, this is who Jim Breuer is, and this is how my standup is always going to be,” he said. “I’m a family guy, I’m a little edgy but don’t cuss still. I take care of elderly folks. I do the right thing even though it’s a real pain in the chops sometimes.”

It took some time, and Goat Boy still pops up briefly, but the comic is more successful — on his own terms. That’s on his mind as he tries a new guise as heavy metal front man. Songs from the Basement, the first album with his band The Loud & Rowdy, is a solid rock effort, not an extension of his standup. He did include a few jokey songs, though, to placate the faithful.
 
But make no mistake — Breuer’s not fooling around.
 
“All right, I’m making a metal album [but] here’s your ‘Be a D***’ and ‘Sugar Rush’ — a little comedy,” he said. “But start getting used to songs like ‘Old School,’ ‘Who’s Better Than Us,’ ‘Wannabe’ and ‘The Unexplained,’ because that’s what’s coming in the next album.” The record will be playing before Breuer’s upcoming appearance at Manchester’s Palace Theatre. His comedy remains an oasis from the noisy world outside.

COURTESY PHOTO

“I’m all about no politics, no religion, no conversations that divide and conquer. I’m here to unite and make you laugh,” he said. “I don’t read the news, I don’t follow pop culture. I talk about real life, what’s going on in your inner circle, whether it’s having teenagers, being a husband … subjects people relate to. I show you that onion and then I go right for your gut. I don’t try to be cute. I’m out to kill you on stage.”
 
He hopes fans will embrace Breuer the rocker, and a summer of performing has him optimistic. At a September festival near his hometown in New Jersey, Lizzie Hale joined him onstage for AC/DC’s “Shoot to Thrill” and got a great response to a rendition of the kids’ song “Bingo” in the style of his favorite bands.
 
“We did Metallica, Alice in Chains, Volbeat and Slayer doing verses,” Breuer said. “It was hilarious, a huge crowd favorite.” For Breuer, sharing the stage with big acts like Alice Cooper, Twisted Sister and The Used recalls his early days as a comedian.
 
“The crowd doesn’t know who you are so you just gotta rely on being funny and entertaining and just bring it,” he said. “The good news is not only did they not walk away, but the audience I wanted is coming out of the woodwork. … It’s morphing into something I really want — mixing the standup world with storytelling and then leaping into a song.” The hard work it took to make Songs from the Basement prepared him for the road ahead. Rob Caggiano of Anthrax and Volbeat produced the record.
 
“I literally picked Caggiano out of a lineup,” Breuer said. “I saw a picture of him and went, ‘This guy’s gonna get me, he’s everyone I ever hung out with growing up.’ We went to a comedy show and he said, ‘Yeah, let’s do this.’ He only knows the rock music world and I only knew the comedy world. It was a perfect situation to give him 100 percent trust, and what he brought to the table — this thing would have been a disaster without him.”
 
Caggiano helped with his songwriting and also grounded Breuer’s music business naïveté. “I came in like a puppy dog saying the album’s gonna be great and we’re gonna sell out arenas, right?” Breuer said. “He said, ‘Yeah, no — you need investors, a couple 100K for radio. They don’t play it because they like it.’ Once I came to terms with what he meant I started working it. … I’m pretty confident that if I keep this up, I’ll be good.”
 

 

Jim Breuer

When: Thursday, Oct. 27, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Palace Theatre, 80 Hanover St., Manchester
Tickets: $35.50-$60.50 at palacetheatre.org
 

Film: Review of The Accountant

 

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Film Review

The Accountant (Rated R)

Written by Amy Diaz  (adiaz@hippopress.com)

Images: Screenshot of The Accountant

 

A man with near-superhuman mathematical and focusing abilities gets tangled up with the finances of all flavors of sketchy characters in The Accountant, a strange thriller starring Ben Affleck, still in Batman mode.

Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck), not his real name, is an accountant who spends his days encouraging low-level tax embellishment to not terribly exciting clients out of his strip mall office.
 
Or so it appears.
 
But, as Treasury agent Ray King (J.K. Simmons) explains to analyst Marybeth Medina (Cynthia  Addai-Robinson), the same man has had different names and appeared in surveillance photos next to shady international types at locations across the globe. He isn’t just an accountant, he’s an accountant who can look at criminal, laundered-money enterprises and figure out where missing money went and who took it. He has the secrets of drug cartels, terrorist types and others, and King wants to pin him down. He doesn’t have a current alias or location, so Medina starts by doing research on the names he used in the past and listening to the audio tape from a mass shooting the man was involved in.
 

COURTESY PHOTO

Meanwhile, Christian takes what his handler describes as the rare job for a legitimate client. He’s been asked by a robotics company, whose work includes military contracts and prosthetic limbs, to examine a cash flow discrepancy found by junior accountant Dana (Anna Kendrick).
 
The company’s founder, Lamar Black (John Lithgow), doesn’t seem concerned about the finances, but his sister (Jean Smart) and the company’s CFO (Andy Umberger) seem very suspicious about what Christian plans to do. Clearly somebody is rattled by his presence; a highly competent hit man (Jon Bernthal) and his thugs are killing people with a connection to the company.
 
Thus do we have a situation with three groups on the hunt: Medina and the Treasury agent for the accountant, Christian for the financial wrongdoing and the killer for, eventually, Christian.
 
And then, jammed in like a too-big rolling bag in an already crowded overhead bin, there is a romantic subplot featuring the Anna Kendrick character. This bit of dramatic luggage definitely could have been stowed for the duration of the flight. The only good reason I can think of for crafting a relationship for these people is to give the usually not-so-talkative Christian a person to deliver exposition and explanation to.
 
The Accountant suffers from “and also” syndrome. And also Christian’s secret identity as accountant to the criminal underworld. And also his adult backstory. And also his childhood backstory, with its explanation of how his father taught him to live with his autism-related difficulties and abilities. And also the shady killer coming after anyone who knows anything about the accounting trouble at the robotics company. And also the treasury agent. And also Medina. And also her backstory. And, hey, it’s Anna Kendrick. That is a lot of “and also” — probably about 35 percent more story than was needed.
 
And this is not a movie that had a lot of room to mess around with unnecessary story. It runs over two hours and you feel that long runtime. It jumbles humor and suspense together in a way that never quite clicks — I, other people in the theater and sometimes all of us laughed at beats I’m not entirely certain we were meant to laugh it. It holds a few big reveals until its final moments but they seem disingenuous. I think we’re supposed to feel we’ve just been on a twisty ride but instead I felt like the movie was gluing “surprises!” into its plot to cover holes and general weakness.
 
That said, The Accountant was stylish. The visuals it used to explain Christian’s personality —the sparse arrangement of things, in particular — were interesting even when the story happening in these settings was only mildly attention-holding.
 
Also, I kind of enjoy this Affleck, who is basically a variation on the Batman he’s done in the last two DC Comics movies. Barely restrained violence? Yes. Laser focus on tasks? Check. Ability to outfight infinite henchmen? Yep. The only difference is that this wrong-side-of-the-law avenger has an Airstream trailer and a pickup truck instead of a Bat Cave and a Batmobile. And hey, now that I think about it, the not-quite-skilled mix of humor fits too
 
The Accountant isn’t bad, as grown-up thrillers go, but it also doesn’t do anything all that exciting or even stay with you much beyond the theater parking lot.

Grade: C+ 

Pop: Treats for Your Eyes & Ears

 

FEATURED POP

Treats for Your Eyes & Ears

Halloween at the Theater, Cinema & Art Center

Written by Kelly Sennott  (ksennott@hippopress.com)

Images: Stock photo

 

Ghosts, vampires and haunted houses have been inspiring art for centuries. You can get a taste of this at a variety of New Hampshire events, from haunted ghost stories and performances to screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Scary Stories

Author Roxie Zwicker is extremely busy during the Halloween season, with a number of spooky tours planned in Portsmouth. One is her Legends, Ghosts and Graves Tour, which will be held Saturday, Oct. 22, at 6 p.m., and Saturday, Oct. 29, at 2 p.m. The tour begins at North Church, 2 Congress St., Portsmouth, and visitors will hear spirited tales and visit haunted historic locations. Tickets are $20 for adults, $12 for kids younger than 12. If you can’t make this one, she also hosts the Historic Portsmouth Legends and Ghost Walk Friday, Oct. 21, and Friday, Oct. 28, at 6 p.m.; the Shadows and Stones Cemetery Tour Friday, Oct. 21, at 8 p.m.; Sunday, Oct. 23, at 6 p.m., and Friday, Oct. 28, at 8 p.m.; and The Wicked Haunted Waterfrontt Tour Thursday, Oct. 20, and Thursday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m. Reservations are recommended for all events; visit newenglandcuriosities.com.
 

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A family-friendly Halloween event, Ghosts on the Banke, is Friday, Oct. 28, and Saturday, Oct. 29, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Strawbery Banke (14 Hancock St., Portsmouth, 433-1100, strawberybanke.org). Community members will bring long-dead sea captains, 17th-century shopkeepers and wayward pirates back to life with spooky plays, skits and interactive improvisation throughout the evening. Tickets are $8.
 
On Saturday, Oct. 29, at 11 a.m., Linda Kepner visits the Toadstool Bookshop, 12 Depot Square, Peterborough, to talk about her latest vampire tale, Vampires and Magicians, the fourth in a series. Visit toadbooks.com or call 924-3543.
 

Spooky Shows

Red River Theatres (11 S. Main St., Concord, 224-4600, redrivertheatres.org) hosts its annual “movie magic event,” as described on its website, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Tickets include prop bags,  pre-screening events and a costume contest. Screenings are Friday, Oct. 21, and Saturday, Oct. 22, at 9 p.m. The Hooksett and Merrimack Cinemagic locations (1226 Hooksett Road, Hooksett; 11 Executive Park Drive, Merrimack) also host a screening on Monday, Oct. 31, at 10 p.m.; tickets are $7.60 to $15.50 depending on ticket type and time. Visit cinemagicmovies.com.

It’s not exactly scary, but there’s some magical stuff that happens in Willy Wonka, performed by the Peacock Players this October at the Janice B. Streeter Theater, 14 Court St., Nashua. This weekend, showtimes are Friday, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 22, at 2 and 7 p.m.; and Sunday, Oct. 23, at 2 p.m. Purchase tickets, $10 to $17, at peacockplayers.org or call 886-7000.

The Seacoast Repertory Theatre, 125 Bow St., Portsmouth, presents Stranger Than Fiction: Masters of HorrorTuesday, Oct. 25, at 8 p.m. The improv group will present two original shows based on works by horror fiction writers Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King. Tickets are $12, $10 for students. Visit stfimprov.com. A few days later, the Rep hosts a Scare-i-oke! Throwdown! Saturday, Oct. 29, at 8 p.m.; tickets are $10. Visit seacoastrep.org or call 433-4472.
 
Cinemagic (11 Executive Park Drive, Merrimack, 1226 Hooksett Road, Hooksett, and 2454 Lafayette Road, Portsmouth) will be screening Stanley Kubrick’s classic 1980 film The Shining on Wed., Oct. 26, at 7 p.m. The film is based on the critically acclaimed Stephen King novel and stars Jack Nicholson as an alcoholic and struggling writer who serves as the caretaker of the Overlook Hotel. All three locations will also be screening a Rifftrax version of the 1962 film Carnival of Souls, Thurs., Oct. 27, at 8 p.m. The Portsmouth location will be screening the 1992 fantasy film Army of Darkness, also on Thurs., Oct. 27, 8 p.m.
 
The Rochester Opera House (31 Wakefield St., Rochester, 335-1992, rochesteroperahouse.com) hosts the multimedia rock musical The Rocky Horror Show on Wednesday, Oct. 26, at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, Oct. 27, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Oct. 28, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 29, at 7 and 10 p.m.; Sunday, Oct. 30, at 7:30 p.m.; and Monday, Oct. 31, at 7:30 p.m. The production features shadow acting with the original film combined with live music and a 15-person cast, according to the website. Tickets $16 to $20.
 
The Kimball Jenkins School of Art (266 N. Main St., Concord, kimballjenkins.com, 225-3932) hosts a Haunted Mansion Masquerade on Friday, Oct. 28, from 8 p.m. to midnight. Take mansion tours and costumed photos and enjoy DJ entertainment, a cash bar and door prizes. Tickets are $25 for this 21-plus event. Visit kimballjenkins.com.

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Art & War

 

Art & War

Terry Farish Tours NH with Louis Paints The World

Written by Kelly Sennott  (ksennott@hippopress.com)

Photos: Courtesy Photo

 

Portsmouth writer Terry Farish found inspiration for her April 2016 picture book, Luis Paints the World, from the kids at the Lawrence Public Library, where she used to work as a children’s librarian.

The kids there came from a variety of different cultures, and during bilingual storytimes in the children’s room, they would sometimes sing “Naranje dulce,” which is about goodbyes. She remembers one specific boy there who was missing his brother — he was overseas performing military service — but there were many kids experiencing the pain of being separated from a sibling or parent due to deployment.

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“A large percentage of the volunteer army is made up of immigrants or recent citizens. Lawrence is a city just like Manchester, with a lot of diversity and a lot of immigrants. And that’s why I was seeing this so much in the kids who came in,” said Farish, who recognized and empathized with their experiences. “I was married to a man in the Air Force for many years. We had a daughter together, and I saw how … abandoned kids feel when their fathers leave.”
 
Farish calls herself a “wannabe journalist;” though many of her books are fictional, they’re based on real stories and experiences. The subjects she’s most interested in are inspired by wartime and immigration — perhaps because one of her first jobs was working for the Red Cross in Vietnam.
 
Her most recent novel, The Beginning or the End of the World, was published in October 2015 and explores the intersections of love and war in a young Cambodian-American girl’s life. Another, The Good Braider, published in 2012, is a free-verse novel about a teen and her family’s journey from war-torn Sudan to Portland, Maine. But for this book, she wanted explore war from another perspective: that of someone left behind.
 
“[Kids are] like, ‘Why did you leave me?’ Children see it in their own personal and emotional worlds. … They don’t understand the context. … That was what I was trying to explore. … How can they help themselves deal with it,” Farish said. “It had to be a picture book because I wanted to tell the story from the point of view of a young child who doesn’t understand war, who doesn’t understand why his brother had to go. [The boy] is only 5 or so, and in the world of children’s literature, the genre is an illustrated book.”
 
Luis Paints the World, set in Lawrence and illustrated by Oliver Dominguez, is about a 5-year-old who deals with his brother’s deployment through art. He paints all the things he did with his brother on the alleyway wall behind his house, and as he awaits his brother’s return, the mural grows, with the help of his bustling Dominican neighborhood.
Farish was also inspired by the mural-making activities happening in Lawrence at the time, and the kids becoming inspired because of it.
 
“In one case, they were drawing the world, the globe, and they were seeing themselves as this part of the world. There was such a sense of discovery,” Farish said.
 
Farish visits New Hampshire libraries this fall as part of a nine-week, nine-library project, “Community Stories: Soldiers Home & Away,” and her next is Thursday, Oct. 27, at 4:30 p.m., at the Hampstead Public Library. She’s finding similar community mural stories in other Granite State towns.
 
“As I travel with the book, that has been a part of my journey. I didn’t realize how widespread the art form was, but in almost every town in New Hampshire I go to, I ask about the murals and [the kids] tell me where they are. They connect their town and the art with the town and the mural this small boy creates,” Farish said.


Meet Terry Farish

Hampstead Public Library: 9 Mary E. Clark Drive, Hampstead, 329-6411, Thursday, Oct. 27, at 4 p.m. (for which she discusses Luis Paints the World) and Thursday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m. (during which she leads a discussion about her book, Either the Beginning or the End of the World)

Kelly Library: 234 Main St., Salem, 898-7064, Friday, Nov. 4, at 4 p.m., participatory story time for elementary-aged kids

Strawbery Banke Museum Children’s Authors Festival: She’s one of 18 authors at this event on Saturday, Nov. 5, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Strawbery Banke, 14 Hancock St., Portsmouth, strawberybanke.org

Gale Library: 16 S. Main St., Newton, 382-4691, Wednesday, Nov. 9, at 6:30 p.m.

Bank Robberies On The Rise?

Bank Robberies On the Rise?

NH sees record cases in 2015, driven by drugs

Written by Ryan Lessard  (news@hippopress.com)

Photos: Courtesy Photo

 

There were more bank robberies in the state last year than at any time in the past decade, according to FBI crime statistics released this fall. Half of all bank robberies in New Hampshire happened in Manchester. Out of a total of 36 bank robberies in 2015, 18 were committed in the Queen City, seven in Nashua and two in Concord. The remaining nine happened in nine different communities, including Bedford, Salem and Keene. Since 2005, the annual total of bank robbery cases have hovered between 17 and 33, but between 2012 and 2015, incidents increased each year by more than 70 percent over that three-year period.

This is despite the fact that overall robberies — in additional places like highways, gas stations, homes, chains stores and businesses like liquor stores and restaurants — have gone down in New Hampshire by 14 percent and New England by 10 percent. And while robberies have gone up slightly nationwide, bank robberies have declined in the U.S. by 2.5 percent. This appears to make New Hampshire the exception to the rule, and the widespread addiction epidemic centered on dangerous opioids like heroin and fentanyl is the likely culprit.

“There is no question those under the influence of a controlled or illegal drug is correlated with robberies,” Christiana Thornton, the president and CEO of the New Hampshire Bankers Association, wrote in an email.

Thornton pointed to a 2014 FBI study that found 40 percent of all bank robbers were identified as narcotics users. In Manchester, crime analysts don’t have a solid percentage of how many were committed by individuals motivated by drug addiction. But anecdotally, it’s well over 50 percent.

“My experience here in Manchester has been that the vast majority of the people that we have robbing banks are doing so to feed addictions,” said Capt. Ryan Grant, the head of the Manchester Police Investigative Division. “It’s hard to quantify it because we don’t always have hard and fast information.”

Manchester saw a slight decrease in robberies between 2014 and 2015 from 109 to 103. More than 17 percent of the city’s robberies were in banks. Besides the high concentration of drug activity in the Queen City, its urban characteristics may also be playing a role. According to the 2014 FBI study, about 2,500 of nearly 4,000 bank holdups took place in commercial districts and the vast majority happen in metropolitan areas or small cities.

Thornton said the banking community continues to follow the industry’s best practices to deal with robberies, which include employee training, keeping cash box levels low and engaging with customers in the lobby.

“Banks continue to search for new ways to prevent robberies. However, their best strategy is still to make sure employees are trained and security systems are in place and working properly,” Thornton said.

While last year saw a record high after three years of consecutive increases, there may be signs of the issue plateauing. Grant said there have been fewer banker robberies in Manchester to date this year than the city saw in 2015.

“So it looks like our numbers are going to be down a bit for this year,” Grant said.

Not-So-Scary Fun

Not-So-Scary Fun

Halloween events for the whole family

Written by Matt Ingersoll  (listings@hippopress.com)

Photos: Courtesy Photo

 

Whether you enjoy costume contests and costume parades or haunted hayrides and arts and crafts, there are plenty of family-friendly events going on across the Granite State to get you into the Halloween spirit this year.

The annual Haunted Hayride (Friday, Oct. 21, and Saturday, Oct. 22, 6 to 9 p.m., Hills House Grounds, 21 Derry Road, Hudson, $10 for adults, $8 for students, and free for kids ages 5 and under, 886-1260, sau81.org/ahs) features live characters, including storytellers, zombies and more – as it traverses in and out of the woods and through the Hills House grounds.

Canvas Roadshow Halloween Party (Saturday, Oct. 22, 2 to 3:15 p.m., The Canvas Roadshow, 25 S. River Road, Bedford, $15 per person, 943-2103, thecanvasroadshow.com) features an opportunity to paint on an 8x10 canvas, in addition to snacks, karaoke, face-painting and more. Costumes are encouraged and a professional photographer will be on hand to take your photo in costume. All materials and aprons are included in the admission fee.

Brentwood Boo Bash (Saturday, Oct. 22, 2 to 4 p.m., Mary E. Bartlett Library, 22 Dalton Road, Brentwood, free admission, 642-6400, rec.brentwood.gov) features a book sale, pumpkin painting, cider donuts and refreshments, s'mores, a fire truck display, games, crafts, raffles, and a costume contest and parade at 3:15 p.m., with prizes awarded to kids and parents.

Ghost Encounters (Saturday, Oct. 22, 3 to 8 p.m., Canterbury Shaker Village, 288 Shaker Road, Canterbury, $12 for adults, $6 for children ages 6 to 17, free for kids under 5 years old, 783-9511, shakers.org) features a ghost tour through the Shaker Village with a group of professional actors who will bring old stories to life. Attendees are encouraged to wear a costume and join in the costume pageant at 3:15 p.m., when prizes will be awarded.

Downtown Manchester Zombie Walk (Saturday, Oct. 22, 4 p.m., Brady Sullivan Plaza, 1000 Elm St., Manchester, 645-6285, intownmanchester.com) features a free downtown walk while participants of all ages dress up as zombies. Immediately preceding the walk will be a free limited zombie makeup application from 2 to 3:30 p.m. New this year will be a free movie screening of The Goonies at 5:30 p.m. at Veterans Park. The screening is open to zombie participants and the general public alike and attendees are encouraged to bring blankets. The walk is about a mile long.

Pink and Blue Halloween Bash (Saturday, Oct. 22, 7 p.m. to midnight, McIntyre Ski Lodge, 50 Chalet Way, Manchester, $35 per person, chillcares.org) features food, music, costumes, pumpkins, a bonfire and more to benefit Norris Cotton Cancer Center. This year there will be a $50 raffle for a chance to win four VIP Patriots tickets.

Charmingfare Farm's Children's Trick-Or-Treat (Saturday, Oct. 22; Sunday, Oct. 23; Saturday, Oct. 29, and Sunday, Oct. 30, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., 774 High St., Candia, $19 per person, 483-5623, visitthefarm.com) features six Halloween-themed attractions with candy stops for trick-or-treating. Kids will receive a map indicating the order in which they must visit the attractions.

Fall Fright Night Festival (Friday, Oct. 28, 4 to 8:30 p.m., Greeley Park, 100 Concord St., Nashua, free admission, 589-3370, nashuanh.gov) features a haunted hayride and maze, costume parade with prizes, bouncy houses, face-painting and more.

Merrimack Halloween Party (Friday, Oct. 28, 5 to 8 p.m., Wasserman Park, 116 Naticook Road, Merrimack, 882-1046, merrimackparksandrec.org) features a costume contest, goodie bags, games, face-painting, music, a pumpkin-carving demonstration and more. Prizes will be awarded in the costume contest for the Scariest, the Most Creative, the Most Original, and the Funniest Design.

Witch Way to the 5K (Saturday, Oct. 29, kids race at 9:30 a.m., adult race at 10 a.m., Lurgio Middle School, 47A Nashua Road, Bedford, $25 pre-race registration and $30 race-day registration, 674-9063, facebook event here) is a Halloween-themed 5K event with a costume parade and contest, a bouncy house, face-painting, pumpkin-decorating, raffles, snacks and much more.

Hopkinton Halloween Holler (Saturday, Oct. 29, 10:30 a.m., Harold Martin School, 271 Main St., Hopkinton, 746-2277, hopkintonrec.com) features a children's costume parade that will kick off in the school's parking lot, followed by games, prizes, crafts, s'mores, music, food for sale and much more.

The Haunting of Wilton (Saturday, Oct. 29, 11 a.m., downtown Main Street, Wilton, $25 5K registration for adults, $10 for kids ages 12 and under, 654-3020, visitwilton.com/thehaunting) features a costumed 5K to benefit the Wilton Main Street Association and the Wilton Lyndeborough Coop Warriors Athletic Booster Club. Immediately following the race will be a full day of family-friendly spooky events beginning at noon, including trick-or-treating, pumpkin-carving, face-painting, a scavenger hunt, a movie screening at The Town Hall Theater and much more. Admission to most of these festivities is free.

“Not so Spooky” Storytime (Saturday, Oct. 29, 11 a.m., Aviation Museum of New Hampshire, 27 Navigator Road, Londonderry, $5 for adults, $4 for veterans and seniors over 60 years old, $2.50 for youth ages 12 to 16, free for children under 12 and Museum members, 669-4820, nhahs.org) features a selection of Halloween stories prepared by a special guest, followed by trick-or-treating throughout the Museum. Trick-or-treaters will be treated to not just candy but also aviation fun facts along their route.

Don’t miss the 22nd annual Portsmouth Halloween Parade on Monday, Oct. 31, at 7 p.m., which will kick off at Pierce Island by Prescott Park in Portsmouth. Participants are encouraged to dress in costume as the parade walks, dances, trumpets and drums through downtown Portsmouth. The parade will march rain or shine, and no sign-up is required. Visit portsmouthhalloweenparade.org for more details.

Simply Spooky Decor

Simply Spooky Decor

Get festive with do-it-yourself Halloween decorations

Written by Angie Sykeny (asykeny@hippopress.com)

Photos: Courtesy Photo

 

You don’t have to spend a lot of time and money to make your home festive for Halloween.

 

Ghastly Gourds

Manchester blogger Michelle Harding (wanderingmomnh.com) has come up with some creative ways to decorate pumpkins that are kid-friendly and don’t require carving with a knife. Get some foam stickers at the craft store or dollar store to make cute or creepy faces on the pumpkins.
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“We hit up the dollar store for a lot,” Harding said. “It’s probably $2 or $3 for a whole bag of pre-cut shapes with a sticker back. They have other kinds of stickers too like flowers and trucks and stuff that kids would have fun with just sticking on the pumpkin.”

Or you can use simple paint to do any kind of face or pattern you want. It doesn’t get any easier than turning a pumpkin into a ghost; just throw some scraps of white fabric over it and draw a ghost face on it with marker.

You can use a green gourd to make a spooky witch. Harding did it using some scrap fabric for a dress (you could also use a doll dress), which she filled with raffia to give it a more distinct body. Paint on a face and use googly eyes if you like, then glue some strands of raffia on the top for the hair. You can make a hat by cutting a circle out of cardboard and cutting a hole in the center of it so it fits over the top of the gourd. Then, glue some fabric into a cone shape and glue it to the cardboard brim.

Creepy Cardboard

Holly Rousseau, an art instructor at the Currier Art Center in Manchester, has some ideas about how to recycle cardboard waste to make Halloween decorations. For example, you can cut different shaped eye holes into one side of a paper towel or toilet paper roll and put a glow stick inside for spooky glowing eyes. You can set these on a surface or tape the glowstick inside and hang them. You can also do this with an orange plastic disposable cup: turn it upside down, make a jack-o’-lantern face and put a glow stick or electric tea light inside to make it glow.

“This same idea could be used to make ghosts on white cups or Frankenstein monsters on green cups,” Rousseau said.
Create hanging bats by cutting a cardboard egg carton into sections of three, then paint them black, stick on some googly eyes and string them up.


Frightening Fabrics

Tracey Boucher of Mom & I Crafts in Candia said she’s used old cotton curtains, sheets, felt and flannel to create Halloween decorations. For a witch hat, cut fabric into a cone shape and glue it with craft or hot glue to hold it in place. Stuff it with cotton batting (don’t stuff the top if you want the hat to droop down), then cut a larger circle of fabric and glue it to the bottom of the cone for the brim. If you want the hat to stay stiff, paint it with a watered down glue solution.

“Once dry, decorate the hat,” Boucher said. “You can use dried flowers or some spiderwebbing around the brim to make a great centerpiece or decoration.”
To make a ghost, get a large styrofoam ball (or any round object) and cover it with fabric. Using a rope or ribbon, tie the fabric around the ball to keep it in place and define the neck of the ghost. Then cut some holes in the fabric in the back of the ghost so you can hang it.

“You can paint eyes on the ghost if you wish, or even attach a stick or metal coat hanger under the head to look like arms,” Boucher said.

Some Tricksy Tips

Jennifer Coletti of Jelly Bean Art Studios in Bedford said that keeping DIY decorations cheap and easy is key.
“Don’t do too much and go over the top with your decorating,” she said. “The simpler you keep it, the better, especially with kids.”

Some easy projects, she said, are luminaries made from decorated Mason jars with electric tea lights inside, and banners made with shapes cut out from poster board and strung together with fishing line. You can fold a black trash bag and cut into it like you would a paper snowflake to make a giant spider, or just drape some fabric over inflated balloons to make floating ghosts.

“Just with cheap poster board, googly eyes, paint and some battery-operated candles, you can do a million different things,” she said. “Stick googly eyes on anything, paint on some angry eyebrows and you’ve got a monster.”

Go Downtown

Go Downtown

Trick-or-treating, & then some

Written by Matt Ingersoll   (listings@hippopress.com)

Photos: Courtesy Photo

 

Why just trick-or-treat in your neighborhood when you can also do it downtown? Don’t miss these free downtown events that are sure to pack extra fun into the trick-or-treating experience, with festivities from dance parties to costume contests and much more.

Derry’s Spooktacular Costume Parade & Contest/Downtown Trick-Or-Treat (Saturday, Oct. 22, 11:30 a.m. to noon, Veterans Hall Gymnasium, 31 W. Broadway; Trick-Or-Treat: noon to 3 p.m., W. Broadway, 432-6136, derrynh.org/parks-recreation) Prizes will be awarded for the Most Creative Costume, the Spookiest Costume, and Judges’ Choice. Age categories will be from infants to 12 years old. Following the contest will be a trick-or-treat with participating Derry businesses.
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Milford’s Trick-Or-Treat on the Oval (Friday, Oct. 28, 3 to 4:30 p.m., Union Square, 249-0625, milford.nh.gov) Trick-Or-Treat with the Milford Recreation Department, which will have candy or a small toy to choose from at the town’s Oval Gazebo. A costume contest will also be held at 4:30 p.m., when prizes will be awarded for the Scariest, the Funniest and the Prettiest. Sign-ups for the contest will begin at the Gazebo at 4:15 p.m.

Rochester’s Horribles Parade/Trick-Or-Treat on the Town (Friday, Oct. 28, 4:15 to 6:15 p.m., Main Street, 330-3208, rochestermainstreet.org) Costumed kids ages 10 and under will trick-or-treat door to door at participating Rochester businesses, with strolling entertainment across Main Street downtown. Parking is available in the Union Street parking lot, where participants can pick up treat bags and maps.

Concord’s Halloween Howl (Friday, Oct. 28, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Main Street, 226-2150, intownconcord.org) Featuring downtown trick-or-treating with participating Concord businesses, as well as a dance party, kids’ craft projects, and the annual costume parade starting at 6 p.m. The Concord Fire Department will be hosting a Touch-a-Truck, inviting kids to see and touch a fire truck up close. The annual YMCA Haunted Bus & Playground will also return to Warren and North State streets from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Dover’s Downtown Trick-Or-Treat (Saturday, Oct. 29, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Main Street, 740-6435, dovermainstreet.org) Featuring trick-or-treating downtown with participating Dover businesses.

Newmarket’s Downtown Halloween Haunt (Saturday, Oct. 29, 2:30 p.m., Main Street, 659-8581, newmarketrec.org) Featuring a goblin-themed costume parade beginning at 2:30 p.m. that will head down Main Street toward Schanda Park, where the rest of the activities will be held, including games, candy, prizes and trick-or-treating with participating Newmarket business. The festivities will conclude with the Entertainment Spooktacula, which will feature a Halloween-themed freestyle hip-hop show.

Raymond’s Trunk-Or-Treat (Saturday, Oct. 29, 6 to 8 p.m., Raymond Shopping Center, 15 Freetown Road, 895-6041, newliferaymond.org) Dozens of Halloween-decorated stations will be available for children to visit, all contained in one parking lot. Trunk cars must arrive by 5:30 p.m., with trick-or-treating beginning at 6 p.m. Only animals participating within a themed vehicle will be allowed on site.

Deerfield’s Tailgate Trick-Or-Treat (Sunday, Oct. 30, 1 p.m., Deerfield Fairgrounds, 34 Stage Road, 463-8811, ext. 305, townofdeerfieldnh.com) Hot dogs, drinks and chips will be available for purchase, and a costume parade will be held. A trophy will be handed out for the “best tailgate.”

Epping’s Trunk-Or-Treat (Sunday, Oct. 30, 5 to 7 p.m., Providence Baptist Church, 410 Pleasant St., 679-8918, eppingrecreation.org) Dozens of car trunks will be offering candy, and free refreshments will be served.

New Boston’s Triple Treat (Monday, Oct. 31, 6 to 8 p.m., Town Hall and Recreation Office, 7 Meetinghouse Road, 487-2500, newbostonnh.gov) Featuring a “trunk-or-treat” in the Town Hall parking lot and trick-or-treating in the town’s recreation office. A concession stand called the “Creepy Cafe” will be offering a menu of hot dogs, chips and drinks at the town hall.


Neighborhood Halloween
Trick-Or-Treat Times
All trick-or-treats are held on Monday, Oct. 31, unless otherwise noted.
Allenstown: 6 to 8p
Amherst: 6 to 8p
Antrim: 5 to 8p
Atkinson: 6 to 8p
Auburn: (Sunday, Oct. 30) 1 to 4p
Barrington: (Sunday, Oct. 30) 5 to 7p
Bedford: 6 to 8p
Belmont: 5 to 8p
Bennington: 5 to 7p
Boscawen: (Sunday, Oct. 30) 4 to 7p
Bow: 5 to 7p
Bradford: 4 to 8p
Brentwood: (Sunday, Oct. 30) 5 to 7p
Brookline: 6 to 8p
Candia: 5 to 8p
Canterbury: (Saturday, Oct. 29) 5:30 to 7:30p
Chester: 6 to 8p
Chichester: 5 to 8p
Concord: 5 to 7:30p
Danville: 6 to 8p
Deerfield: 4 to 7p
Deering: 5 to 8p
Derry: 6 to 7:30 p
Dover: (Sunday, Oct. 30) 5 to 8p
Dunbarton: 5 to 8p
Durham: (Sunday, Oct. 30) 5 to 7:30p
Epping: 5 to 7p
Epsom: 5 to 8p
Exeter: 4 to 7p
Franklin: 5 to 8p
Fremont: 5p
Gilford: 5 to 8:30p
Goffstown: 6 to 8p
Greenfield: 6p
Greenland: (Sunday, Oct. 30) 5 to 7p
Greenville: 5:30 to 7:30p
Hampstead: 6 to 8p
Hampton Falls: 5 to 7p
Henniker: 5:30 to 7:30p
Hillsborough: 5 to 8p
Hollis: 6 to 8p
Hooksett: 6 to 8p
Hopkinton: 5p
Hudson: 6 to 8p



Kensington: 5 to 7p
Kingston: 5 to 8p
Laconia: 5 to 8p
Lee: (Sunday, Oct. 30) 5 to 7p
Litchfield: 6 to 8p
Londonderry: (Saturday, Oct. 29) 4 to 7p
Loudon: 5 to 8p
Lyndeborough: 6p
Madbury: (Sunday, Oct. 30) 5 to 7:30p
Manchester: 6 to 8p
Meredith: 6 to 8p
Merrimack: 6 to 8p
Milford: 6 to 8p
Mont Vernon: 6 to 8p
Nashua: 6 to 8p
New Boston: 6 to 8p
New Castle: (Sunday, Oct. 30) 5:30p
Newfields: (Sunday, Oct. 30) 5 to 7p
Newmarket: (Sunday, Oct. 30) 5 to 8p
Newton: 5 to 8 p.m.
North Hampton: (Sunday, Oct. 30) 4 to 7p
Northfield: 5 to 8p
Northwood: 5 to 7:30p
Nottingham: (Sunday, Oct. 30) 5 to 7p
Pelham: 5 to 8p
Pembroke: 5 to 8p
Penacook: (Sunday, Oct. 30) 5 to 7:30p
Peterborough: 5 to 7p
Pittsfield: 5 to 8p
Plaistow: 5:30 to 7:30p
Portsmouth: (Sunday, Oct. 30) 5 to 8p
Raymond: (Sunday, Oct. 30) 5 to 7p
Rochester: (Sunday, Oct. 30) 5:30 to 7:30p
Rollinsford: (Sunday, Oct. 30) 6 to 8p
Rye: (Sunday, Oct. 30) 5 to 7p
Salem: 6 to 8p
Sanbornton: 5 to 8p
Sandown: 6 to 8p
Seabrook: (Sunday, Oct. 30) 5:30 to 7:30p
Somersworth: (Sunday, Oct. 30) 5:30 to 8p
Stratham: (Sunday, Oct. 30) 5 to 7p
Temple: 5 to 8p
Tilton: 5 to 8p
Warner: 5 to 8p
Weare: 6 to 8p
Wilton: 6 to 8p
Windham: 5 to 8p

Grown-Up Kid Stuff

Grown-Up Kid Stuff

Halloween Nightlife is a Friday/Saturday Affair

Written by Michael Witthaus  (music@hippopress.com)

Photos: Courtesy Photo

 

Halloween falls on a Monday, which is best left to schoolchildren trick-or-treating. Adults can choose mainly from the preceding Friday and Saturday, when most of the parties happen. Costumes are de rigeur, and most places offer cash prizes for the best, most original, and (obviously) sexiest get-up. Here’s a rundown of choices.

 

Friday, Oct. 21

Red River Theatres (11 S. Main St., Concord, 224-4600) Rocky Horror Picture Show (Halloween) — two nights (also Oct. 22) Tickets include prop bags, with no outside props allowed. Costumes strongly encouraged. An October tradition is back, a fun, raunchy night out. Ticket includes: prop bags, pre-show fun, costume contest and some special guests joining during the evening.
 
Salt hill Shanty (1407 Route 103, Newbury, 763-2667) Sirsy at 8 p.m. Annual Halloween Bash  comes early, with prizes for best costumes. Enjoy the dynamic duo that’s greater than the sum of its rockin’ parts.
 

Saturday, Oct. 22

McIntyre Ski Lodge (50 Chalet Way, Manchester, 703-6955) Pink & Blue Halloween Bash at 7 p.m. $35. The Friends of Norris Cotton Cancer Center present a Halloween party raising awareness for prostate and breast cancers. This fun-filled dinner reception will include dancing, silent auctions and costume awards. Prizes will be presented for best overall costume, best pink costume and best blue costume.
 

Wednesday, Oct. 26

Rochester Opera House (31 Wakefield St., Rochester, 335-1992) Rocky Horror Show Musical plays Wednesday, Oct. 26, through Monday, Oct. 31, with two shows Halloween night. This multimedia rock musical is a humorous satirical tribute to the science fiction and horror B movies of the late 1940s to early 1970s. Show is at 7 p.m. Tickets prices are $14 to $18.
 

Thursday, Oct. 27

Auburn Pitts (167 Rockingham Road, Auburn, 622-6564) Tribute to Halloween begins at 7 p.m. For Thirsty Thursday Open Mic, come dressed as your favorite musician. Prizes for best costume: third places wins a $25 gift certificate to the Auburn Pitts, second place $50 cash, first place $100 cash. Free munchies.
 
Jewel (61 Canal St., Manchester, 836-1152) Roots of Creation plays at 8 p.m. This is the first Halloween bash at the newly reborn original live music venue.
 
Tsongas Center (300 Arcand Drive, Lowell, Mass., 722-8780) Wicked Halloween at 8 p.m. Fluffy costumed DJ Marshmello spins with Slushii also performing. Tickets are $30 to $50 at ticketmaster.com.
 
Whiskey’s 20 (20 Old Granite St., Manchester, 641-2583) School Spirits at 8 p.m. DJs Shawn White and Nate spin the tunes with cash and prizes for sexiest costumes.
 

Friday, Oct. 28

3S Artspace (319 Vaughan St., Portsmouth, 766-3330) Halloween party at 7 p.m. to benefit The Child Advocacy Center of Rockingham County. Live DJ, raffle, and prizes for best costume.
 
Alan’s (133 N. Main St., Boscawen, 753-6631) Rockin’ Halloween Party/Haunted Halloween Bash at 8 p.m. Cash prizes for best costume, plus other prizes and giveaways. Dancing to DJ Tom McFall.
 
Area 23 (State Street, Concord, 881-9060) Halloween party with Queen City Soul at 8 p.m.
 
British Beer Co. (103 Hanover St., Portwalk Place, Portsmouth, 501-0515) Costume party with Lonely Ghost Collective at 8 p.m.
 
Bungalow (333 Valley St., Manchester, 792-1110) Manchester Monster Ball at 5 p.m. — it’s a hard-rock Halloween with Thurkills Vision, Lockjaw Smile and other edgy bands performing at this 21+ event. Admission is $10.
 
Chop Shop (920 Lafayette Road, Seabrook, 760-7706) Bob Seger themed Halloween party at 9 p.m. Live Bullet, New England’s tribute to Bob Seger, performs. Costumes encouraged.
 
Crow’s Nest (181 Plaistow Road, Plaistow, 974-1686) Popular rock covers band Bite the Bullet performs at 8 p.m. Prizes for best costume.
 
Depot Square (downtown Peterborough, 924-6893) Boo Night With Dr. Gasp at 4 p.m. Special outdoor all-ages show from the alter ego of folk singer Dan Blakeslee.
 
Dover Brickhouse (2 Orchard St., Dover, 749-3838) Amulus and Cloud Nine at 8 p.m. Annual Halloween bash and costume event with prizes, surprises and more. This event is 21+. Admission is $5.
 
Executive Court Banquet Facility (1199 S. Mammoth Road, Manchester, 626-4788) Boomer Halloween Bash at 7 p.m. is a night out of dancing to your favorite ’70s hits, sneaking in some ’80s too — these are the songs you loved before kids and a mortgage. $15 in advance, $20 at the door.
 
Jade Dragon (515 Daniel Webster Highway, Merrimack, 424-2280) Halloween party with popular cover band The Miner Band at 8 p.m. and a costume contest.
 
Penuche’s (96 Hanover St., Manchester, 666-3667) Friday With Frydae Halloween Bash at 8 p.m. is a party hosted by New England nightlife veterans and everyone’s favorite party people, Kyle Frydae, Aaron “Vicious” Parent and Joshua Langlois.
 
Penuche’s Ale House (6 Pleasant St., Concord, 228-9833) Halloween in the Basement starts at 9 p.m. Look for a rare appearance of My Gay Dads (featuring members of favorite local bands) with special guests Evidence Lies, and Michelle Tilton closing out the night.
 
Pit Road Lounge (388 Loudon Road, Concord, 226-0533) Dance the night away with cover band Illusion rocking out at 8 p.m. Enter the costume contest to win prizes.
 
Racks (20 Plaistow Road, Plaistow, 974-2406) Kick off Halloween weekend with Sidipus recording artists Candy Striper Death Orgy & Flood This Earth (featuring Roadkill from WHEB and Rock101’s Morning Buzz). Doors open at 8 p.m. This is a 21+ show. $5 at the door.
 
Salt hill Pub (7 Lebanon St., Hanover, 676-7855) Seventh annual Halloween Bash features Conniption Fits at 8 p.m. Prizes for best costumes.
 
Salt hill Pub (58 Main St., Newport, 863-7774) Tenth annual Halloween Bash features Flew-Z at 8 p.m. Prizes for best costumes.
 
Tough Tymes (221 Rochester Road, Northwood, 942-5555) Halloween party features Dave Berry Band at 9 p.m. This rock, rhythm and blues power trio will appeal to fans of Stevie Ray Vaughan and ZZ Top.
 
Wally’s Pub (144 Ashworth Ave., Hampton, 926-6954) The Bars perform at 9 p.m. Prizes awarded for best costume. This party is 21+. Tickets $15.
 
Whiskey’s 20 (20 Old Granite St., Manchester, 641-2583) Freaky at 8 p.m. DJs Sammy and Gera spin the tunes with cash and prizes for sexiest costumes.
 

Saturday, Oct. 29

American Legion Post 51 (Route 125, across from Telly’s, Epping, 679-8320) Halloween costume dance at 8 p.m. Rosie performs, playing classic rock covers with a little rock’n country thrown. Prizes for best costumes, and a 50/50 raffle. $5 admission at the door. A cash bar will be open.
 
Arena Sports Bar (53 High St., Nashua 881-9060) 4th Annual Halloween Costume Party features DJ Jason Spivak, with over $1,000 in prizes including Patriots and Bruins tickets. - $5 admission before midnight.
 
Auburn Pitts (167 Rockingham Road, Auburn, 622-6564) Good Ol’ Halloween Party at 7 p.m. Dress up or dress down for the Auburn Pitts Halloween party featuring music by Rob, Dan & the West End Beat. Prizes for best costume: third place wins a $25 gift certificate to the Auburn Pitts, second place  $50 cash, first place $100 cash. Free munchies.
 
Bungalow (333 Valley St., Manchester, 792-1110) NH Booking Halloween Bash at 5 p.m. has tables full of free candy. All bands play in costume — Dive Team, ATHOI, Hollow Point, The Waking Life and Letting Go. Costume contest with a grand prize containing tickets to future NHB shows and merch from all the bands playing. Admission is $5 with costume.
 
Cara (11 Fourth St., Dover, 343-4390) Trick or Treat Halloween Party at 9:30 p.m. Second annual Halloween Hoedown with DJs J-Rawk, Esquaredd and Hoey entertaining. Come dressed to impress; costumes are recommended but not required. This event is 21+.
 
Chop Shop (920 Lafayette Road, Seabrook, 760-7706) Bite the Bullet plays at the 7th Birthday & Halloween Party at 9 p.m., with fun and games, cash prizes, costume contest, psychic readings, dinner and breakfast buffet. $25 admission. Hotel package with shuttle available.
 
City Sports Grille (216 Maple St., Manchester, 625-9656) Popular local cover band The Voice performs at 9 p.m.
 
Country Spirit (262 Maple St., Henniker, 428-7007) Complete Unknowns perform at 8 p.m. Come dressed as your favorite alter ego and try to stick a dollar on the ceiling if the urge strikes.
 
Crow’s Nest (181 Plaistow Road, Plaistow, 974-1686) Among The Living performs at 8 p.m. Prizes for best costume at this annual Halloween bash.
 
Derryfield (625 Mammoth Road, Manchester, 623-2880) Come in costume to the Halloween bash hosted by popular cover band Jimmy’s Down at 8 p.m.
 
Dolly Shakers (38 E. Hollis St., Nashua, 577-1718) Casual Gravity at 9 p.m. Be ghastly and casual at the second annual Halloween bash — wear your eye-popping best costume and win a prize.
 
Fody’s (9 Clinton St., Nashua, 577-9015) DJ Mark Allen Halloween party at 8 p.m. Prizes for best costumes given away at the stroke of midnight, Cinderella. Costume prizes awarded by round of applause.
 
Fury’s Publick House (1 Washington St., Dover, 617-3633) Multifaceted rock-Americana band Roots, Rhythm and Dub hosts Halloween event at 8 p.m.
 
Haluwa (Nashua Mall, Nashua, 883-6662) Terminal Velocity (Halloween) at 8 p.m. Cover band plays favorites.
 
Harlow’s (3 School St., Peterborough, 924-6365) Halloween fright night starts at 8 p.m. The Youngest Sun will be bringing out all of the ghouls and goblins this evening. There will be a best costume contest with prizes and more — be afraid, be very afraid. This event is 21+. Admission is $10.
 
Hawg’s Pen (1114 Route 11, Farmington, 755-3301) Halloween party with Dave Berry Band at 9 p.m. The rock, rhythm and blues power trio will appeal to fans of Stevie Ray Vaughan and ZZ Top.
 
Hellenic Center (219 Long Hill Road, Dover, 742-9799) Cartelli’s Halloween Bash at 6 p.m. with Mike Waterman and his band Acoustic Radio. $25 admission includes all-you-can-eat Cartelli’s Super Buffet. $10 show-only tickets also available. This huge venue will be decorated to the hilt for Halloween. Raffle and prizes for best costume.
 
JD Chaser’s (2B Burnham Road, Hudson, 886-0792) It’s Crave’s Annual Halloween Bash with Granite State Rhythm. Dress in your favorite costume and rock out with Crave starting at 9 p.m.
 
Karma (1077 Elm St., Manchester 647-6653) DJ Midas, SP1 and Reed host a party with costume contest. 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes including cash, a Bose speaker, gift cards and more. Drink and hookah specials all night. No cover, starts at 8 p.m.
 
KC’s Rib Shack (837 Second St., Manchester, 627-RIBS) Cannibal Carnevil at 9 p.m. Boston surf rock band The Derangers performs. Costumes encouraged. No cover.
 
Lakes Region Casino (1265 Laconia Road, Belmont, 267-7778) Eric Grant Band at 9 p.m. Annual Halloween dance party with costume contest for most original and best costume. Prizes, beer and drink specials.
 
Midnight Rodeo (1211 S. Mammoth Road, Manchester, 623-3545) Annual Halloween bash with Martin & Kelly at 8 p.m. Prizes for best costume including a free year’s admission to Midnight Rodeo.
 
Mill No. 5 (250 Jackson St., 4th floor, Lowell, Mass. (978) 656-1828) Halloween Wasteland at noon Vinyl Destination and Bad Moon Shop are teaming up for the Halloween Wasteland. Enjoy a monster movie marathon at the Luna Theater, vintage Halloween decor, horror and monster movie memorabilia, art, and horror/sci-fi VHS and vinyl.
 
Mountain Meadow Event Center (478 Route 4, Canaan, 769-4093) 21+ costume party at 7 p.m. DJ Eric G from Upper Valley DJ is coming back to play the hottest dance music. $10 cover, or $5 if you are in costume. Costume contest with $100 cash first prize, plus treats and drink specials.
 
N’awlins (860 Elm St., Manchester, 606-2488) Catfish Howl plays a special Halloween show at 8 p.m.
 
Pacific Fusion (356 Daniel Webster Highway, Merrimack, 424-6320) No Guarantees (Halloween) at 8:30 p.m. Costume contest and prizes.
 
Paradise Beach Club (322 Lakeside Ave., Laconia, 366-2665) Annual Halloween bash with Fighting Friday at 8 p.m. and over $1,000 in prizes for scariest, sexiest, funniest, best couple, group and most original (must be original idea and handmade) costume. Admission $13 in advance, $15 day of show.
 
Patrick’s (18 Weirs Road, Gilford, 293-0841) Costume party with Crunchy Western Boys at 8 p.m. Bring a nonperishable food donation for St. Vincent De Paul Food Pantry and get entered into a raffle.  Costume contest winners announced at 11 p.m.
 
Peddler’s Daughter (48 Main St., Nashua, 821-7535) Popular cover band Stunt Double Riot at 8 p.m. Costume contest and other fun.
 
Penuche’s (96 Hanover St., Manchester 666-3667) Amos Fortune brings its charismatic fusing of elements of driving rock, melodic folk, cool funk, and dirty electric blues to a downtown Halloween party.
 
Pitman’s Freight Room (94 New Salem St., Laconia, 527-0043) BYOB party with Jodie Cunningham Band at 8 p.m. Jodie is a modern rock-edged country artist who delivers a blend of cover songs and original material. $20 admission.
 
Portsmouth Gas Light (64 Market St., Portsmouth, 430-9122) Festival of Witches at 8 p.m. The Deck will feature Jamsterdam performing from 7 to 11 p.m. while the Nightclub will feature DJ Koko and a best costume contest with $1,000 in cash and prizes. Pay $12 online or $15 at the door for unlimited access to both the deck and the nightclub.
 
Press Room (77 Daniel St., Portsmouth, 431-5186) Dr. Gasp at 8 p.m. Beneath the mask of this phantom is New England folk musician Dan Blakeslee with his unique bag of original songs of Halloween oozing with vampires and ghastly creeps. $7 to $10.
 
Racks (20 Plaistow Road, Plaistow, 974-2406) Preciphist at 8 p.m. Costumes are optional. No clowns please.
 
Red Blazer (72 Manchester St., Concord, 224-4101) Halloween Howl After-Party with By Request at 8 p.m. $15 admission. Costume contest and cash prizes, with DJ Maddog also.
 
Red Door (107 State St., Portsmouth, 373-6827) Halloween with cocktails and tight grooves as popular area DJ Ryan Obermiller spins tunes at 9 p.m. Come in costume and win the contest.
 
Revolution Tap Room (61 N. Main St., Rochester, 244-3022) Halloween Skary-oke at 8 p.m. It’s a Halloween karaoke event. Show up in costume and ready to rock. Prizes for the best costume, performance, singer, with a prize package worth $200 from Tall Ship Distillery.
 
Ri Ra (22 Market Square, Portsmouth, 319-1680) Lestah Polyestah at 9 p.m. This party is all about funk, old-school, dancing, seriously awkward ’70s clothing, laughing and gooood times.
 
Rockingham Ballroom (22 Ash Swamp Road, Newmarket, 659-4410) Dance party at 8 p.m. Experience the largest wooden dance floor in New Hampshire. Come in costume and and enjoy music by Perfect Match. No outside beverages. Full cash bar and complimentary coffee and tea. $14 admission.
 
Salt hill Pub (2 West Park St., Lebanon, 448-4532) Upper Valley band Wherehouse begins at 8 p.m. at this 14th annual Halloween Party from Hell. Food and drink, tricks & treats, and top-notch, danceable live rock ’n’ roll courtesy of Scott, Jason, Shane, and a few guests thrown in here and there. Costumes and Halloween attire strongly suggested ... great prizes for best costumes. The event is 21+ - ID required.
 
Savory Square (32 Depot Square, Hampton, 926-2202) Mel & John 3rd Annual Halloween Party at 8 p.m. Mel & John perform.
 
Shaskeen (909 Elm St., Manchester, 625-0246) Halloween Party at 9 p.m. Party kicks off at 9 in the back room. Prizes for best costume. Giveaways. DJ MYTH (Chris Bennett) is gracing the backroom bar with his presence and skills on the turntables. Playing top 40 hits and requests.
 
The Local (2 E. Main St., Warner, 456-6066) Annual Halloween Bash with The Dobros starts at 8 p.m. Rootsy music mixed with Halloween fun.
 
Thirsty Moose (21 Congress St, Portsmouth, 427-8645) Love Sounds at 9 p.m. Beer specials, and costume party with prizes for the top three.
 
Thirsty Turtle (8 Temple St., Nashua, 402-4136) Halloween bash at 9 p.m. with Caught Flies, Nick the Barbarian, and Chanticlear.
 
Village Trestle (25 Main St., Goffstown, 497-8230) Boneshakerz at 9 p.m. Halloween costume party with prizes for best and other categories.
 
Wally’s Pub (144 Ashworth Ave., Hampton, 926-6954) Prospect Hill’s Halloween Bash at 8 p.m. with costume prizes and music from Wayland, Thurkills Vision, Planeside & Hunter. $15 advance.
 
Whiskey’s 20 (20 Old Granite St., Manchester, 641-2583) Scream at 8 p.m. DJs Shawn White and EP spin the tunes with cash and prizes for sexiest costumes.
 
Wild Rover (21 Kosciuszko St., Manchester, 669-7722) Halloween party at 9 p.m. sponsored by Magic Hat. Costume contest with prizes for first, second and third place, and drink specials all night long.
 

Sunday, Oct. 30

Breezeway Pub (14 Pearl St., Manchester, 621-9111) Hallowscream Show starts at 8 p.m. The theme is Violencia Part II – They’re Coming For You. Tickets are $10. See DJ Chris Topher for tickets or PayPal to BreezewayPubEvents@gmail.com.
 

Monday, Oct. 31

Stone Church (5 Granite St., Newmarket 659-7700) Wild Eagle Halloween Party at 8 p.m. Regular blues session; wear a costume and bring an instrument for a spooktacular night of music. Open jams begin at 8:30 p.m. 

Scared Senseless

Scared Senseless

Head to One of NH's Haunted Attractions

Written by Ryan Lessard  (news@hippopress.com)

Photos: Courtesy Photo

 

If you like to be scared, immerse yourself in these haunted attractions that frighten nearly all of your senses — even your sense of smell.

Tim Dunne, the owner of Fright Kingdom (12 Simon St., Nashua, frightkingdom.com), uses artificial scents to lend his haunted attractions even more realism than the make-up and set design already accomplish. In Apocalypse Z, for example, where visitors are survivors in one of the few supposed “safe havens” of a zombie apocalypse, Dunne uses a scent that replicates the smell of decaying flesh. He said this attraction is inspired by The Walking Dead.
 
“We get inspiration from what’s hot and trending from the horror movie industry,” Dunne said.

COURTESY PHOTO

 
In the Castle of Corpses, where a plague has overtaken an old castle in the late 1800s, Dunne uses a similar scent called “the dead” and another scent called “gothic,” which smells like moldy old stone. At Bloodmere Manor, a “quintessential haunted house,” as Dunne puts it, the smell of stinking cheese has been added to prop up the story of an old Victorian mansion occupied by a family of cannibals. And in Psycho Circus, where visitors are thrown into a dream-like, psychedelic madhouse with fluorescent paints, 3-D illusions and clowns, they experience a sensory overload, complete with the smell of popcorn and cotton candy. For a tactile experience, the attraction called Grim throws visitors into a completely dark set, forcing them to feel their way around.
 
“There’s many things on these walls that you really don’t want to feel,” Dunne said.
 
Fright Kingdom also features an area called Monster Midway, which is a central area that provides access to things like an escape room, a $5 coffin ride simulator (which simulates the experience of being buried alive), a fortune teller, snack shack and a collection of Hollywood memorabilia. Tickets for general admission are $24 and VIP tickets, which allow entry into any attraction without waiting in line, plus free use of the coffin simulator, are $34.
 
There have also been a number of improvements for this year’s Haunted Acres (446 Raymond Road, Candia, hauntedacres.com), such as a dual nighttime zipline and a roped obstacle course high up in the trees that’s open for use during the day, according to co-owner John Tracy. The theme of the 60-acre park this year will be Area 52. The story goes that it’s the site of an abandoned military base where the government performed illegal and gruesome experiments on people. Attractions include the Quarter Mile Nightmare Walk, which forces visitors to wander through gloomy woods that some say are infested with real ghosts.
 
“The actors are afraid to go out there during the day,” Tracy said.
 
There’s also the 3-D Nuclear Accident House, Cell Block 13, Graveyard of the Damned and Maze from Hell, a 3,000-square-foot indoor maze. Tickets are $28 per person or $39 for a speed pass for cutting lines. Oct. 20 and Oct. 27 are Date Nights where the second person pays half price. On Nov. 5, there will be a Lights Out night, where each attraction will be pitch black and visitors will be equipped with a glow stick.
 
Spooky World presents Nightmare New England and The Haunted Hayride (454 Charles Bancroft Highway, Litchfield, nightmarenewengland.com) is celebrating its 25th year, with five attractions and 180 actors deployed to make you scream in terror. The Haunted Hayride is now in its second year and brings visitors through various scenes like a spider-infested campground, a carnival of clowns, a plane crash and human butchers. One section looks like the Ewok village from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Spokesperson Margot O’Riordan said, where actors dressed as tribal warriors jump onto the hayride from their treehouses.
 
Other mainstay attractions such as Brigham Manor are designed after the classic haunted house motif. “The story behind it is there’s a family that was causing issues for the town of Litchfield and the police killed them,” O’Riordan said. Carnage is a pyrotechnic-filled junkyard with scenes reminiscent of any gory film. In The Colony, visitors run through the woods being chased by actors. The 3D Festival of Fear will make you feel like you are walking sideways at times, with glow-in-the-dark effects and clowns getting in your face.
 
A special Lights Out event with only glowsticks will take place on Nov. 5. Tickets start at $34.99 for general admission, which allows visitors to go through each attraction once. VIP tickets for $59.99 allow unlimited park access and one hayride, and Super VIP tickets for $74.99 allow unlimited access to everything. Prices vary on special evenings. Check their website for more details.
 
Haunted Overload (DeMeritt Hill Farm, 66 Lee Road, Lee, hauntedoverload.com) was awarded the No. 2 spot in the USA Today 10 Best Readers’ Choice 2016 in the haunted attraction category. The backstory of the park tells of a stranger who came to visit a small farming village. The villagers were inhospitable to the stranger, which was unlucky since the stranger turned out to be a demon who promptly cursed each villager to remain there as “undying and undead,” according to the park’s website.
 
The park is open to the public during the day on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for $5 per person. For night visits, people are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance for $25 since shows may be sold out. If tickets are available at the time of the show, they are $29. Friday Night Light events, where visitors can see all the sets without the scares, on Oct. 20 and Oct. 31, are $13.
 
At Screeemfest at Canobie Lake Park (85 N. Policy St., Salem, 893-3506, canobie.com), there are five terrifying haunted houses, including the carnival-themed Carnivus, the new Virus Quarantine, the Canobie Lake Hotel, Black Pirate’s Cove and The Village. Screeemfest will also offer games such as Black Light Monster Paintball, Autopsy (a life-like game of Operation) and The Last Ride, a coffin simulator.
 
Tickets are free for ages 3 and younger, $23 for under 48 inches or 60 and older. General admission costs $34 on Fridays, $38 on Saturdays and Sundays. After 5 p.m. on Sunday is $30. Visit the website for more details.
 
Check out Harvest of Haunts (Charmingfare Farm, 774 High St., Candia, visitthefarm.com), which includes four attractions: Horse-Drawn Ride, Bard of the Dead, Tractor Bog Ride and Infested Corn Maze. It’s open on Friday, Oct. 21, Saturday Oct. 22, Friday, Oct. 28 and Saturday, Oct. 29. Tickets are $25 per person and include access to all attractions.

Sexiest Show In Town

Sexiest Show In Town

Palace Presents Best Little Whorehouse in Texas

Written by Kelly Sennott  (ksennott@hippopress.com)

Photos: Courtesy Photo

 

The first time Palace Theatre Artistic Director Carl Rajotte saw The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, he was in the sixth grade and working the spotlight for a dinner theater production in Georgetown, Massachusetts, that his dad was acting in.

Even as a preteen, Rajotte was eager to sit in the director’s chair.

COURTESY PHOTO “I remember watching it and thinking, someday I’m going to choreograph this show,” Rajotte said at the theater recently. “I remember thinking, why aren’t the girls dancing more? And when the football guys came on, I thought, why aren’t they moving? This is such great music!”

He finally got his chance with the Palace Theatre’s premiere of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, which opens Friday, Oct. 21, with shows through Nov. 12.

The story is well-known for its 1982 film version starring Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds, but it was a musical first, with book by Larry King and Peter Masterson and music and lyrics by Carol Hall. It opened on Broadway in 1978 and ran for 1,584 performances. It takes place in the 1970s and is about a brothel that’s been operating outside the fictional town of Gilbert, Texas. Miss Mona Stangley is the proprietor, and she takes care of her girls while maintaining good relationships with the local sheriff and community — until a television reporter comes to town and makes the illegal activity an issue.

“The cool thing about this show is it is based on a true story. It’s very interesting. The house was in Texas, and it was very famous. It was illegal, obviously, but it was tolerated by everyone around, including the politicians and the law enforcement,” Rajotte said.

The real-life Chicken Ranch in La Grange, Texas, operated from 1905 to 1973. The women working there had strict rules. About 75 percent of their paycheck went to the proprietor, Edna Milton, and in return, prostitutes got free housing, food and health care, with weekly medical check-ups.  What they were able to keep was equivalent to about $200 to $300 today, said Rajotte, who’s been spending a lot of time researching the real story. His findings have informed his direction.

“These women were really powerful women. They were in control,” Rajotte said. “All of our blocking, all of our stage directions, all of our choreography, it’s always with the woman in the lead. She’s initiating everything.”

There’s an interesting, dynamic plot to the show, with tender moments Rajotte wasn’t expecting. He mentioned one scene the cast had run through the day before.

“One of the rules to be a girl in this house is that you can’t have a husband or kids or any of that. The owner didn’t want to have that complication,” Rajotte said. “Secretly, one of the [new] girls does have a child at home, and she gets caught on the phone talking to her child and telling her mom she’ll be back as soon as she makes some money. It’s a tender, tender scene.”

Every year, the Palace produces a whole gamut of styles — family shows, comedies, dramas — and at least one “sexy show” aimed at adults. The theater and sponsors are marketing this as “the sexiest show in town,” which actually forced Rajotte to make some adjustments.

“I went back to the script, and I thought, this doesn’t really lend itself to ‘the sexiest show in town.’ So we’re upping the ante quite a bit. … I’ve put the guys in more numbers than they usually are [in]. … The music lends itself to have a little bit of a honky-tonk, country feel, and so we’re playing it with a faster tempo,” Rajotte said.

The costumes are sexy and revealing — think Frederick’s of Hollywood, Rajotte said — and the set design will be “almost like Texas throwing up on the stage,” with red, white and blue coloring, ropes, wagon wheels and neon lighting to offer a red-light district, contemporary air.

“We’re calling it the sexiest show in town, and it definitely has a lot of humor. People are going to laugh hard,” Rajotte said. “But there was also an interesting plot in this show.”

 

See The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas

Where: Palace Theatre, 80 Hanover St., Manchester
When: Oct. 21 through Nov. 12. See website for dates and times.
Admission: $25-$45
Contact: palacetheatre.org, 668-5588  

Natural Instincts

Natural Instincts

Enchanted Forest Walk Returns

Written by Matt Ingersoll  (listings@hippopress.com)

Photos: Courtesy Photo

 

As a not-so-scary way to celebrate Halloween, take an evening stroll through the woods around the McLane Center in Concord during the annual Enchanted Forest, happening Friday, Oct. 21, and Saturday, Oct. 22.

“We like to call it a family-friendly alternative to scary haunted houses, and it’s also designed as an educational event,” said Ruth Smith, community engagement manager of New Hampshire Audubon, which hosts the walks each year. “We usually do it the weekend before Halloween so as not to compete with trick-or-treating, and we put up Halloween decorations to keep in the season.”
COURTESY PHOTO
The educational walk will be led by volunteers and filled with nature-themed skits, campfire stories and more. Jack-o-lanterns will light the way throughout the trails.

Inside the center, enjoy crafts, games and refreshments while you wait to embark on the walk, which which will be split into one-hour time slots that will leave every 20 minutes, from 5 to 8 p.m. each night. Each group that departs will have two guides for the duration of the trail, which makes stops at four separate skit sites, Smith said. All of the skits will be covered in the event of rain.

“Each [skit] has live actors who act out as animals, plants or various features of the natural world and they work on dispelling myths, so the skits are informative and educational but humorous and fun as well,” she said. “We provide all of the costumes and write the scripts ourselves for the volunteers to rehearse.”

Previous skits have been about why birds migrate and the challenges they face, how spiders can be helpful to our ecosystem, a “weather wizard” who gives talks about climate change and weather patterns, and more. Other iconic Halloween images like bats and skeletons have been acted out to stay true to the Halloween spirit. But Smith said the skits are a surprise, as they are usually not disclosed until participants are actually out in the woods.

“It’s usually a combination of some new skits and versions of some recycled skits that we haven’t done in a while but have brought back,” Smith said, noting that the first walk was back in 1987. At the conclusion of each walk, the group will gather around a campfire with a storyteller who will tell stories based on old Native American legends. Smith said although the first couple of tours are typically more popular among families with younger children, due to its still being daylight outside, the event each year has drawn teenagers and adults without children as well.

“We have volunteers who donate a ton of time and practice and we have folks that come back year after year for that reason,” she said. “I think especially for some of the adults that come back, they appreciate that kind of community engagement and involvement.

The event has inspired similar walks all across New England, having developed a reputation as the first established woods-based walk around the Halloween season.

“The thing about nature is that there are so many fascinating and cool things that you can use as skits and can teach in a fun and engaging way,” Smith said, “so it truly is a magical event.”

 

Enchanted Forest

Where: NH Audubon McLane Center, 84 Silk Farm Road, Concord
When: Friday, Oct. 21, and Saturday, Oct. 22, 5 to 8 p.m.
Admission: $9.50 (pre-registration is required)
Contact: nhaudubon.org, or call 224-9909, ext. 313, to sign up 

Music To Your Ears

Music To Your Ears

Festival & Craft Fair Returns to Music School

Written by Matt Ingersoll (listings@hippopress.com)

Photos: Courtesy Photo

 

Join in a scavenger hunt and a costume contest, try your hand at some of your favorite musical instruments and discover new sounds at the second annual Fall Fun Festival and Craft Fair.

Costumes are encouraged at the event, which is presented by the Manchester Community Music School and will be held on Saturday, Oct. 22, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Admission for the entire day is $5 per child and free for all accompanying adults as well as for children under 2.
COURTESY PHOTO
“More than a fundraiser, the event is designed to bring and introduce people to the school,” said Aubrie Dionne, performance leadership director of the Manchester Community Music School and coordinator of the festival. “We wanted to make it educational but to almost have that part of it sneak in by giving kids an exploration of what is out there beyond what they might think of as the basic band instruments.”

Dionne said that was the idea behind the demonstrations, which will include stringed instruments, drums and percussion, flutes, pianos and more. While the school will be providing the flutes and pianos for the demos, guitars, violins, violas and others will be provided courtesy of Johnson String Instrument and drums will be provided by the Manchester-based Muchachos Drum & Bugle Corps. For younger children, the Music School will be holding an open Music for Little Ones class from 10 to 11 a.m., which is included in the admission ticket for families interested in dropping in.

“It’s basically a discovery class for young kids and their parents to sit in, and it’s a precursor to learning an instrument,” Dionne said. “It’s an opportunity to learn early skills while enjoying music in a fun atmosphere.”

Dozens of local food and craft vendors will be on hand throughout the day, Dionne said, including a psychic medium who will perform angel card readings, a watercolor artist and a fiber artist.

Other vendors include Sub Zero Ice Cream, which will be selling treats and donating a percentage of the profits to the Music School, and Tracy G. Photography, which will be taking photos of children and families dressed in Halloween costumes and offering photo packages for purchase.

New this year will be a scavenger hunt involving nearly all of the vendors, Dionne said. “The kids will have to visit all of the booths and they will be asked a question by each of the vendors, such as ‘what is your favorite instrument’ or ‘what is your favorite kind of music,’ and they will get a sticker,” she said. “Once they have all of the stickers, they’ll get a prize … so there’s no deadline. [The scavenger hunt] is dependent on what time you show up, and you finish it as late as you want.”

The Music School’s Flute Choir, directed by Dionne, will be the first to perform live, at 10:30 a.m. Dionne said the choir will be dressed in costume and performing music from the Harry Potter films. A performance by the School’s Folk String Ensemble led by John Zevos will follow at 10:45 a.m. At 11:15 a.m., New Hampshire children’s author Nancy Donovan will be reading excerpts from her books. Donovan is the author of Wild Dolphin Rider, Oscar the Herring Gull and Marissa the Forest Spirit. She will do a second reading at 2:15 p.m.

Prizes will be given out at the costume contest, which begins at noon. There is no additional charge to participate, Dionne said. Face-painting and craft-making will also be among the activities offered throughout the day. 

Playing With Herbs

Playing With Herbs

Learn the Basics of Herbal Chocolates & Cordials

Written by Angie Sykeny  (asykeny@hippopress.com)

Photos: Courtesy Photo

 

If you’re looking for a unique gift idea or something to spice up your holiday gatherings, you might find inspiration at the Cordials and Chocolates workshop at Canterbury Shaker Village on Saturday, Oct. 29.  Clinical herbalist Maria Noel Groves of Allenstown will demonstrate how to make herb-infused chocolate truffles and cordials and guide participants through the process of making their own to taste and take home.
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“They’re really different techniques, but they’re both fun and yummy,” Groves said. “It gives people a chance to play around with herbs and food and make gifts and preparations for the holidays all at the same time.” Groves will begin the workshop with some facts about chocolate, its health benefits and why it’s a good backdrop for herbal flavors. Peppermint, vanilla, lavender, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon and basil are just some of the herbs that work well with chocolate. To make the truffles, the herbs are infused into the cream, then melted down with the chocolate and chilled.

“If you’ve never made them before, it’s not that complicated, but it’s really time-consuming, and making them in a group is fun and goes a lot faster,” Groves said. “It’s just meant to give people an idea of what’s involved. Then they can recruit friends and family members and make bigger batches at home for parties or gifts.” While the chocolates are being infused and chilled, the group will move on to making the cordials. There will be three seasonal fruits to choose from: apples, pears and cranberries. The process involves filling a jar with the chopped fresh fruit, chosen herbs, a sweetener and alcohol. Participants will complete all steps except for the alcohol, which they will have to add at home. Groves will suggest that they use a quality vodka, brandy or other spirit that provides a clean base for the fruit and herb flavors to come through. Most cordials are ready to drink within a day or two.

Groves will be demonstrating with a maple pear spice cordial, but other popular combinations are apple cinnamon, spiced cider and cranberry rosemary. “They’re fun and so easy to make,” she said. “You just work off of what flavor profiles work nicely together. The alcohol on its own is already good at extracting [certain herbs], so they come out nice and flavorful and taste really good.” Participants will go home with some chocolate truffles, a 4-ounce cordial and some recipes for other chocolate treats and cordial combinations to try on their own.


Cordials & Chocolates 

When: Saturday, Oct. 29, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Where: Canterbury Shaker Village, 288 Shaker Road, Canterbury
Cost: $50 for Canterbury Shaker Village members, $60 for non-members. All materials and supplies are included. Purchase tickets online. Space is limited.
 
Spiced Pear Cordial Recipe
This recipe makes about one pint of cordial and will keep for at least one year in the liquor cabinet. You can easily double or triple the batch. Courtesy of Maria Noel Groves. 
 
2 small, ripe pears (or 1 large), sliced
4 ounces of local maple syrup (grade B recommended)
2 ounces of water
2 cinnamon sticks
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
6 whole cloves
½ vanilla bean, sliced lengthwise
2 cardamom pods, crushed
8 ounces quality vodka (Flag Hill’s General Stark Vodka works well)
 
Simmer the pears and spices in the maple syrup and water for approximately one hour. Remove from heat occasionally if it seems to be boiling too hard.
Pour all the ingredients into a Mason jar. (Remove the cinnamon sticks if you want the cinnamon flavor to remain subtle.)
Cover with vodka, cap, and let sit on the counter for one to four weeks, shaking daily. Taste it every few days. The flavor will gradually change, becoming more spicy and less fruity nutmeg-flavored over time.  When it tastes good to you, strain your cordial into bottles and enjoy.

Spiced Up Meals

Spiced Up Meals

Indian Cuisine Meal Service, Cooking Classes

Written by Angie Sykeny (asykeny@hippopress.com)

Photos: Courtesy Photo

 

If you love Indian food, there’s a new way to get it that doesn’t require going out to a restaurant. Calcutta Curry, a Derry-based meal service specializing in Indian cuisine, is now offering home delivery weekly meal subscriptions for southern New Hampshire, as well as a new cooking class series. Owner Priya Dutta has been running the business on and off since 2013, appearing at local farmers markets and offering monthly frozen meal subscriptions, private cooking classes and cooking parties. With the growing popularity of Indian food in the area, she decided to start expanding.

“There are a lot of people here who are very enthusiastic about Indian food but only end up eating it at a restaurant,” she said. “I want there to be ways for people to get healthy, homestyle Indian food, so now, if you’re adventurous, you can learn to make it yourself at our classes, or you can try our meal delivery.”  The new weekly meal service begins the first week of November. Orders are due every Wednesday, and meals are delivered on the following Tuesday. (For the first week, that means orders will be due by Wednesday, Oct. 26, and meals will be delivered on Tuesday, Nov. 1).

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Each week will feature a menu with five to six meals to choose from. The first menu includes sambhar (tangy and spicy soup with mixed vegetables), home-style dal (soup made with lentils, onions and spices), vegetable stir-fry, aloo dum biryani (spiced blend of cooked rice and potatoes), fish fry and chicken do pyaza (chicken prepared in a spicy onion paste sauce with chunks of onion and pepper). All meals are made with as many local ingredients as possible.
 
“The taste of Indian food is very different from other cuisines like American and Italian and Mexican,” Dutta said. “There’s a lot of different flavor profiles and a lot that goes into the flavor to make it all come together, and I think that’s why [it’s appealing].”
 
Calcutta Curry’s new cooking classes kicked off last month and will continue with a class held approximately every six weeks at Creative Chef Kitchens in Derry, alternating between beginner and advanced level. Students will learn to make a combination of healthy vegetarian, non-vegetarian and gluten-free dishes, including two entrees, a side and a dessert if there is time. At the end of the class, they can eat the meal they prepared together and go home with leftovers and recipes.  While the classes focus on Indian cuisine, Dutta said the skills taught can be applied in all kinds of cooking.
 
“Even if people aren’t making an Indian meal, the class will give them ideas about how to use these spices and ingredients in their regular meals and how to incorporate them into their everyday cooking,” she said.


Calcutta Curry 

Weekly meals subscription 
Where: Home delivery available for southern New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts
When: Orders for the first week of meals are due Wednesday, Oct. 26, with delivery on Tuesday, Nov. 1. Subscription continues weekly with orders due Wednesdays and delivery the following Tuesday.
Cost: Meals range from $6 to $10 each. Delivery fees vary based on location.
 
Cooking classes 
Where: Creative Chef Kitchens, 35 Manchester Road, Derry
When: Held approximately every six weeks. Next class takes place Friday, Nov. 11.
Cost: Ranges from $30 to $45, depending on the class
 
For more information on Calcutta Curry’s cooking classes and meal subscriptions, visit calcuttacurry.com  

Weekly Review: El Monstro & More

Weekly Review: El Monstro & More

Written by Eric Saeger  (news@hippopress.com)

Photos: Album Art

 

Scratch, El Monstro (Trev Records)

COURTESY PHOTOIn Whatever Happened To Such-and-So Local Band news, we catch up with Boston punk legends Gang Green, or at least their peak mid-80s incarnation, the one that gave us “Alcohol” and “Skate to Hell,” or, more specifically, the lot that featured the then-teenage brothers Glen and Chuck Stilphen, who lead this project. This is basically a long-overdue one-off EP, featuring two long-lost songs that are 21 years old and two new ones, all, it appears, recorded at Boston’s Fort Apache studio, which should clang all sorts of bells for you if you were ever on the musician side of the scene. If you’re expecting dated party-anthem-oi, you’re out of luck; it’s dated ’90s grunge-ish material, at least going by focus single “Das Waltz,” which even has an old video in the books, starring these guys when they looked good with their shirts off. That tune is reminiscent of Limp Bizkit, but more accurately Live, if you’re old enough to have any idea who that is. But wait a minute, the title track and “Wayside” are rattle-bang crash-the-party skate-punk, and “Spaz” wants to be Gravity Kills. Scattershot but decent throughout.

Grade: B-

 

Pretenders, Alone (BMG Records)

COURTESY PHOTOWith all the internet shamings like Taylor Swift’s shooting a video in Africa that only had white people in it, you may have missed the one where Pretenders leader Chrissie Hynde got nailed by NPR for a none-too-PC remark. We shan’t go there — it’s always been impossible to grok Chrissie’s motivation, and meanwhile here, in her first Pretenders-proper LP in eight years, she’s still hiding her cards both emotionally and musically. In the T Bone Burnett-checking skuzz-blues opener “Alone Song,” is she kidding that she wants to sit home by herself and watch a movie, or is she actually joyful about it? Whatever, she’s still the goddess of post-punk, stating her case with a sound so analog it makes Jack White look like Michael Bolton (the lead-in to the aforementioned track sounds like it was recorded on a boombox), and throughout this record she cements her brand, that oddly comforting, shuffling bar-rock that hasn’t been heard since “Break Up the Concrete,” this time cut with such vibes as bossa nova (“One More Day”) or Siouxsie (“Let’s Get Lost”) or Raveonettes (“I Hate Myself”). It’s breathtaking how much she rules.

Grade: A+