FEATURED HEADLINES
Food: DRAFTed
FEATURED FOOD
DRAFTed
NH Craft Beer Week Returns, Along With New Indie Film Fest
Written By Angie Sykeny (asykeny@hippopress.com)
Images: Stock Photo
From a beer and chocolate pairing to bend-and-brew yoga sessions, there will be all kinds of things for craft beer enthusiasts to do and see during the third annual New Hampshire Craft Beer Week, happening Friday, March 31, through Saturday, April 8 — plus a new indie film festival created specifically to coincide with the nine-day brew celebration.
Craft Beer Week highlights New Hampshire’s craft beer industry and culture with more than 70 events statewide, including tastings, brew nights and tap takeovers at bars and restaurants, beer dinners and food pairings, brewery tours and demonstrations, workshops, discussions with brewers and more. There will also be a few breweries having special beer releases and anniversary parties, and New Hampshire’s newest brewery, Aigean Ales in Manchester, will celebrate the grand opening of its tasting room.
“New Hampshire is in between two of the larger-known states for beer, which are Vermont and Maine, and we often get bypassed,” said Renee Vannata of Brew NH, which is presenting NHCBW in partnership with the Granite State Brewers Association. “We’re trying to showcase the beer we have here with different events and hopefully encourage more people to stop in New Hampshire.”
The events have a variety of hosts, including craft breweries, restaurants and bars, home brewers, distributors, taprooms and bottle shops. Participating establishments are widespread across the state, making it easy for beer lovers in any New Hampshire region to take part in NHCBW.
“We try to have at least one event in every area so people don’t have to travel far and can still participate in some way and celebrate New Hampshire craft beer,” Vannata said.
While breweries are the focus, many brewers will be collaborating on events with chefs and restaurants, bottle shops and other beer-related businesses so that every sector of the industry is represented.
CJ White of the Granite State Brewers Association said unity within the state’s craft beer scene is part of what makes it unique.
“The majority of the businesses have a similar [goal]. They all tend to be focused on the local community and doing their part in the community,” she said. “That isn’t always true in other places and with the large corporate names in the beer industry.”
Vannata’s tips for making the most of NHCBW are to try something new each night of the week, and to engage with the craft beer community via social media by sharing photos of your beer adventures with the hashtag #NHCBW2017.
If you’re looking to plan your own tour of New Hampshire breweries and beer destinations, White suggests utilizing the New Hampshire Beer Map available at nhbeer.org/beer-map.
Indie Film Meets Indie Beer
This year’s New Hampshire Craft Beer Week will be accompanied by a new event celebrating independent film and local craft beer. The Derry Regional Ales & Films Together Festival — DRAFT Fest — will run concurrently with NHCBW from Sunday, April 2, through Saturday, April 8, with events in Derry and Londonderry.
“Derry and Londonderry have a lot of craft breweries, and a lot of great films are made in New Hampshire, so we wanted to tie those two things together with a unique event,” said
Jay Doherty, executive director of SNOB Film Festival, which is presenting DRAFT Fest in partnership with NHCBW and local businesses.
Around 30 films will be shown, more than half of which were locally produced. They range from full-length features to shorts and span a variety of genres including comedy, drama, horror and documentary. The diversity of the films, Doherty said, is meant to mirror the diversity of local beer.
Each film will be paired with or include a voucher for a local craft beer to drink during the screening. The pairings were constructed by a film/beer selection team and the head brewer at each brewery.
“A film that’s happy and light-hearted like a comedy might be paired with [a beer] that’s hoppy and light and has citrus flavors, whereas a drama that’s darker and more intense might be paired with a richer beer like a stout,” Doherty said. “It’s just like how you’d pair a fine wine with a meal, except we’re doing it with beer and film.”
Monday through Wednesday, three breweries will each screen a block of six film shorts, paired with a flight of six beers. On Thursday, there will be four beer-paired shorts at a brewery and two shorts at a meadery, paired with meads and followed by a time to learn about mead and sample additional varieties.
As part of their pairing flights, each participating brewery will also introduce one special beer, which could be a new one-off, a flagship with a recipe twist, a rarity or something they haven’t brewed in a long time.
Since the brewery events are intended to be more intimate gatherings, space is limited to a crowd of 30 to 50 people; buying tickets as early as possible is advised.
Doherty said that watching an indie film next to big fermenting tanks in a brewery atmosphere is sure to be “an interesting experience,” and that, in many ways, indie film and craft beer are a good match.
“I think the two cultures are very like-minded and mix together well,” he said. “The independent spirit of a brewer crafting a unique beer is a similar characteristic of a filmmaker who is crafting a film that’s unique and different.”
News: Full Day Debate
FEATURED NEWS
Full Day Debate
State Considering Kindergarten Funding
Written By Ryan Lessard (news@hippopress.com)
Images: Stock Photo
While historically it’s been Democrats leading the charge to expand and fund kindergarten programs in the state, more Republicans are now backing the movement, including the governor himself.
Advocates say the shift can be partly explained by mounting research showing the benefits of full-day kindergarten, as well as significant support among voters and businesses.
Recent Developments
A Republican alderman in Nashua is reportedly against a plan to expand full-day kindergarten to all the elementary schools there, and House lawmakers in a budget-writing subcommittee have voted to strip the governor’s kindergarten funds in a party-line vote. But, for the most part, advocates believe these are the exceptions to the rule. Support for full-day kindergarten is growing stronger, they say, and more Republicans are on board.
Democratic Sen. David Watters’ bill in the Senate that would fully fund full-day kindergarten was tabled, but that was after the full Senate, which has a Republican majority, passed the bill 22-1. There are four Republican co-sponsors on Watters’ bill, two senators and two House representatives.
Despite the recent vote in the House, Watters said the Senate showed clear support in more kindergarten funding, and the House usually crafts a more conservative budget. When it’s the Senate’s turn to take up the budget, they usually have more money to play with from more generous revenue estimates.
“I do have some optimism that we’re going to get there … in one form or another,” Watters said.
When Gov. Chris Sununu unveiled his budget proposal, it included a $9 million funding scheme for full-day kindergarten. That’s unusual for a Republican governor.
“I think it’s really significant. Gov. Sununu campaigned on this, as did his Democratic opponent, so I think that’s been an important shift,” Watters said.
History
Right now, about 70 percent of districts (about 80 percent of students) have adopted full-day kindergarten programs but the state only pays what the adequacy funding formula for a half-day program calls for.
Sununu’s plan wouldn’t cover the full cost of the more than 100 districts that are currently paying the difference on their own dime, but it’s designed to target communities with the greatest need based on economic indicators like community property wealth, free and reduced lunch program participation rates and percentage of English language learners.
Another bill in the Senate, sponsored by Watters, would fully fund the existing full-day communities to the tune of $14.5 million.
“So his covers about 75 percent of what mine does,” Watters said.
Watters said New Hampshire was the last state in the union to fund half-day kindergarten, which it did in the late 1990s.
“In New Hampshire, it was a long struggle to get half-day kindergarten,” Watters said.
In 2008, the state made it mandatory for each community to provide kindergarten. These new proposals would not make full-day kindergarten a requirement but would ensure some or all funding is available to the communities that choose to adopt it.
Research
Watters said he’s observed the issue of full-day kindergarten funding become increasingly bipartisan in recent years.
“I think the consensus has been shifting toward the value of doing this regardless of party,” Watters said.
So, why the shift?
One reason could be the growing number of studies that have demonstrated a number of significant benefits of early childhood education in general and full-day kindergarten specifically. Watters said full-day kindergarten has been proven to have far-reaching effects that might improve not just the outcomes for individual children, but the local economy as a whole.
“You’re more likely to complete high school, you’re less likely to get pregnant, you’re more likely to go on to college,” Watters said of students who attend full-day kindergarten.
MaryLou Beaver with Every Child Matters said long-term data show increased reading and math skills among full-day kindergarten students that extend well into third grade.
There’s also a benefit for working parents, who won’t have to balance work and child care if their kids are in school for the whole day.
Support
Lindsay Hanson at the Save the Children Action Network is pleased by Sununu’s proposal and calls it a “wonderful first step.”
She thinks Sununu’s support is a good sign that more Republicans are getting on board.
The most recent polling in the state, in fall of 2016, showed 70 percent of registered voters think full-day kindergarten should be a high budget priority, according to Hanson.
“As that’s been more of an issue locally, it’s been bubbling up to the state level more and more,” Hanson said.
Watters said more members of the business community have begun to express their support, though the Business and Industry Association is neutral on the issue.
Christine D’Allesandro, the state director of MomsRising, said her members overwhelmingly support full-day kindergarten funding.
“If there’s one point that comes across in this it’s that funding for full-day kindergarten is a bipartisan issue. The support that we have seen is broad, it’s on both sides of the aisle.
If anything, it might have a slight generational difference,” D’Allesandro said.
Anecdotally, she’s seen more young people supporting it than older folks, though she admits her 6,000 members skew younger.
“And I think it’s not any accident that we have a younger governor who has got young children himself,” D’Allesandro said.
Still, she points to notable exceptions, such as Republican Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas, who supports full-day kindergarten funding. If Sununu’s plan passes, the city could stand to gain close to $2 million in additional funding, according to the Union Leader. But Watters said there are still too many unknowns when it comes to Sununu’s funding formula to arrive at an exact number.
And if the House committee vote is any indication, there is still a philosophical divide between the parties on this. Watters acknowledges this and says the Senate may have to persuade the House to get behind the effort.
Watters said more members of the business community have begun to express their support. While the Business and Industry Association is neutral on the issue, Watters said the New Hampshire Coalition for Business and Education supports full-day kindergarten, as do the leaders of Delta Dental, Hypertherm and Kocher & Company.
Arts: Granite State Style
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Granite State Style
Fashion Shows Hit NH this April
Written By Kelly Sennott (ksennott@hippopress.com)
Images: Stock Photo
No need to rely on Project Runway to see what’s in style; over the next couple weeks, New Hampshire becomes a fashionista’s paradise, with runway shows all over the state featuring local and national designers.
Spring Into Chic
The Merrimack Chamber of Commerce presents its second annual Spring into Chic Fashion Show and Expo Thursday, April 6, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Courtyard by Marriott in Nashua.
“The board came up with the idea last year, and everyone agreed, not knowing how it was going to turn out — but it was such a success, it is now one of our signature events,” said Patti Maccabe, marketing and event coordinator with the Merrimack Chamber of Commerce, via phone last week.
The event is a two-hour fashion showcase featuring spring and summer clothing, shoes and accessories from local and corporate New Hampshire stores — like David’s Bridal, Fresh of Nashua, Downtown Nashua Boutique, Pastiche Boutique, Robin’s Egg Baby Bird Boutique and George’s Apparel. Mary Kay Cosmetics is designing makeup, and Michael’s School of Hair Design and Esthetics will do hair.
Models are ages 1 to adult. Some are local celebrities, like Merrimack Police Chief Mark Doyle and Merrimack Parks and Recreation Director Matt Casparius, while others are high school seniors competing for a $500 scholarship. Kevin Skarupa from WMUR emcees.
New Hampshire Fashion Week
New Hampshire Fashion Week runway shows are Saturday, April 8, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, April 9, at noon at the Radisson Hotel in Nashua. The event, also in its second year, features both regional and national designers. Director Cynthia Hudson conceptualized it years ago because she felt there was a void in the Granite State; it needed its own fashion week.
“Connecticut has one. Boston has one. Why not New Hampshire?” Hudson said via phone last week. “It’s a big production. There’s a lot that goes into this.”
One of the designers is Laconia artist Wanda Van Norden, whose jewelry is made from California healing crystals. Van Norden has sold at craft shows locally and nationally, traveling as far as Florida and Texas to sell, but there’s something incredibly exciting about seeing your work travel down the runway. Last year, her models wore black clothing to emphasize the large, sparkly pieces.
“It gives designers a chance to get their names out there and get people to see their work,” Van Norden said.
During intermission Saturday night, there will be performances by local singers and dancers and Shane’s Anti-Bullying Program, and the New Hampshire Brigade football team will throw footballs and promotional items out to the audience.
Other featured designers include Jewelinga, Chances R Designs, Jarfette, Alternative Designs, Takeiya Perry Designs, Nellie Designs, Nina Designs, Maritha Designs, Vermont Fashion Arts Collective and LuLaroe. Lord & Taylor and Gap dress the models Sunday.
New Hampshire Fashion Week
Saturday, April 8: Radisson Hotel, 11 Tara Boulevard, Nashua, designer showcase from 7 to 10 p.m. (VIP party from 6 to 7 p.m.)
Sunday, April 9: Radisson Hotel, from noon to 4 p.m. (Student designers compete for scholarships and other awards)
Admission: $15 for general admission to one show, $25 for both shows, $50 for VIP party
Contact: nhfashionweek.com
“Spring into Chic” Fashion Show
Where: Courtyard by Marriott, 2200 Southwood Drive, Nashua
When: Thursday, April 6, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Admission: $15, $35 for VIP
Contact: merrimackchamber.org
Music: Weekly Music Review
Weekly Review
Jen Gloeckner & More
Written By Eric Saeger (news@hippopress.com)
Images: Album Artwork
Jen Gloeckner, VINE (self-released)
Mississippi girl Gloeckner is making inroads into the mainstream after having signed a deal for movie/TV placement for her wetwork chill tunes, until now mainly characterized by acoustic guitars and Massive Attack programming. There was a lack of depth to earlier records that seems to have been solved here, first evidenced by opening acid-jazz-ish track “Blowing Through” and its seemingly endless layers of reverb-drenched flute, booze-drowned guitars and from-the-heavens backing voices. “Breathe” is even cooler, a swirling, lost-sounding Goldfrapp-imbued goth-swirl deal with a singularly impressive guitar solo break. “Colors” finds her circling back to the Americana from whence she originated, but here again we find some superb Tina Dico-esque layering, her pleas sweeping gently across the plains. “Firefly (War Dance)” floats goth-glitch under a subtly menacing trance-inducing tribal rhythm. And so on and so forth, very impressive — I’d queue a lot of this stuff up for someone with a Massive Attack fetish if I were Pandora, sure.
Grade: A
Wire, Silver/Lead (Pink Flag Records)
Some critics and fans like their Wire unhinged (their first two LPS and/or the Drill EP) and some like it (for lack of a better word) accessible (A Bell is a Cup, Manscape). Lump me with the latter; I wasn’t big on Pink Flag, much less Drill, although it could be said that Drill was a set of entirely new tunes, whether or not the “drill drill drill” mantra remained the same. The fact that this new album revisits the wacko-noise ethos is a testament to Baby Boom punks worldwide trying to stay relevant (regardless of punk’s demise way before Green Day showed up), but as a devotee of their more college-chart-friendly stuff (the coda of “Kidney Bingoes” still give me chills), I’m probably not the guy to talk to about this record’s few good points, sad to say. Architecturally it’s the usual formula, with Graham Lewis’s beloved, dippy baritone not showing up until Track 4 (“Forever and a Day”) but past that, it’s as though they’ve thrown their rules out the window, rough noise-rock sketches trying to distract fans from the formulaic, plain-vanilla rawk-rock that takes up too much space. “Sleep On the Wing” boasts a neat time signature, but elsewise it, and everything else here, sounds like it was hurriedly written on the plane to the studio. No, it’s not enough that their alien art-pop-rock mutations of old were stunning, one can’t let them get away with this. Skip this one, sad to advise.
Grade: C+
Film: Life
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Film Review
Life (R)
Written By Amy Diaz (adiaz@hippopress.com)
Images: Movie Screenshot
Alien organisms turn deadly in Life, a movie that asks the question “should all hope for life on Earth be pinned on the durability of one pair of really thick gloves?”
Answer: No.
An international crew on a space station in Earth’s orbit retrieves a craft carrying samples of ancient Martian life. Despite this seeming like one of those projects that needs a team, only one guy, Hugh Derry (Ariyon Bakare), really examines the samples, with oversight from Miranda North (Rebecca Ferguson), whose job is to constantly remind everyone of how dangerous it would be if the organism escaped. Maybe then have more than one thick pair of lab gloves standing between the cells, which Derry reanimates, and a room chock-a-block with vents leading all over the ship.
The revived single cells turn into a multi-celled organism that starts to grow and react. (And is named Calvin by some school kids.) After a lab accident causes Calvin to go dormant, Derry electrically zaps it back to life, causing Calvin to squeeze Derry’s hand until it breaks and then cut its way out of its woefully flimsy containment box. It zips around the lab room until it finds a vent (after first squeeze-killing a lab mouse and growing bigger). Quickly, the crew (which also includes Ryan Reynolds, Hiroyuki Sanada, Jake Gyllenhaal and Olga Dihovichnaya) begins a race to capture or kill Calvin before it can kill them. Miranda explains that her specific mission also requires her to do whatever is necessary to prevent Calvin from reaching Earth.
This — we must protect Earth from the unstoppable killing machine of Calvin! — is the movie’s central concern and everything not directly related to this task feels weak and hurried. The movie rushes to get to “unkillable blob,” which is fine, no reason to dilly-dally on the way to get to the central action. But the result is that I don’t care when the characters I never really got to know are, in classic horror-movie-in-space fashion, picked off one by one.
The way characters problem-solve about Calvin also seems strangely weak. These are not people sciencing the heck out of anything. Instead, we get the sense that either this highly significant scientific mission has basically only one scientist or several of the crew members are scientists but are just bad at it.
And, as aliens go, Calvin isn’t particularly exciting. Its abilities are ill-defined and after a few early stages looking like a CGI translucent starfish Calvin begins to resemble a smaller, down-market alien from the Alien movies. Calvin regularly looks, well, silly.
I think I get what Life is supposed to be — heart-pounding space-based suspense thriller where the stakes are All Life On Earth — but it never rose to that level for me. Maybe it, like Calvin, needed a few more jolts of energy (more lively characters, more specific alien abilities) to really come alive.
Grade: C-
Pop: The BEST of the BEST in NH! *
FEATURED POP - * COVER STORIES *
The BEST of the BEST in NH!
Your Local Favorites Readers Picks
Written By AUTHOR (Email)
Images: Courtesy Photo
The results are in!
Throughout February, you voted for your favorite things about southern New Hampshire, from your favorite breakfast to your favorite place to take visiting relatives.
The Arts
Shopping
Fitness
Fix It
Beauty
Best Restaurants
International Cuisine
More Eateries
Drinks
Delicious Dishes
Food Shops
Sweets
Locally Grown
Entertainment
Pets
Nightlife
Best Bar With Outside Deck
Outdoors
Food Personalities
Health & Beauty Personalities
Notable Locals
Entertainers
Bests
Hippo’s readers’ poll results are tabulated from votes cast by readers during our online survey in February. Readers typed in their picks — no drop-down menus or pre-selected choices. As with all of the Hippo’s coverage, there is no connection between the editorial content and advertising. Winners come from the votes cast by Hippo readers and were not chosen by Hippo staff. The Best of 2017 is a celebration of all things local. Large chains were not included in the count. Smaller chains with at least two-thirds of their locations in New Hampshire are eligible, as are businesses with two locations, one of which is in New Hampshire. All results are final. The “Best of the Best” designation goes to the person, place or thing that receives the most votes in the category. “Best of Manchester,” “Best of Nashua” and “Best of Concord” are awarded to the top entries located in those areas after the “Best of the Best.” In categories that award “Best,” “Runner-Up” and “Honorable Mention,” those are the top three vote-getters in that category.
Geography
Here, roughly, is the designation of “Manchester,” “Concord” and “Nashua” areas:
• Manchester area includes Manchester, Goffstown, Auburn, Candia, Bedford, Hooksett, Raymond, Litchfield, Derry, Londonderry, Windham, Salem, New Boston, Francestown and towns to the east along Route 101 to include towns on Route 125.
• Concord area includes Concord as well as Bow, Pembroke, Contoocook, Dunbarton, Hopkinton, Loudon, Boscawen, Chichester, Weare, Henniker, Suncook and some towns in the Lakes Region.
• Nashua area includes Nashua as well as Merrimack, Amherst, Milford, Hollis, Brookline, Hudson, Mason and Wilton.
Questions, concerns, comments
Did we get an address or phone number wrong? Do you have an idea for a new category? Do you think your favorite mac & cheese purveyor should have been the winner? Well, there’s nothing I can do about that last one (though if you think there’s an unsung person, place or event out there, mac-&-cheese-related or not, we’d love to hear about it). But for corrections (which would run on page 4 or, in the case of food-related categories, in the Weekly Dish column of upcoming issues), please contact me, editor Amy Diaz, at adiaz@hippopress.com. Categories change regularly (some categories from past years are on sabbatical), so we’re always looking for new ideas. Some of this year’s categories are the result of suggestions received from readers, so send yours along. And, again, all results are final.
MORE HEADLINES
Best of 2017: Best Karate Studio
Best of 2017: Best Karate Studio
Manchester Karate Studio
Written By Matt Ingersol (listings@hippopress.com)
Images: Courtesy Photo
In 1984, after earning his black belt in high school and serving in the U.S. Naval Reserve for six years, Steven White opened the Manchester Karate Studio on Bridge Street.
Today, he’s an eighth-degree black belt in kenpo karate and continues to train, serving as the studio’s chief instructor. The studio offers a variety of family, children and adult karate programs for ages 3 and up.
Current program director and instructor Lee MacDonald, who has been with Manchester Karate Studio for 20 years, said a number of factors make the center unique, including being the only certified training center for Gracie jiu-jitsu in the Granite State, and one of only two such centers in all of New England.
Gracie jiu-jitsu techniques were originally developed for members of the U.S. Army in the 1920s by Brazilian martial artist Helio Gracie and today focus on grappling and ground fighting for people of all ages and abilities.
“The Gracie jiu-jitsu program that we have is actually a little newer; it’s only about six years old,” MacDonald said. “It’s a very specific brand of jiu-jitsu.”
In addition to many administrative and managerial tasks, MacDonald’s duties also include one-on-one introductory private lessons with every new student, another feature he said makes the Manchester Karate Studio stand out. The studio is also active in the community, visiting area public schools and holding fundraising events for the Manchester school district, as well as other local organizations like Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock and the Boy Scouts of America.
He said families are welcome to take classes together.
“I don’t hear of a lot of martial arts centers or schools that generally allow adults to train simultaneously in another class,” he said. “We do get frequent calls about that. … It might be a child with older siblings or Mom or Dad, or we’ve even had grandparents participate with their children as well.”
Manchester Karate Studio
Where: 24 Bridge St., Manchester
Call: 625-5835
Visit: manchesterkarate.com
Best of 2017: Best Dog Groomer
Best of 2017: Best Dog Groomer
Sarah’s Paw Spa
Written By Ryan Lessard (news@hippopress.com)
Images: Courtesy Photo
About two years ago, Sarah Archambault decided it was time for a change.
“I’ve been bartending for most of my adult life and I just … wanted more of a career,” Archambault said.
So she considered her interests.
“I always had a huge passion for dogs. I’m known as a huge dog lover. I have three dogs myself that I rescued,” Archambault said.
That and the fact that she’s somewhat artistic led Archambault to pursue a career as a dog groomer. After looking up grooming classes, she attended a 16-month training program under Hooksett groomer Jan Waldo. Soon after that, Archambault hit the ground running to start her own business, which is now located at 8 Birch St. in Derry. She found the space, which used to be a dog salon, on Craigslist.
“I went to go look at it and loved it instantly,” Archambault said.
Sarah’s Paw Spa opened on Feb. 1, 2016.
At first, Archambault started out with about five to 10 dogs per week, but the business grew at a rapid pace due to high demand in the Derry area. She said she now sees about 40 dogs per week and is scheduling appointments about a week and a half out.
She believes her success is due in part to her business model, which goes against that of the large-scale chain operations that keep dogs in crates and groom multiple dogs at the same time.
Sarah’s Paw Spa is all about one-on-one attention. Each dog has the run of the shop without any other furry customers to compete with.
“They’re only here for the grooming process, they’re not crated, there’s no other dogs or people here. So it’s just me and the dog and they have the whole place to themselves while they’re being groomed,” Archambault said.
She goes out of her way to make sure even the most nervous dogs are comfortable. That’s where she thinks she really specializes. She creates a comforting space and lets the dogs acclimate to their environment and relax even before the grooming begins.
She designed the space to be comforting for the human owners too.
“It’s basically one room. I designed it more with a spa look,” Archambault said. “It doesn’t look industrial and cold-looking. It’s cute.”
Because of this, she has been able to groom dogs that other places have had to turn away because they were too skittish and nippy.
“I haven’t turned down a dog yet for that reason,” Archambault said.
Archambault said she serves all breeds, from 180-pound Newfoundlands and Great Danes to tiny, 3-pound teacup Yorkies.
Each pup receives a bandana free with every grooming.
Archambault offers other services, like nail polishing, as well.
“It’s nail polish designed for dogs so it dries pretty fast and it’s not toxic,” Archambault said.
Fun fact: Archambault, who still works part-time at the Wild Rover in Manchester, also won Best Waitress for Manchester (see page 28). As with the rest of our winners in all categories other than “Best thing we forgot to ask about,” that win will be a surprise when she reads about it here.
Best of 2017: Best Makeup Artist
Best of 2017: Best Makeup Artist
Jaci Lee, 5 Diamond Salon, Manchester
Written By Angie Sykeny (asykeny@hippopress.com)
Images: Courtesy Photo
Jaci Lee has had a fascination with makeup for as long as she can remember. As a young child, she would watch with tenacious curiosity as her grandmother put on makeup, wondering why she opened her mouth while applying mascara and smiled a big smile while sweeping on blush.
When it came time for her first year of high school, Lee set out to explore the world of makeup and start answering some of those questions for herself.
“I would just sit in my room and do my own makeup and play around with different looks,” she said. “There wasn’t access to all the makeup tutorials online like there is today, so I just expressed myself however it felt right, and over the years, I started to get more artistic with it.”
After high school, she got a job at a beauty salon in Manchester, where she started her apprenticeship program toward earning her cosmetology license. After a couple years there, one of the stylists Lee had worked with in the past invited Lee to be part of her team at 5 Diamond Salon, a new salon she was opening in Manchester. Lee agreed and made the move, completing her apprenticeship at 5 Diamond shortly after.
Now in her third year at the salon, Lee fills a variety of roles, including working the front desk, assisting other stylists, tending to her own clients and going with the salon owner to do hair and makeup at off-site photo shoots a couple times a week.
Lee works with all kinds of clients, from brides and bridal parties to working professionals and regulars who come in for a simple face of makeup or quick false eyelash application before a special event or fancy night out.
When she meets with a client, the first thing Lee does is look at their skin type, skin undertones and eye color and talk with them about what type of makeup they use at home, what outfit they’ll be wearing and what kinds of colors and styles they’re open to.
Her signature technique, she said, is centered around skin with a clean, no-makeup look and eyes with dramatic eyelashes that make the eyes pop.
“I know contouring is a huge trend right now, but I really like to keep the focus on the eyes and make them stand out as much as possible while keeping the skin more natural and dewy looking,” Lee said.
While she enjoys doing regular beauty makeup, Lee said her favorite kind of work is doing hair and makeup for photo shoots of fashion models from Boston.
“I love to do those editorial looks, like the type you would see on the cover of a magazine,” she said. “It’s a lot different from beauty makeup, because you can get really artsy with different colors and shapes and create abstract looks.”
Lee is currently expanding her skill set by learning how to do eyelash extensions and airbrush makeup.
As for winning the “Best” title as Best Makeup Artist in the Hippo Best of’s Best Thing We Forgot to Ask About category, Lee said she never saw it coming but is touched by the support of all those who voted for her.
“I think people can see how passionate I am about [doing makeup] and how much I love what I do,” she said. “It’s pretty surprising, to be honest, but so awesome.”
In The Pipeline
In The Pipeline
New Hampshire Indoor Scottish Festival Returns
Written By Matt Ingersol (listings@hippopress.com)
Images: Courtesy Photo
Bagpiping and drumming competitions, Highland dancing and fiddling will take over Nashua High School South for the 17th annual New Hampshire Indoor Scottish Festival.
The festival is happening on Saturday, April 1, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will feature ongoing activities all day as a way to celebrate Scottish culture. The deadlines to enter in the competitions have passed, but general admission to listen in on performances, visit with vendors and participate in instrument and dance tryouts will still be available at the door.
“[The festival] is very community-oriented, so we encourage kids and families of all ages to come, and especially anyone interested in learning about Scottish culture,” said Pat
Edwards, a board member of Scottish Arts, which sponsors the event each year.
Ongoing festivities will be taking place throughout the day in several areas of the school, including the cafeteria and several of the classrooms.
“The fun thing is you’ll walk down the halls of the high school and hear drums or pipes in every corner of the building as the band’s warming up,” Edwards said. “There will be plenty of seating in each of the classrooms as well for people who want to listen.”
Edwards said the Scottish Arts group is also associated with the New Hampshire School of Scottish Arts, which teaches all things Celtic, including bagpiping, pipe drumming and ceilidh dancing. Music students at the school will be performing in some of the competitions, and amateur-level performances will be held as well. She said performers are of all ages and from several other states in addition to New Hampshire. Among the performers will be the New Bedford, Mass.-based Stuart Highlanders, a competitive pipe band with more than 80 members that has appeared at events worldwide since 1964.
More than a dozen New England and Northeast-based vendors selling Celtic-themed jewelry, scarves, kilts and more are expected to attend, including Kiltmaker Judith Sullivan of Keene, Celt Wares, Class Act Imports and Designs by Design.
The Salem-based St. Andrews Society of New Hampshire, a nonprofit that provides scholarships to students pursuing endeavors in Scottish performing arts, will also be on site at the festival to answer visitors’ questions about Scottish heritage in the Granite State, and lunch will be available for purchase.
New to this year’s festival will be opportunities to try out several instruments and dances for participants of all ages, Edwards said.
“We wanted to let people try a little beginner class with a fiddle or drums or ceilidh dance, as a way to make [the festival] more interactive,” she said.
The fiddle workshops and jam sessions, features that were introduced to the festival for the first time last year, are returning. Registration for a small fee is required, but the jam session is free and included with admission. Both are open to competitors and non-competitors.
The festival has grown over the years to attract several hundred visitors and more than 15 different bagpipe bands and competitors.
“People of all cultures and who play all different types of instruments … are welcome to come and find out what we do,” Edwards said.
New Hampshire Indoor Scottish Festival
When: Saturday, April 1, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: Nashua High School South, 36 Riverside St., Nashua
Cost: $10 general admission, $5 for kids 12 and under
Visit: nhssa.org
Fiddle Families
Fiddle Families
Ensemble Performs at Dealership, Town Hall, Opera House
Written By Kelly Sennott (ksennott@hippopress.com)
Images: Courtesy Photo
Henry Ford loved fiddling so much, he held fiddle contests at his dealerships in the 1920s.
New Hampshire Fiddle Ensemble founder Ellen Carlson has a photo of her great-grandfather that her family suspects was taken at one of these competitions; it gave her an idea for an upcoming concert.
“I got to thinking it would be fun to have our ensemble do a show at a car dealership,” said Carlson, who started the group eight years ago to encourage music in New Hampshire.
“Henry Ford’s idea was to promote fiddling, and that’s the same thing I’m trying to do, just in a different way.”
Carlson partnered with Amanda Grappone Osmer, a banjo player and owner of Grappone Toyota, for a concert at the Bow dealership last spring. Cars disappeared from the showroom and made way for fiddlers and more than 100 audience members. It went over so well, they’re partnering again in 2017 for the group’s spring performance series.
New Hampshire shows occur Saturday, April 1, at Grappone Toyota; Saturday, April 8, at Exeter Town Hall; and Sunday, April 9, at the Franklin Opera House. All proceeds go to charities, including the New Hampshire Children’s Trust, the Franklin Opera House and the Maine Irish Heritage Center.
The ensemble comprises 80-plus players of all abilities, ages 5 to 85. They’ll play a variety of genres, including country, bluegrass and folk, plus music with mariachi, Canadian, Scottish and Irish origins. Rehearsals occur every other week starting in November, though some practice remotely with help from Carlson’s fast and slow fiddle recordings, which they must learn by heart.
“The hardest thing for people in the ensemble is that there are no music stands on stage; you just have to memorize it,” said Carlson.
This way, fiddlers can connect with audiences and react to their responses.
“That kind of back-and-forth is great at a show,” she said.
Carlson’s goal in forming the ensemble was to create a way for people to learn different styles and play with other fiddlers.
“They’re standing there with 80 other people, so it’s a little more comforting,” Carlson said. “There’s a lot of fiddling in New Hampshire and New England. A lot of people think it’s just contra and Irish dancing, but fiddling is involved in so many different styles of music. … They get to experiment and see what they like.”
Within the group are a handful of families — like Paul and Valerie Smith, and their daughters Audrey and Shelby Smith, who live in Lee. The girls have played in the ensemble five years, their parents about two. The family likes that it offers them an opportunity to work toward something together.
“I think we all enjoy getting together and practicing at home. A few hours go by, and we realize nobody’s been watching TV or on their phones. We’re creating together,” said Valerie Smith, who only began playing a few years ago. “I’m not going to be the best one on stage, but I can still participate. And that’s the beauty of it. Ellen constructed it in such a way that the music as an ensemble is impressive to listen to, but you can learn the tunes and participate even if you don’t have years and years of experience.”
Another ensemble family includes teen siblings Brennan, Declan and Fiona Adams from Concord, who’ve been playing the fiddle since age 3.
“Ellen really puts together a good show with people from all different levels of proficiency. There will be some 60-year-olds who’ve only played for a year and 10-year-olds who’ve been playing for seven years,” Brennan Adams said.
Organizing this massive assemblage of fiddle players is a lot of work, but Carlson perseveres because she believes in music.
“I taught middle school math for a long time. I quit my job eight years ago because I wanted to pursue my passion. I’m a really big believer in thinking the world would be a better place if we all brought music into our lives,” Carlson said.
New Hampshire Fiddle Ensemble
Saturday, April 1: Grappone Toyota, 594 Route 3A, Bow, at 7 p.m., to benefit the NH Children’s Trust
Saturday, April 8: Exeter Town Hall, 10 Front St., Exeter, at 7 p.m., to benefit the NH Children’s Trust
Sunday, April 9: Franklin Opera House, 316 Central St., Franklin, to benefit the Franklin Opera House
Contact: nhchildrenstrust.org, franklinoperahouse.org, fiddleheadscamp.com
Tickets: $12
A Slam Dunk
A Slam Dunk
Record-holding Globetrotters Return to Manchester
Written By Matt Ingersol (listings@hippopress.com)
Images: Stock Photo
You don’t have to follow the Harlem Globetrotters or even be a basketball fan to enjoy their shows, which are filled with acrobatic basketball tricks, comedy skits and more.
The comedic entertainment-oriented basketball team will be stopping at the SNHU Arena on Friday, March 31, as part of its current tour, playing an exhibition game against its traveling opponent, the World All Stars. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.
The Globetrotters are currently playing their 91st consecutive season and have racked up several Guinness World Records for basketball over the years.
“What we do is focus basketball with entertainment,” said Harlem Globetrotters player Orlando “El Gato” Melendez, the first and only Puerto Rican-born player in the team’s history. “We used to play competitively, but [the shows] have sort of evolved into what you see nowadays.”
Globetrotters players use each game to show off acrobatic basketball tricks they rigorously practice, which may include shots from half-court, slam dunks, alley-oop dunks, ball-spinning tricks and more. This is also the first season the Globetrotters are debuting the four-point line shot — behind the traditional NBA free throw line and about 30 feet from the basket — which will be integrated with some of their tricks.
But the shows are about more than acrobatic basketball techniques. Melendez said short family-friendly comedic skits like players pantsing each other in the middle of free throws, chasing the referee around and other mischievous behaviors can also be expected, and you never know what you might see at each individual show.
“The comedy always happens while we’re playing,” Melendez said. “[Players] might even go off the court and interact with people and kids in the stands, so it’s really cool.”
Usually at some point during the show, players will invite kids in the audience to join them on the court for a closer view at some of their tricks, and even to participate in a short activity or shot.
Among the world records some of the current team players hold are the longest basketball hook shot, recorded at 72 feet by Nathaniel “Big Easy” Lofton, the longest basketball shot while blindfolded, recorded at 73 feet by Anthony “Ant” Atkinson, and the most individual basketball slam dunks in one minute, with 16, by Julian “Zeus” McClurkin. The team as a whole has claimed 15 Guinness World Records since the year 2000.
“We’re always open to trying new things. … We’re trying to break the record for the highest shot in North America,” Melendez said. “When I first went to training camp, I didn’t know any of the tricks, but you get together with some of the older players and work on the basic routines to get the flow of things, and you practice and eventually get better.”
This year’s show in Manchester is one of more than 250 planned for the 2017 tour, in more than 30 countries worldwide. Melendez said the team regularly appears at hospitals and charitable events with other organizations.
“We really enjoy building experiences that people can share from generation to generation, from bringing their kids, to their grandchildren, and even in some cases their great-grandchildren,” Melendez said.
Harlem Globetrotters
When: Friday, March 31, 7 p.m.
Where: SNHU Arena, 555 Elm St., Manchester
Cost: Tickets start at $23.50
Visit: harlemglobetrotters.com
Mixing It Up
Mixing It Up
Apothecary-Inspired Cafe Opens in Manchester
Written By Angie Sykeny (asykeny@hippopress.com)
Images: Courtesy Photo
Snake oil smoothies, beans-and-leaves elixirs and Dr. Tom E’s juice tonics are a few of the things you’ll find on the menu at Restoration Cafe, a new apothecary-inspired restaurant in downtown Manchester.
After closing his Elm Street restaurant Z Food & Drink a few years ago, Chef Tom Puskarich wanted his next venture to be a greater reflection of his own culinary tastes.
“I’ve always been interested in the healthy aspects of food and making different juices, smoothies, fresh salads,” he said. “I started thinking about the old pharmacies of the 1890s and the days when everyone had their own little healthy concoctions, and I wanted to bring that idea into a modern place, like an homage to another time.”
Puskarich opened Restoration in December on the ground floor of The Flats at Hanover Commons, where it has become a community center of sorts for residents of the Elm Grove micro-living concept apartments in the building. But the cafe has remained relatively under the radar to the general public, and Puskarich is hoping to change that with a grand opening event on Saturday, April 1, which will feature samples of various menu items plus samples from some of the local businesses that the restaurant sources from.
“My way here is clean food for real people, not trendy but on trend, approachable,” Puskarich said. “I wanted to have food with a healthy slant to it but still make something that tastes good.”
The menu features “beans-and-leaves elixirs”; local coffees and teas, including nitro and cold brew coffee; cold-pressed “Dr. Tom E’s juice tonics” like the Relax juice, made with pineapple, papaya, cucumber, ginger and coconut water; and all-natural “snake oil smoothies” such as the MauxMaux, made with almond milk, baby kale, banana, peanut butter, cinnamon and agave. There are also add-ins for the smoothies, including spirulina, hemp protein, flaxseed and yogurt.
For food items, there are breakfast bowls like a PB & J bowl and a Thai bowl; egg sandwiches; soups; lunch sandwiches like the Cuban pork loin and the curried chicken salad; and greens-and-grains selections like sesame noodle lettuce wraps and a chicken and egg quinoa bowl.
Restoration seats 40 people inside with wooden high-top tables and a lounge area with a couch and chairs, and it seats another 40 seasonally on its outdoor patio.
It’s currently open weekdays for breakfast and lunch and Saturday for brunch, but after the open house, hours will be extended and Sunday brunch will also be served. The plan, Puskarich said, is to expand into dinner service with tapas and small plates by May 1, and to introduce a new beverage menu with Manchester area craft beer brands like Great North Aleworks and Able Ebenezer, and apothecary-inspired cocktails crafted with cold-pressed juices and New Hampshire-distilled liquors like Djinn and Sea Hagg.
“If you look at the ingredients for the old apothecary potions and brews and snake oils, it’s like, ‘a little of this, a little of that,’” Puskarich said. “You could make an argument that some of the people making those things were 19th-century versions of today’s bartenders.”
Story Gems
Story Gems
Pulitzer Prize-Winner Anthony Doerr Visits Portsmouth
Written By Kelly Sennott (ksennott@hippopress.com)
Images: Courtesy Photo
It’s been three years since the release of Anthony Doerr’s Pulitzer Prize-winning All the Light We Cannot See, but the Idaho writer is still on the ride, about to head out on a month-long tour promoting the paperback version. One of his first stops is at The Music Hall April 9, part of its Writers on a New England stage series.
The book weaves together stories about two teenagers — a blind French girl named Marie-Laure LeBlanc and a German soldier and radio genius named Werner Pfennig — during World War II. Since its 2015 Pulitzer win, Doerr’s schedule has become busier, and his home has seen more unexpected visitors, but many things haven’t changed. Writing remains hard and uncertain. His kids still haven’t realized how cool he is.
“They’d think I was [cooler] if I could slam dunk or get LeBron James to come over. I’m their dad. I drive them around to see their friends,” Doerr said, laughing, via phone last week.
But every so often, he’s overwhelmed by the support; he referenced a book festival he attended in Saint-Malo, France, where the book is set.
“That was an extremely emotional experience. The mayor gave me this medal on the roof of the château of Saint-Malo, and people would come up to me who had an uncle or great-uncle or aunt who died in the war. Meeting these people was really, really emotional. For them, it was not just history — it was memory,” Doerr said.
All the Light We Cannot See was a massive project, requiring much research, detail and planning. During the 10 years he worked on it, he published three other books — About Grace, Four Seasons in Rome and Memory Wall. Even on the most challenging days, something kept him going.
“There is usually some seed, some gem at the core of the project that’s fascinating for me. For All the Light, radio was my fascination. Radio and its power as a technology, and thinking about how these new technologies — like YouTube, Twitter and Instagram — are being used. That idea, that fascination never goes away,” he said. “In this case, it was a historical novel, but you know it’s relevant somehow when you see Trump the candidate using Twitter, sometimes extremely effectively, and so the way people used radio during the war will seem relevant.”
Doerr is looking forward to his New Hampshire visit. His wife grew up in North Hampton, and he joked that he used to visit the state to buy tax-free beer as an undergraduate at Bowdoin College. He’s not quite sure what his presentation will look like; sometimes, after he’s answered questions about the book, he’ll speak on subjects like the importance of reading.
His family recently participated in the “Read 4 Refugees” campaign, encouraging participants to stay in and read, donating the money you would have spent on dinner to RefugePoint. (He read Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar; his wife read The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by the Dalai Lama; and his sons were all about Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson and The Dog Stars by Peter Heller.)
Another project is underway, but Doerr wouldn’t talk much on it.
“You never really know until it’s done if it’s going to work! So you’re filled with doubt. I’m anxious all the time thinking about the projects, because I’m never sure it’s not going to cave in. You could spend two to three years on a project, and it could just kind of melt in your hand,” he said.