TedxCambridge at the Boston Opera House- Tickets On Sale!

I think it’s safe to say that most people have heard of TED conferences and TED talks, and have watched at least one (or more!) YouTube videos of a speaker’s presentation. I love the idea behind gathering a wide array of society’s current thinkers and do-ers, and offering them space and time on a stage to present their ideas. Given a time constraint (typically less than 18 minutes), the speakers condense their thoughts into the most relevant, most concise, and often most entertaining form possible.

TEDxCambridge is happening at the Boston Opera House in Boston, MA on Thursday, May 3rd at 7:00pm. Tickets are now on sale through the TEDxCambridge website: http://www.tedxcambridge.com/ (FYI- If you go to the Boston Opera House official website, it looks like you can’t buy tickets yet, but if you click on the “Coming Soon” button it redirects you to the TEDxCambridge website, where tickets are available)

Do you know what TED stands for? It’s Technology, Entertainment, and Design. The first TED conference was held in 1984, and featured up and coming ideas such as the compact disc, the ebook, and 3D graphics from Lucasfilm. The event wasn’t as successful as the organizer’s had hoped, and they didn’t run another TED conference until 1990. This time the idea took off, and became a yearly conference held in Monterrey, California. In 2006, realizing the power and global reach of the internet, the first six TED talks ever were posted online. In three months, they’d reached more than one million views. In 2008, TED reorganized their website to meet the growing demand for access to the videos of TED talks. By 2009, the number of views on TED talks had grown to 100 million.

In case you’re curious, here’s the link to the TED website and the first six TED talks: https://www.ted.com/playlists/168/the_first_6_ted_talks_ever

2009 was the year the organizers launched TEDx , opening up the program to  local, independently organized events. The TEDxCambridge evening is one of these events! Follow this link to the TEDxCambridge website to see information about the speakers for this year’s event: http://www.tedxcambridge.com/speakers/

Speaking at the 2018 TEDxCambridge are: Andrea Lauer, Symbiotic Designer; Andrew McAfee, Digital Economist; Erez Yoeli, Behavioral Scientist; Joel Salinas, Sensory Neurologist; Lisa Feldman Barrett, Cognitive Psychologist; Sebastian Buckup, Global Convener; and Tony Luciani, Documentary Caregiver. In addition to these seven diverse presenters, the TEDxCambridge audience will also be entertained by a performance by the Boston Ballet! All in all it sounds like an incredible evening, and excellent seats are still available!

Here are a few of my favorite TED talks…

 

 

Better Off Dead at Cinemagic Hooksett

Most people of a certain age will instantly recognize the movie quote, “I want my two dollars!” It brings back recollections of madcap teen comedies filled with the likes of Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, and of course John Cusack. Don’t miss your chance to take a stroll down memory lane this Thursday, April 5 when Cinemagic in Hooksett, NH holds a screening of Better Off Dead!

Don’t remember the iconic quote? Need to refresh your memory? Is it possible you’ve never seen the movie?!? Check out the trailer:

Better Off Dead was released in October of 1985, which means it will be 33 years old this fall. Want to see if the laughs you remember still hold up? Tickets are available online now! The movie starts at 8:00 pm, and tickets are $8.75 each. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to: http://www.cinemagicmovies.com/movie/27708/Better-Off-Dead

Did you know the Cinemagic in Hooksett hosts a Cult Classics movie every month? The lineup for the remainder of 2018 is as follows:
. April 5th – Better Off Dead
. May 3rd – The Last Starfighter
. June 7th – The Burbs
. July 5th – Last Unicorn
. August 2nd – Commando
. August 2nd – Total Recall
. September 6th – Time Bandits
. October 4th – Dead Alive
. November 1st – Ninja Scroll
. December 6th – Excalibur

I have to say I’m excited about the idea of seeing The Last Unicorn on the big screen again! I saw it with Townie #2 a few years ago when Red River Theatres in Concord, NH hosted The Last Unicorn author Peter Beagle for a special screening. It was an honor to meet him!

I also have to say that seeing Excalibur on the big screen would be pretty awesome. What future Cult Classic movies are you excited about seeing?

Zimmerman House Advance Tickets Now On Sale!

Tucked away in a residential area in the north end of Manchester, NH lies the architectural gem known as the Zimmerman House. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the home was built in 1950 and is the only Wright designed building open to the public in New England. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Tours of the Zimmerman house are managed by the Currier Museum of Art, and advance ticket sales are now open! Public tours begin on Monday, April 16th.  Tours are offered through the week except on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. All tours begin at the Currier Museum on Ash Street in Manchester, and visitors are transported to the Zimmerman house by van.

Things to keep in mind: Children under 7 are not permitted. Comfortable walking shoes are suggested. There is no bathroom on site at the Zimmerman house, but bathrooms are available at the Currier Museum Art. The tour of the house is approximately 90 minutes. Photography is only allowed of the exterior of the house.

Visit the Currier’s page about the Zimmerman house for more information and to reserve your tickets! http://currier.org/education-programs/zimmerman-house-tours/

On the web page you’ll also find information on Zimmerman House Focus Tours, as well as Twilight Tours. Both of these special tour options are also open for reservations. I know personally I’d love to go on one of the twilight tours, as well as the September 15th Behind the Scenes of the Restoration of the Zimmerman House tour!

 

 

Getting Ready to Find Culinary Bliss at The Lost Kitchen

This past fall I heard about Freedom, Maine’s unique restaurant, The Lost Kitchen. Reservations here are harder to get than tickets to Hamilton! No joke. Chef Erin French has been wowing patrons at her 40 seat establishment in an old grist mill for a few years now. Her restaurant is only open 4 nights a week from May through New Year’s eve; when reservations opened on April 1st, 2017 for the season, she booked all her spots for the entire season on the very first day! She’s gotten some excellent press in the last year from the likes of Food & Wine, The New York Times, and Martha Stewart, adding to the fervor to experience her culinary artistry.

With last year’s crazy reservation process lingering in her mind, Erin French chose to go a little more old-school for reservations this year. Want to dine at The Lost Kitchen in 2018? Find a notecard,  envelope, and a stamp, because reservations are accepted BY MAIL ONLY!

I find the new process utterly charming and perfectly fitting for everything she’s made The Lost Kitchen out to be. It fits. I’m planning on sending my card off to Maine at the designated time, crossing my fingers, and hoping I get a call to schedule a reservation.

(Photos from The Lost Kitchen website and Instagram page)

Want to know more about Erin and what makes The Lost Kitchen so special? Check out the following articles about TLK:

http://www.foodandwine.com/blogs/heartbreaking-story-behind-lost-kitchen-incredible-new-restaurant-freedom-maine

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/01/dining/the-lost-kitchen-maine-erin-french.html

https://www.themainemag.com/eat/the-lost-kitchen/

http://www.themarthablog.com/2017/09/a-visit-to-the-lost-kitchen-in-freedom-maine.html

Now, most importantly, you want to know how to send in a postcard for yourself, right? Read all the details in the PDF. Go to The Lost Kitchen‘s Website, and click on 2018 reservations. https://www.findthelostkitchen.com/

Then simply download the PDF file you’ll see in the bottom left corner of your screen. “TLK 2018 Reservation Process” All the details are there! It’s a five page document, so make sure you read through it carefully. The most important thing to note is that cards will only be accepted from April 1 through April 10. Don’t mail it early! Cards postmarked prior to March 31st will be rejected.

Good luck to all my foodie friends out there! I hope you have a chance to find culinary bliss at The Lost Kitchen this season in Maine!

And just in case you don’t end up being one of the lucky chosen ones who gets to experience The Lost Kitchen this season, Erin French now has a cookbook out! You can purchase a signed copy of “The Lost Kitchen: Recipes and a Good Life Found in Freedom, Maine” right from her website. It’s filled with sumptuous, beautiful recipes lovingly curated from Erin’s own kitchen.

Ticket Alert: The Cashore Marionettes – Simple Gifts at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord, NH

The Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord, NH offers a special concert series every year called the William H. Gile Concert Series. This series opened on December 16, 1960, after a legacy of more than $700,000 was left by Helen B. Gile to finance a free concerts for the residents of Concord. The bequest was made in memory of Miss Gile’s father, William H. Gile.

In the past few years I’ve been lucky enough to take Townies 1, 2, & 3 to see free performances of The Pirates of Penzance and a ballet performance of Cinderella. There’s usually at least one Gile Series performance a year that is family friendly! On Tuesday April 10th, 2018 at 7:00pm, the latest Giles series concert will be The Cashore Marionettes – Simple Gifts. From the Capitol Center for the Arts website:

Simple Gifts is a series of touching portrayals and poignant scenes from everyday life set to stunning music by such composers as Vivaldi, Strauss, Beethoven and Copland. Through a combination of virtuoso manipulation, beautiful music, theatrical illusion, and artistic insight, the original vignettes presented in Simple Gifts provide an entertaining and sensitive vision of what it is to be human. The performance explores a range of emotions with characters and actions that are amazingly convincing. The marionettes are engineering marvels and the quality of movement is extraordinary.

Tickets to this performance will be available online on Tuesday March 13th at 11:00am. Tickets are FREE, and there is a 4 ticket per person limit.  You do not have to be a resident of Concord, NH to attend. Make sure to mark you calendar and be logged in on the CCANH website ready to get your tickets, because the Gile Concert Series tickets can go FAST!

If you aren’t able to get tickets before the show “sells out”, check back with the Capitol Center for the Arts in the weeks leading up to the show. People’s plans often change, and tickets may become available.

For more information and to see what else is upcoming at the Capitol Center for the Arts, see their website at: www.ccanh.com

Information about the William H. Gile series can be found under Shows and Tickets/Community Events/Gile Series.  The next Gile Series Concert after the Cashore Marionettes is Tom Rush on May 20th. Those tickets will be available on April 23rd at 11:00am.

Chris Bohjalian at Gibson’s Bookstore

I’ve been a fan of Chris Bohjalian for years. I love the way he weaves a story together with characters so real that you could imagine bumping into them at the grocery store (or maybe General Store is a better reference, since many of his novels take place in small town New England!)

You can bump into Chris Bohjalian yourself when he visits Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord, NH on Friday, March 16th at 7:00 PM to promote his latest novel, “The Flight Attendant”. Here’s a teaser about the novel, from its publisher, Doubleday:

Cassandra Bowden is no stranger to hungover mornings. She’s a binge drinker, her job with the airline making it easy to find adventure, and the occasional blackouts seem to be inevitable. She lives with them, and the accompanying self-loathing. When she awakes in a Dubai hotel room, she tries to piece the previous night back together, counting the minutes until she has to catch her crew shuttle to the airport. She quietly slides out of bed, careful not to aggravate her already pounding head, and looks at the man she spent the night with. She sees his dark hair. His utter stillness. And blood, a slick, still wet pool on the crisp white sheets. Afraid to call the police – she’s a single woman alone in a hotel room far from home – Cassie begins to lie. She lies as she joins the other flight attendants and pilots in the van. She lies on the way to Paris as she works the first class cabin. She lies to the FBI agents in New York who meet her at the gate. Soon it’s too late to come clean-or face the truth about what really happened back in Dubai. Could she have killed him? If not, who did? Set amid the captivating world of those whose lives unfold at forty thousand feet, The Flight Attendant unveils a spellbinding story of memory, of the giddy pleasures of alcohol and the devastating consequences of addiction, and of murder far from home.

This one sounds like a provocative ride!  I hope it brings the same levels of suspense and excitement found in his last novel, “The Sleepwalker”. I’m loath to admit that I didn’t really love “Close Your Eyes Hold Hands”, or “The Guest Room”, the two novels he published prior to “The Sleepwalker”, since I’ve loved so many of his other novels (as in, ALL the other books by him I’ve read!). I felt like Bohjalian hit a storytelling win with “The Sleepwalker”, and I’m anticipating this new novel, “The Flight Attendant” will continue the winning streak.

Gibson’s Bookstore does a fabulous job with author events. I’m delighted to go to Concord next Friday, hear Chris Bohjalian speak, and have a chance to meet him as well! For more information, or to pre-order a copy of “The Flight Attendant”, visit Gibson’s Bookstore’s website at: http://www.gibsonsbookstore.com/event/the-flight-attendant

One final note: If you’ve ever wondered how to pronounce Bohjalian, you can listen to the short clip on this website where Chris Bohjalian himself explains it! https://www.teachingbooks.net/pronounce.cgi?aid=20658

NH Institute of Art Bowl Sale

The Ceramics Department of the New Hampshire Institute of Art in Manchester, NH holds a Bowl Sale every year. This event is a fundraiser for the department, and funds raised this year will go towards a student trip to the 2018 National Council on Educations for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) Conference.  All bowls are $20 each; the bowls are handcrafted by NHIA students and faculty.

I managed to make it there on Tuesday afternoon and was excited to see the variety of beautiful crafted bowls available for purchase! This event was originally scheduled to be held on Tuesday through Thursday of this week, but the snowstorm forced the school to cancel Wednesday and Thursdays sale dates.  If you missed the chance to get there on Tuesday, NHIA is opening the bowl sale all day on Friday, March 9th. The sale will take place from 8:30am – 5:00pm at 77 Amherst Street in Manchester, NH.

Scroll below to check out the beautiful bowl I picked up! The students on hand staffing the sale told me this bowl was made by one of their faculty members, and in their opinion it was a STEAL at $20. It’s really lovely and I’m so glad I took the time to go. I think these would make great birthday/hostess/holiday gifts. I’ll definitely be marking my calendar and going next year as well!

 

 

Boston Flower Show 2018

March can be a tough month; we’ve started to taste some milder weather, but in reality Winter still has us in its grasp. This is the perfect time to be dreaming of sunny warm days and green growing things. What better way to fulfill the desire for dreams of springtime warmth than by visiting the Boston Flower Show! It’s been a few years since I’ve been myself and I’m looking forward to attending again (the photos I shared here are from 2015).

The Boston Flower Show takes place every year in the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston, MA. This year’s show is happening from Wednesday, March 14th through Sunday, March 18th. The hours of operation are as follows:

Wednesday, March 14: 10:00AM-8:00PM
Thursday, March 15: 10:00AM-8:00PM
Friday, March 16: 10:00AM-9:00PM
Saturday, March 17: 10:00AM-9:00PM
Sunday, March 18: 10:00AM-6:00PM

The Box Office closes one hour prior to the end of the Show each day. The best hours to attend the Show for ease of parking and smaller crowds is in the late afternoon and early evening. (And in fact, you can get $5 off your admission if you attend after 5:00 pm on any day of the show!- see the tickets page for more info.)

If you aren’t interested or able to attend after 5:00 pm, you can still get a $2 discount on admission by using the promo code FLOWER18. This discount code is only valid through 3/13.

There’s a little something for everyone at the Flower Show. You can get inspiration for your garden plantings, landscape design,  and edible gardens; as well as experiencing some fabulous examples of floral arrangements. There are numerous vendors on site selling everything from Adirondack chairs to felted floral hats and everything in between. There are concession stands with food available for purchase, but you are also allowed to bring your own drinks and snacks, if desired.

For more information about the show including directions, parking, and to purchase tickets, visit the Boston Flower Show website at: http://bostonflowershow.com/

Two Studio Ghibli Films at Red River Theatres!

Are you a Miyazaki fan? Red River Theatres in Concord, NH is holding  screenings of the classic Studio Ghibli films, My Neighbor Totoro and Howl’s Moving Castle. Both movies will be shown in the month of March. These make the 3rd and 4th Studio Ghibli movies that Red River Theatres has shown; they’ve previously had screenings of Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke.  I hope they continue showing more of the Studio Ghibli canon!

My Neighbor Totoro will be shown on Saturday, March 10th at 10:00am. http://www.redrivertheatres.org/2018/02/my-neighbor-totoro/
This screening will be the dubbed English version. Fun for the whole family!

Howl’s Moving Castle will be shown on Thursday, March 29th at 7:00pm http://www.redrivertheatres.org/2018/02/howls-moving-castle/
This screening will be the Japanese version with English subtitles.

It’s not unheard of for these screenings to sell out, so if you’re interested in attending I’d recommend purchasing your tickets online ahead of time.

Last year Townie #2 and I attended the screening of Princess Mononoke at Red River Theatres. Going to special movie events there is always tons of fun! They welcome and encourage moviegoers to dress in costume for the show, so plan ahead. For Princess Mononoke Red River Theaters suggested folks come dressed as their favorite Miyazaki characters- we dressed as Totoro and Mei and won movie passes for our efforts! We may have to break out these costumes again!

(These outfits brought to you by my trusty hot glue gun!)

Special Event: Winter Olympics Opening Ceremonies Watch Party at Red River Theatres!

Red River Theatres in Concord, NH is holding an Opening Ceremonies Watch Party on Friday February 9th at 8:30 am. This event is free and open to the public!

From RRT’s website:
On February 9th, at 8:30 AM, Red River Theatres and the World Affairs Council of New Hampshire invite you to join us for the opening ceremonies for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Celebrate the event with friends and sports enthusiasts as we watch the world come together through the love of sport. Whether you can come for fifteen minutes or stay for the whole ceremony it will be a great sight to see the ceremonies on the big screen! Light refreshments will be available for those who attend.

For more information see Red River Theatres’ event page at:
http://www.redrivertheatres.org/2018/01/opening-ceremonies-watch-party/

Fore more information about the 2018 Winter Olympics, see:
https://www.pyeongchang2018.com/en/index