Good Pickin's - Seacoast Scene - 5/30/2024

MAy 30 - JuNE 5, 2024 vol 49 No 2

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Editorial Staff

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Micheal Witthaus editor@seacoastscene.net

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Contributors

Matt Ingersoll, Betty gagne, Curt Mackail, Amy Diaz, Jennifer graham,

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4 Find the best pickin’s on the Seacoast, from berries to peaches people & places

11 Healthy spot opens in Portsmouth food

16 Chowder Festival has returned pop culture

19 What’s coming in theater; plus books and Amy Diaz movie review Nite life

23 Allman Brothers celebration; plus live music, comedy and more beach bum fuN

27 Puzzles, horoscopes and crazy news

Finding Fresh Fruit on the seacoast Good Pickin s

By Curt Mackail

Strawberries are America’s most popular berry by a large margin. According to the Department of Agriculture, we consume about 10 pounds of strawberries per capita each year, adding up to some three billion pounds or more. Almost all of this fruit is grown in California and Florida and trucked to supermarkets here and around the country, USDA says. Second in amount of berries consumed are cranberries. Blueberries rank the third most popular. Blackberries, raspberries and other berries trail in amount consumed by a large margin.

In the Seacoast, strawberries are the first fruit to ripen in backyard gardens and farm fields. Beginning in June, with a season extending about a month, the fresh strawberry crop seems to come and go quickly. If you’re a strawberry lover you know that the fresher the better, and you’d better get some before they’re gone.

The sure-fire way to get the freshest berries is to visit a pick-your-own farm. Berry picking can be a fun, healthful and

educational activity for everyone. If you plan on a PYO berry excursion, it’s best to contact the grower in advance. Some growers require reservations due to high demand. You may also ask if the PYO fields meet your accessibility needs.

Strawberries and more at Amesbury’s Cider Hill Farm festival

The big Cider Hill Farm Strawberry Festival is scheduled for June 15 and June 16 at the farm’s Amesbury location, 45 Fern Avenue, off state Route 150 about a mile south of the New Hampshire border and 1.5 miles north of the city center.

The annual event features PYO strawberries (of course), family-friendly activities, hayrides, food trucks, free live music and an outdoor bar with hard cider made at the farm’s mill. You may also enter to win the Biggest Berry Contest. Bring your biggest berry to the farm store for judging. Winners will be announced on social media (facebook.com/ciderhillfarm01913) and by personal email.

In the farm store you may purchase quarts of pre-picked berries, biscuits, whipped cream, strawberry jam and other farm products. A strawberry selfie picture station and strawberry scavenger hunt are planned. At the strawberry shortcake stand you’ll find strawberry lemonade slush, snacks and homemade strawberry shortcake.

For kids, a variety of games and activities will be available including a giant sandbox, Farmer Glenn’s Trike Yard (with tricycles provided), and horse swings made from recycled tires. In the barnyard you can feed Cider Hill’s clucking flock of some 600 hens and meet the lovable goats. Free lawn games like cornhole will also add to the fun.

Food trucks by Seacoast Street Eats and The Hungry Nomads will pop up to complement the farm’s own Pitchfork truck with a wide variety of lunch selections and refreshments.

A visit to Cider Hill Farm also gives

you a chance to see its extensive solar and windmill power system and other innovative environmental conservation techniques.

“Environmental stewardship is central to the farm’s operations,” say Karen and Glenn Cook, the second generation of the Cook family to operate the farm.

“This is 40-plus years in the works, but we’re approaching 90 percent self-generated electricity for the farm and its five homes. In addition to our wind turbines, we create our own power from a 840-panel voltaic solar system,” the Cooks said.

Note that dates and scheduled times for the festival may change because of weather and fruit readiness. Call 978388-5525 for up-to-date information.

Admission and parking for the strawberry festival are free. Berry picking is charged by the quantity you pick. Advance registration and purchase of a picking pass is recommended. The farm’s seasonal festivals frequently sell out, but you can guarantee your spot by registering in advance. Pets aren’t allowed because of state regulations and alcohol may not be brought onto the site. For pricing and FAQs visit ciderhill.com/ pick-your-own.

Local farms versus the competition

Although strawberry acreage isn’t large in the Northeast according to the USDA, the crop is important to diversified vegetable and berry farms in the Seacoast for the revenue it provides at the start of the summer season. When you go berry picking you’re helping support local agriculture and pretty much assured of the highest quality product.

Still, the huge commercial growers dwarf the production of local farms. About 90 percent of all strawberries grown each year come from specialized farms in California. Florida runs a close second, leading in strawberries we find in the supermarkets during our winter, according to the USDA’s agricultural marketing service.

In one sense, local farmers don’t really compete with huge commodity growers because the price and availability scale is tipped grossly in favor of big agriculture. When some consumers ask why the price of local farm’s fruit is so high, some farmers say the question should be why is the price of supermarket fruit so low.

History of the strawberry

The Cornell University agricultural extension service notes, “Not that long ago commercial strawberry production didn’t even exist. True, the Roman poets Virgil and Ovid did mention the strawberry way back in the first century A.D., but they referenced it as an ornamental, not as food. Wild strawberries have been eaten by people around the world since ancient times, but not in large quantities because the fruits were small, tough and lacked flavor.”

The University of New Hampshire extension service agrees that the cul-

Quick and easy way to remove strawberry stems

Removing the strawberry stem stem by coring a few with a paring knife works well for a small batch, but if you’re preparing for a crowd or large recipe, stemming takes lots of time and is a chore. But, to easily core strawberries all you need is one tool — a simple drinking straw made from plastic, bamboo or metal.

Rinse the berries and the straw clean, then get started. Hold the strawberry in one hand with the bottom pointing to the side. With the other hand press the straw into the bottom of the strawberry and continue pushing until the straw comes out the top, taking the stem and core with it. If you wish to further clean up the hole you just made, you can use a barbecue skewer or pipe cleaner.

Now your strawberries are easy to use in a variety of recipes, from smoothies to salads and sauces for savory entrees. Because removing the cores affects the structure of the strawberries, wait to core them until shortly before you’ll use them.

Acres of strawberry rows will keep family pickers busy in Amesbury during Cider Hill Farm’s Strawberry Festival, scheduled for June 15 and June 16. Prepacked berries and other farm produce are also available at the farm store. Dozens of activities designed for include free music, a hard cider bar, food truck pop-ups, and a biggest berry contest. Admission and parking is free. Fruit is priced by the quantity picked. Image courtesy Cider Hill Farm.

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tivated strawberry, Fragaria ananassa, is a relative newcomer to agriculture. The varieties grown in most parts of the world today derive from hybrids developed over the past 200 years, UNH extension says.

“In the Northeast and Midwest, a market exists for locally produced strawberries for fresh consumption. In these regions, the focus is typically eating quality, not shelf life or shipping durability. Few farms grow strawberries exclusively — most strawberry growers produce other fruits and vegetables because the strawberry season can be very short,” say authors Kaitlyn Orde and Rebecca Sideman in the Strawberry Production Guide For the Northeast, Midwest, and Eastern Canada, 2nd edition (2023), published by UNH extension.

The first American strawberry variety that was an intentional hybrid, named Hovey, is a forerunner of most modern varieties. It was developed by Charles Hovey, a nurseryman in Cambridge, Mass., in 1834. Next, during 1851, an experimental cross of Hovey and other varieties by James Wilson generated a more productive, firmer and hardier strawberry, and it could be grown on nearly any soil, according to University of Vermont extension service berry specialist Vern Grubinger.

“Wilson changed the strawberry into a major crop grown all across the continent. The strawberry industry soon increased 50-fold, to one hundred thousand acres,” Grubinger wrote in his book, History of the Strawberry

Wild strawberries are delicious too

Wild strawberry plants may be found in Seacoast meadows, woodlands, and even growing in poor soil by the side of

a road. Wild berries are about the size of a pea or even smaller, diminutive compared to horticultural varieties. While foraging, you may have to look closely for the telltale red fruit, tucked in clumps of low-growing green plants. The reward for finding wild strawberries is their very

Berries and your health

A Tufts University study shows that regular intake of berries, as well as apples and tea, may protect against the cognitive decline caused by different forms of dementia including Alzheimer’s disease. in the study, older adults who consumed only small amounts of flavonoid-rich foods — such as berries, apples and tea — were two to four times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias over 20 years compared with people who ate greater quantities of the same food, according to the researchers.

Participants were monitored more than two decades. People who ate foods containing high levels of flavonoids were found less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

Flavonoids are naturally occurring compounds that may neutralize free radicals in your body, reducing damage to cells over time, the study points out.

The exact amount of flavonoids needed to protect against such diseases is still unknown, the researchers said. Three types of flavonoids found in berries (along with apples, pears, green tea, red wine, and onions) are thought to be particularly valuable.

While over-the-counter flavonoid supplements may help, the scientists say there’s no substitute for incorporating flavonoids in your diet through fresh foods. Study participants who experienced the most protection consumed about 7.5 cups of blueberries or strawberries, eight apples or pears, and 20 cups of tea per month.

The Emery Farm in Durham, N.H., last year launched its LocaBerry allied brand of berries and small fruit sold at the farm store. LocaBerry also provides PYO blueberries and peaches. The Emery Farm also grows and markets a wide range of fresh produce along with nursery items for home gardeners. Image courtesy Emery Farm.

sweet taste and fragrant aroma.

Come

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There are actually two closely related wild strawberry species, according to Benjamin Lord, writing in Northern Woodlands magazine. “The common wild strawberry is, as its name suggests, the one you are most likely to find. It grows among the grasses in nitrogen-poor, sunny fields and roadsides. By contrast, the wood strawberry often grows in forested openings. Both species bear an unmistakable resemblance to the cultivated strawberries of the garden but with tiny, almost fairy-size, berries,” Lord says.

Route 1 Antiques

The life cycle of a strawberry, showing stages of development and ripeness, clockwise from the smallest flower bud to a fully ripe, juicy berry ready to enjoy. Image courtesy Saltonstall Farm.

As with the garden variety, wild strawberries are low-growing herbs, usually no more than 6 inches tall, that spread by runners. The juicy, red, seed-covered fruit is prized by foragers going back centuries in our region.

Berry seasons

Route 1 Antiques

3 Great Shops in One Seacoast NH Destination!

“Strawberries were especially important to American Indian tribes living in the eastern regions of the present-day United States. The month of June was known to many tribes as the Strawberry Moon as it was the month when most strawberries began to ripen,” says the Mashantucket Pequot Museum, in Mashantucket, Connecticut.

- Since 1975 -

106 Lafayette Road

Hampton Falls, NH 03844 • (603) 601-2554

www.route1antiques.com

3 Great Shops in One Seacoast NH Destination!

Open Wed-Mon 10am-5pm Closed Tuesdays

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The Collector’s Eye

Open Wed-Mon 10am - 5pm Closed Tuesdays

. Since 1973 .

The Collector’s Eye

Antiques, Collectibles, Gifts

132 Portsmouth Avenue

Stratham, NH (603) 772- 6205

www.collectorseye.com

Open Wed-Mon 10am - 5pm Closed Tuesdays

The Collector’s Eye

Route 1 Antiques

- Since

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Route 1 Antiques

The Old Farmer’s Almanac reports the full Strawberry Moon rises on Friday, June 21. Just after sunset look southeast to watch the moon slowly emerge above the horizon. If the weather offers good visibility the Strawberry Moon will be large and golden, reaching peak illumination at 9:08 p.m.

June-bearing strawberries are the first berry of the warmer summer season in the Seacoast. They’ll be followed, in approximate order, by cherries (late June to mid-July) blueberries (early July to mid-August), and blackberries and raspberries (early August to early September) The local strawberry picking season typically is over by early July although some growers extend the season by raising a variety of what are called day-neutral strawberries. They’re usually grown in plastic mulch under low tunnels, high tunnels, tabletop systems or in greenhouses. You may find this variety of fresh strawberries in local farm stands and farmers markets through the end of

The Collector’s Eye

- Since 1973 -

Strawberry Rhubarb Smoothie with Mint

Brickhouse 76 Gallery of Furniture and Decorative Arts

76 Lafayette Road

Hampton Falls, NH 03844 (603)-926-0366

Antiques, Collectibles, Gifts

When strawberry season reaches its peak, it’s the perfect time to try a healthy strawberry recipe. As good for you as they are delicious, strawberries are low in naturally occurring sugars, packed with fiber and antioxidants, and are an excellent source of vitamin C, the USDA says.

132 Portsmouth Avenue

utes. Additional time: 5 minutes.

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Ingredients

Stratham, NH • (603) 772-6205 www.collectorseye.com

- Since 1975106 Lafayette Road Hampton Falls, NH 03844 • (603) 601-2554 www.route1antiques.com

1 cup fresh strawberries with stems removed

Open Wed-Mon 10am-5pm Closed Tuesdays

The sweet, juicy nature of strawberries makes them a natural choice for beverag-

Historically, strawberries were mashed and mixed with cold water or made into Strawberry Moon tea that was popular in the Northeast. The cold tea was made by combining mashed strawberries, strawberry juice, water and sassafras tea.

1 cup fresh or frozen frozen rhubarb chunks

1 ½ cup unsweetened oat milk (or other unsweetened milk of your choice)

1 Tablespoon honey* or agave nectar

1 Tablespoon lime juice

1 Tablespoon mint leaves

Open Wed-Mon 10am-5pm Closed Tuesdays

The Brickhouse - Opening April 2023 -

Collector’s Eye

Strawberry Rhubarb Smoothie with Mint

Open Thurs, Fri & Sat 11am - 4pm

Whole mint sprigs for serving

*Do not serve smoothies made with honey to infants under one year of age.

76 Lafayette Road Hampton Falls, NH 03844 603-926-0366 Open Fri & Sat 11am-4pm

Strawberries and rhubarb are a classic spring pairing. And you can transform this tried-and-true pie filling into a healthy, delicious smoothie that’s easy to enjoy

Directions

The Collector’s Eye

- Since 1973Antiques, Collectibles, Gifts 132 Portsmouth Avenue Stratham, NH • (603) 772-6205 www.collectorseye.com Open Wed-Mon 10am-5pm Closed Tuesdays

Note: Using frozen rhubarb cuts down on prep and helps to make smoothies thicker and creamier. Using fresh mint gives a brightness to complement the strawberries. 2 smoothies. Prep time: 5 min-

Trim stems from strawberries and rinse thoroughly. Pluck some mint leaves and roughly tear them into small pieces. Combine all ingredients in a blender and buzz until very smooth. If the smoothie is too thick, add extra milk one tablespoon at a time and continue blending until it reaches your desired consistency. Pour into glasses, garnish with a few mint leaves and enjoy. Bonus: Pour this smoothie into popsicle molds and chill in the freezer.

Although not berries, other seasonal fruit includes peaches and nectarines (early August to early September), apples (late August into the fall months) and pumpkins (mid-September to late October).

years. All is organically grown produce including PYO blueberries, small fruit (black raspberries, elderberries, grapes, strawberries), vegetables, hay, mushrooms, grains and oilseed crops. Using draft horse power and low-till soil practices to support a regenerative energy and food system, the family says. Farm store open year-round. Visit tuckawayfarmnh. com. Email tuckawayfarmstore@gmail. com. Telephone 603-988-5065. Wild strawberries can be found naturally growing in the Seacoast in meadows, wooded glades and even in poor soil by the side of the road. Their dainty red fruit are generally sweeter and more aromatic than cultivated cousins from the farm. According to experts, there are no known similar-looking plants that are toxic or pose risks from ingestion. Illustration courtesy northernwoodlands.com.

Where to find fresh berries

Applecrest Farm Orchards, 133 Exeter Road, Hampton Falls, N.H. The oldest and largest orchard in New Hampshire and the oldest continuously operated in the U.S. Offers PYO or prepackaged strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, apples and pumpkins. Field crops available in the farm store. Call or visit the website for up-todate event details, weather notices, and picking conditions. Farm store open daily year-round with a wide variety of groceries including farm-grown produce and apple cider. Restaurant and ice cream stand also on site. Visit applecrest.com or facebook. com/applecrestfarm. Email info@applecrest.com. Telephone 603-926-3721.

Blueberry Bay Farm, 38 Depot Road, Stratham, N.H. A 12-acre PYO farm near Great Bay primarily dedicated to blueberries but some vegetables and herbs are available seasonally. Sells fruit trees, berry bushes and plants. All crops are free of chemicals and not sprayed. Visit blueberrybayfarm.com. Email info@blueberrybayfarm.com. Telephone 603-580-1612.

Cider Hill Farm, 45 Fern Ave. (off Route 150), Amesbury, Mass. (See Cider Hill Strawberry Festival in this article for more farm details.) Named in the top four most beautiful farms worldwide by the Travel Channel, the No. 1 place to go apple picking nationally by Yelp online, and a Seacoast Scene recommended destination in 2021. Visit ciderhill.com. No email contact is listed. Telephone 978-388-5525.

DeMeritt Hill Farm, 20 Orchard Way, Lee, N.H. Grows a variety of PYO fruit and vegetables including apples, peaches, pumpkins, blueberries and nectarines. Farm store with pre-packed farm products is open five days weekly during the harvest season, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Visit demeritthillfarm.com. Email info@demeritthillfarm.com. Telephone 603-868-2111.

Emery Farm, 147 Piscataqua Road, Durham, N.H. Seasonal produce, fruit

and other locally sourced products, plus a garden center with starter plants, annuals, and perennials. Through its allied Locaberry business, PYO and prepackaged strawberries, blueberries and peaches are also featured. Full-service cafe on site. Visit www.emeryfarm.com. Email info@ emeryfarm.com. Telephone 603-742-8495.

Saltbox Farm, 321 Portsmouth Ave., Stratham, N.H. A New Hampshire Farm of Distinction, the 35-acre farm is home to and operated by the Goodrich family since 1959. Built by Thomas Wiggin in 1725, the iconic saltbox house and farm stand border 12 acres of open fields. The farm provides strawberries, six varieties of raspberries, eight varieties of high-bush blueberries, vegetables, flowers, and seedlings for gardeners. Visit saltboxfarmnh.com. Email saltboxfarmblueberries@gmail. Telephone 603-436-7989.

Saltonstall Farm, 61 Stratham Heights Road, Stratham, N.H. Formerly called Berry Hill Farm. Operated by Kyle and Sophie Saltonstall and family, the third Saltonstall generation to own the farm. Grows organic no-spray fruit. On-site farm stand opens when the first strawberries ripen. PYO dates will be announced on social media and the farm website. Visit saltonstallfarm.com or facebook.com/saltonstallfarm. Email sophiesaltonstall@gmail.com. Telephone 978-801-1870.

Tuckaway Farm, 4 Captain Smith Emerson Road, Lee, N.H. The Cox family has farmed these 250 acres for some 50 years. All is organically grown produce including PYO blueberries, small fruit (black raspberries, elderberries, grapes, strawberries), vegetables, hay, mushrooms, grains and oilseed crops. Using draft horse power and low-till soil practices to support a regenerative energy and food system, the family says. Farm store open year-round. Visit tuckawayfarmnh.com. Email tuckawayfarmstore@gmail.com. Telephone 603-988-5065.

New in Portsmouth

Championing Community and Innovation at Laney & Lu

By Lisa Carter

Since July 2023, Ellie Card has been at the helm of operations for Laney & Lu’s Portsmouth location in New Hampshire. As the Operations Manager, Ellie oversees all aspects of the business, bringing a fresh perspective and a wealth of experience from her previous role as the General Manager of Laney & Lu’s Exeter location. Ellie’s transition from managing Laney & Lu’s Exeter branch to spearheading operations in Portsmouth marks a significant shift. While the Exeter location is beloved as a cozy neighborhood spot where locals congregate, the Portsmouth Seacoast location caters to a more diverse clientele. Business professionals frequent this outlet, finding it an ideal meeting place for brainstorming sessions and casual business meetings. The ambiance is perfectly suited for remote workers seeking a haven of tranquility amidst the hustle and bustle of their daily grind, complemented by inviting outdoor seating that promotes relaxation and productivity alike.

Ellie is particularly enthusiastic about the upcoming developments at Laney & Lu’s Portsmouth location. One of the most anticipated features is the introduction of after-hours events, including live music on the outdoor patio. This addition is expected to transform the space into a vibrant hub of activity, drawing in crowds for evening relaxation and entertainment. These events are set to enhance the community feel of the cafe, fostering a sense of belonging and enjoyment for all community members.

At the heart of Ellie’s management philosophy is a deep-seated belief in cherishing the team. She emphasizes the importance of showing co-workers that they are valued and appreciated. This ethos permeates through various aspects of the workplace culture at Laney & Lu. One such initiative is the collective employee playlist, a unique and inclusive way for staff members to contribute to the café’s atmosphere, making it a reflection of their collective tastes and personalities. Celebrations are another cornerstone of the culture Ellie champions. Whether it’s

welcoming new staff members or bidding farewell to those departing, every occasion is marked with enthusiasm and appreciation, fostering a supportive and joyful work environment.

Outside of her professional life, Ellie embraces the vibrant lifestyle offered by the Seacoast area. She enjoys spending her free time at Pirate’s Cove in Rye, a local favorite known for its charming ambiance and scenic views. Saturdays often find her exploring the various farmers’ markets, where she delights in the fresh produce and artisanal goods that reflect the local community’s dedication to sustainability and quality. Additionally, Throwback Brewery is a frequent haunt for Ellie, where she can unwind and enjoy locally crafted brews in a welcoming setting.

Ellie Card’s leadership at Laney & Lu’s Portsmouth Seacoast location is marked by a blend of innovative vision and heartfelt community engagement. Her ability to transition seamlessly from managing the Exeter branch to taking on a broader operational role speaks volumes about her adaptability and dedication. The unique

atmosphere she cultivates, combined with her forward-thinking initiatives, ensures that Laney & Lu’s continues to thrive as a beloved meeting place for professionals and remote workers alike. With exciting developments on the horizon and a deeply ingrained culture of appreciation, Ellie is set to lead the Portsmouth location to new heights, making it an indispensable part of the Seacoast community

Courtesy photo.

The Theatre Scene — Portsmouth

By Curt Mackail

Portsmouth theater-goers may choose from two distinctly different, worth-seeing plays during June.

One is a blockbuster Broadway pop musical that’s said to be the most-performed play ofall time. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat opens at Portsmouth’sSeacoast Repertory Theatre (125 Bow St.) on Thursday, June 6. The run isscheduled through June 30, with weekly performances Thursdays through Sundays. There is one Wednesday evening show on June 12.

The other production, Romeo and Her Sister, opens Friday, June 7, at New Hampshire Theatre Project (959 Islington St.), continuing on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through June 23. One Thursday performance is scheduled for June 20. The revelatory play is a history-based dramedy portraying the tumultuous life of a closeted gay actress who was regarded as the world’s best during her 40-year career in the 1800s. The run at NHTP marks the play’s premiere

A tale that harkens to biblical times

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, the wholly modernized Old Testament Bible story of Joseph, his 11 brothers and father Jacob, is replete with the affecting music of Andrew Lloyd Weber and lyrics of Tim Rice. The two are regarded as musical geniuses of the theater, and Joseph was the duo’s first col-

laboration to be publicly performed. It was anything but an overnight success. Joseph began as a 1960s school project by Lloyd Webber and Rice, then ages 23 and 19 respectively. They first wrote it as a 20-minute pop-style cantata for an English schoolboy choir. Over the next five years the two elaborated it gradually into a full-length play. After a succession of refinements and additions, Joseph reached its modern form by 1974.

Performed mostly in Britain through the ’70s, Joseph didn’t emerge as a superhit here until its Broadway debut in 1982. That production, running for some 750 performances, raked in seven Tony Awards and two Drama Desk awards, and established the work as the pop opera icon it is today.

It’s a sung-through musical — the startto-finish catchy songs in Joseph replace almost all spoken dialogue. A narrator stitches things together, introducing Joseph the dreamer, the youngest and most favored among 12 sons of Jacob. Jacob bestows Joseph with a colorful coat, inflaming the jealousy of his brothers. The brothers’ envy is exacerbated by Joseph’s dreams that he is destined to rule them. They first plot to kill him, but instead pawn him off on traveling Ishmaelite merchants who sell Joseph into slavery in Egypt. Through a succession of twists, by play’s end Joseph’s brothers turn to the good. He is reunited with his father, Jacob, and he dons his long-lost coat of many colors. Seacoast Repertory Theatre (The Rep) promises a vibrant, immersive, never-before- seen production. “With a

bubbly blend of fun and fantasy, Joseph’s dance pop universe is your ticket to the ultimate theatrical party. This high-octane retelling of Joseph’s tale features an astonishing array of pop hits as it chronicles his journey from vivid dreams of prophecy to his meteoric rise amidst the glitz of Egyptian grandeur. You’ll be grooving in your seat, and maybe even the aisles,” The Rep says. The wide-ranging Lloyd Weber score includes parodies of French ballads, Elvis-like rock ’n’ roll, country music, calypso, jazz, and go-go dance tunes from the ’60s.

Emblematic of the carefully crafted sung-through musical, of which Lloyd Weber is a prolific master, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat remains a favorite with audiences of all ages. Tickets are $40 to $70. Visit seacoastrep.org. Telephone 603-433-4472. Email tickets@seacoastrep.org.

Celebrating Pride Month

Written by Jillian Blevins, the recently minted Romeo and Her Sister marks its premiere at New Hampshire Theatre Project, a 50-seat black-box venue in Portsmouth’s West End. The story centers on Charlotte Cushman, a 19th-century actress from Boston. She gained plaudits

internationally for her beautifully resonant contralto voice — the lowest register for female singers. Beginning with her first professional appearance at age 18 in 1835, Cushman went on to star in opera, musical theater and concert performances. She was regarded as the world’s best actress in her day. By 1839 her younger sister, Susan, with the encouragement of Charlotte, became an actress too. In 1845 Charlotte brought Susan to London, where they broke new ground in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The deep-voiced Charlotte, who’d already portrayed men (and women) on stage, played Romeo. Susan took the Juliet role. The unconventional idea of two sisters in these romantic roles attracted large audiences, according to the Smithsonian Museum.

Central to the play is the tumult of Charlotte, a closeted lesbian who is hiding her romances with other women from the world. To close its season, NHTP says it chose this queer, historical dramedy about a revolutionary performer to celebrate June as Pride Month.

Tickets $28 to $32, available online only at nhtheatreproject.org.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Courtesy photo.

Romeo and Her Sister. Courtesy photo.

C H o W de R CH o W do WN

Portsmouth’s 97.5 WOKQ Chowder Festival returns

By Matt Ingersoll

Nearly a dozen area restaurants will be vying for your palate in downtown Portsmouth this weekend with their mouthwatering chowders, but only one will take home the coveted “Golden Ladle” award. It’s the return of the 97.5 WOKQ Chowder Festival, presented by Avery Insurance — the annual pre-summer cook-off is back for a 37th year on Saturday, June 1, in the city’s Prescott Park.

According to Tyler Goodwin, Prescott Park Arts Festival board member and chair of its Young Professionals Group, the event will serve as the official start to the nonprofit’s highly anticipated 50th anniversary season, which will feature family-friendly programming all summer long. Last year’s Chowder Fest marked the first time it returned since pre-Covid in 2019.

“We’re always really excited to see everybody out and about for this event,” Goodwin said of Chowder Fest. “Obviously, being in New England, we have so many chowder lovers, and it gives us a good excuse to taste some of the best stuff in the area.”

Although a limited number of day-of festival tickets are expected to be available, Goodwin recommends grabbing those Chowder Fest tickets in advance online to ensure your attendance. With tickets in hand, chowder lovers are free to sample all of the available options from participating eateries and make their selections on the best. The People’s Choice award winner will receive the

Golden Ladle, while an official panel of judges will name a winner of their own.

Among this year’s restaurants will be The River House in Portsmouth, a reigning Chowder Fest People’s Choice champion. With their seafood chowder, The River House team retained their title for the eighth consecutive year in 2023 and are looking to bring home the gold once again.

Also on this year’s roster are several other eateries hailing from Portsmouth — 250 Market, Martingale Wharf Restaurant & Bar, and the newly opened Waterview Grill, to name a few — and a couple just over the state line in southern Maine.

Part of the fun of attending Chowder Fest each year is that you never know what restaurants may come up with next. Goodwin said past events have been known to

feature everything from corn chowders to Manhattan chowders, smoked scallop chowders, and just about any other types one can think of in between.

“It really is a blank canvas for them,” he said. “They can do whichever chowder they want, which makes it exciting … and definitely adds some nice variety to the event.”

But even if chowder just isn’t your thing, there will be plenty of other activities to enjoy in the park. Ticket holders will also receive access to a tie-dying station, face painting, and lawn games such as giant Connect Four, giant Jenga and cornhole. The park’s Wilcox Main Stage, meanwhile, will host a live performance from Maine-based group Jacob McCurdy and His Large Adult Sons.

New to this year’s Chowder Fest, Virgin Oyster Co. of Dover will have farm-fresh oysters on the half-shell available for preorder — they’ll be shucking oysters in the park all day long.

Following Chowder Fest, Goodwin said, the Prescott Park Arts Festival will

37th annual 97.5 WoKQ Chowder Festival, presented by Avery Insurance

When: Saturday, June 1, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. (a rain date is scheduled for Sunday, June 2)

Where: Prescott Park, 105 Marcy St., Portsmouth

Admission: Free for Prescott Park Arts Festival season passholders; $20 per person for non-passholders. Purchasing tickets in advance online is recommended.

move into a season filled with live entertainment, including The River House Restaurant Concert Series and its Movie Night Series, the latter of which is expected to feature a mix of classics and newer releases. Starting the week of June 21 and through Aug. 11, most Thursday through Sunday evenings will also feature live performances of Legally Blonde: The Musical

Participating local restaurants

• 250 Market (Portsmouth, 250market.com)

• Buoy Shack Lobster & Drinks (Kittery, Maine, buoyshack.com)

• Martingale Wharf Restaurant & Bar (Portsmouth, martingalewharf.com)

• Napoletana Pizzeria & Bar (Portsmouth, napoletanaportsmouth.com)

• The River House (Portsmouth, riverhouse53bow.com)

• SALT Kitchen & Bar (New Castle, saltkitchenandbar.com)

• Waterview Grill (Portsmouth, waterviewgrillnh.com)

• The York River Landing (York, Maine, theyorkriverlanding.com)

2023 Chowderfest. Photo by LJ Elitharp.

2023 Chowderfest. Photo by LJ Elitharp.

2023 Chowderfest. Photo by LJ Elitharp.

Drinks with John FlaDD

Bicycle Thief

The first time I had my bicycle stolen was in the Army, when a platoonmate of mine with a drug problem “borrowed” most of my stuff while I was in the field — including my bike — and thoughtfully stored it for me at a pawn shop just off-base. Later, after my effects had been retrieved, he made a big deal of telling everyone what a gentleman I was. I think he was happy I didn’t punch him in my face, but you’d think I was David Niven.

A year or so later, now out of the Army, I rode the same bike to the dining hall of the school I was enrolled in and popped in to grab some breakfast, only to find that I’d forgotten about the switch to Daylight Savings Time and had missed breakfast. I came out to discover that I’d also forgotten to lock my bike up, and it had taken the opportunity to start a new life with somebody else. I indulged in some non-Nivenish language.

The third time I had a bike stolen, I did not forget to lock it up, and only the front wheel was taken. I wasn’t sure why, until I consid-

ered the possibility that perhaps someone had stolen the thief’s front wheel, to replace the one that a third person in this train of wheel abduction had taken from them, etc., stretching back to sometime in the ’70s when somebody broke their front wheel by absentmindedly driving into an open manhole or something. I tried unsuccessfully to display some David Niven-like aplomb, but did decide to end the chain of front-wheel abscondtion.

All of which has nothing much to do with anything, except that this week’s cocktail is a classic take on a Negroni called a Bicycle Thief.

Bicycle Thief

1 ounce gin – Wiggly Bridge is a good choice

1 ounce Campari

1½ ounce unsweetened grapefruit juice

½ ounce fresh-squeezed lemon juice

¾ ounce simple syrup club soda to top

an orange slice for garnish

Combine the gin, Campari, juices and simple syrup over ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake your cocktail thoroughly, until the ice just starts to break up.

Pour the drink, ice and all, into a tall glass. A Collins glass would work well for this, but personal experience has shown me that the Foghorn Leghorn promotional glass I rescued from a flea market last summer works equally well.

Top with club soda. How much is a personal judgment call. You might have had a day that calls for extra bubbles and a lighter hand on the “Full Speed Ahead” lever. You might just want something a little less frivolous. It’s up to you.

Stir it gently, and garnish with an orange slice. It might be tempting to slice the wheel of orange halfway through and slip it over the edge of your glass — and that’s fine! a classic! — but you might want to roll it and shove it into the interior of your glass instead. It will

make even a Foghorn Leghorn glass look slightly fancy.

The reason you can get away with a whimsical glass is because a Bicycle Thief is a fully mature, confident drink. It’s not intense and “I will have my revenge for my stolen bicycle”-y, but coolly sophisticated, in a “Should we have Carlos bring the boat around?” vein. Campari and grapefruit share a bitterness that gets a backbone from the gin. The lemon and syrup are fruity enough to blunt the bitterness, but still leave it at an adult level.

Photo by John Fladd.

The Fall Guy (PG-13)

Ryan Gosling says “I’ll save you, movie!” in The Fall Guy, a rompy movie with nods to the 1980s TV show.

Gosling brings the soft-serve swirl of good-humored goofiness and slightly winky competence from 2016’s The Nice Guys to the role of Colt Seaver, a crackerjack stunt man. Colt has found professional success by being a stunt man for Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), a megawatt star with an even more blinding ego. Personally, Colt has found romantic success with Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt), a camerawoman with directing dreams. When the movie starts, the two are working together on a Tom Ryder movie — but not for long. Colt has a devastating accident and, humiliated and unable to deal with what he sees as a professional failure, he disappears, even from Jody.

A year and a half later he is working as a valet when Gail (Hannah Waddingham), Tom’s producer and fixer, calls to Colt to get him to come to Australia to work on Tom’s new movie. Jody, who is directing, asked for him in particular, Gail says. When Colt shows up on set, he quickly finds that this is not true. But,

with the head of the stunt department, Dan Tucker (Winston Duke), who is also Colt’s longtime friend, insisting that Colt is the only stuntman available, Jody reluctantly agrees to let him stay to work on Metalstorm, a sci-fi alien love-story something.

That’s all kind of a lot of setup that feels like it takes a lot of time to get to the real reason Colt has been called to Australia: Tom is missing and Gail wants Colt to find him before someone notices he is gone and the movie is stalled.

So while Colt is working with Jody, who sees new story possibilities for Tom’s Metalstorm character now that Colt is around to do more thrilling stunts — with Tom’s face to be pasted on digi tally in post — and Colt is trying to find a way to make up with the woman he still loves, Colt is also doing some basic detectiving of the “look for clues, go see a guy at a club” variety.

For me, the movie has the most mis sion clarity during the “Colt Seaver, stunt man detective” scenes. Elsewhere, it felt like there was a lot of piling on of Things: rom-com-iness, meta com mentary on movies, stunt man process-y stuff (which I also liked), Emily Blunt’s whatever she’s doing with Jody, Hannah

Twelve Trees, by Daniel Lewis (Avid Reader Press, 279 pages)

Daniel Lewis is a tree nerd, and I say that affectionately, from one tree nerd to another. By this, I mean my house is filled with odd pieces of wood collected in forests and on beaches for no reason other than the beauty I see in their gnarled and twisty forms. Lewis, however, is the guy who could probably identify the type of tree these bits of wood come from and then launch into a lecture on the genus of the tree and its prospects for survival on a warming planet.

An environmental historian and college professor who lives in Southern California, Lewis has built his latest book around 12 trees he finds most interesting and important. Disappointingly, although New Hampshire is the second most forested state in the U.S. according to the New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands, the 12 do not include the sugar maple, Eastern hemlock or any other of the most prevalent trees in New England.

Lewis’s picks are a disparate tribe flung around the planet — in some cases, literally, by seed dispersal. They include the bristlecone pine, the coast redwood, the East Indian sandalwood tree, the African baobab, the blue gum eucalyptus and the olive tree. Each tree gets its own chapter, in which Lewis tells stories about the tree’s history, its uses and abuses by humans, and its outlook. Along the way, he ventures merrily off the beaten path in order to share nuggets of information he has gleaned during his research.

As an example, Lewis wanted to confirm that products of the olive tree, which mainly grows in the Mediterranean and in California, are found on all the continents. So he tracked down the person in charge of supplying food to the largest year-round encampment in the Antarctic, and we subsequently learn how the 150 to 900 people at the McMurdo Station are fed. Food is delivered there just once a year, in January or February, and it sounds like they eat better there than many of us do. “When you’re stuck in a vast, tree-free tract of wind-driven snow and ice, you need good olives and their oil. Green, black, and Kalamata olives are the three varieties usually on hand. Olive oil and olives are also a staple for their pizza station, which bakes up sixteen thousand to eighteen thousand pizzas annually,” Lewis writes. Due to the popularity of its drupe — that is the new word we learn for pitted fruits like the olive, peach or apricot — the actual olive tree doesn’t get as much attention in its chapter as the other 11 trees, as Lewis delves mainly into the production of olive oil. The demand for olive oil is so great that just 10 percent of harvested olives are consumed as olives; the rest is pressed into oil in a mind-bogglingly complex and regulated process that explains why the product is so expensive.

More focus on the tree itself is given in

chapters of two threatened species of trees: the African baobab (you might not recognize the name, but Google it, and you will most likely recognize the tree) and the toromiro tree, once common on a Pacific island.

The African baobab is a source of water to elephants during times of drought, which is interesting, because the bao bab, for reasons scientists can’t explain, stores much more water than an individual tree needs for itself. But as tempting as it is to think that the tree is, on some level, being helpful to ele phants or other living things with its excess hydration, it is the elephants’ violent assault on the trees to obtain water that is contributing to the trees’ demise.

Equally interesting is the story of what Lew is calls “the nearly lost tree of Rapa Nui.”

Rapa Nui is the Pacific island more com monly known as Easter Island. It was once resplendent with the Sophora toromiro, which doesn’t have a common name or nickname like other trees and is simply known (by the tree nerds who pay attention to it) as the toromiro.

The toromiro is a small flowering tree that was part of a “painful drop in biodiversity” after humans arrived there around the 12th century. In the case of the toromiro, however, its gradual decline wasn’t all human-driven; Lewis explains how other factors were likely at play, including dozens of devastating tsunamis that have hit the island over time. But the trees were harvested too, for firewood and building material. By the 1600s wood was so scarce on the island that it became the most valuable commodity there, Lewis writes. Even driftwood was “precious.”

Today, more than six decades after the last toromiro tree mysteriously disappeared from the island, attempts are being made to re-introduce the tree to the island from toromiros found growing elsewhere, the seeds carried by birds or ocean currents. It’s not as easy as just planting seedlings. The soil composition has changed so much that cultivated trees have not yet taken root.

These are the sorts of stories that make Twelve Trees an unexpectedly fascinating read, although it’s not necessarily the sort of book that you’d recommend, for example, to your Bruins-obsessed neighborhood. It’s a book to be read slowly and thoughtfully, and would appeal most to those who think businesses should close for Arbor Day. (April 26 this year, in case you didn’t know.)

While Twelve Trees has its “Bueller? Bueller?” moments — most notably when Lewis delivers what is best described as a rapturous ode to lichens — it will make you think that maybe you care more about trees than you know. B —Jennifer Graham

& Lobster Rolls

Flame keepers

Allman Brothers Band tribute Trouble No More

By Michael Witthaus mwitthaus@hippopress.com

From an early age, Quinn Sullivan’s parents taught him the classics: Beatles, Stones, Dead, Allmans. Vital inculcation, as Sullivan picked up a guitar at age three, guested on Ellen at six, was mentored by blues giant Buddy Guy when he turned eight, and played at Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Festival as a teenager.

Now in his mid-twenties, Sullivan’s released four solo albums, with a fifth, Salvation, due in early June. Lately, he’s also playing with Trouble No More, a “celebration” of the Allman Brothers Band. They’ll perform two nights at Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club on May 30 and 31.

The band includes Lamar Williams, Jr., son of late ABB bassist Lamar Williams, keyboard player Peter Levin, and on bass and guitar, brothers Dylan and Brandon Niederauer. Sullivan first joined TNM last October for a pair of shows in Brooklyn and Philadelphia. It was a tryout of sorts that clicked.

In March, he got the call to become an official member. “It’s a really exciting opportunity,” Sullivan said in a recent phone interview. “I’ve been a fan of Allman Brothers Band music for so long, so it’s very creatively fulfilling for me to step into this band as a guitar player.”

Quinn and Niederauer will trade off between Duane Allman and Dickie Betts’ guitar parts. “It goes wherever the music is taking us,” he said. “I’m a massive fan of both Duane and Dickie’s playing, so I try to kind of mix them both together and try to make it my own.”

Some of Sullivan’s favorites include “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed,” a song that took up an entire vinyl side of Live At Fillmore East when it was released. “We can really stretch out and bring our own energy into the instrumental stuff,” he said. “And ‘Whipping Post’ is always fun; we normally headline with that at the end of the show, and it’s always epic.”

Set lists switch up with every show, though songs like “Blue Sky,” “Stormy Monday” and the Muddy Waters cov-

Trouble No More

When: Saturday & Sunday, May30 &31, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club, 135 Congress St., Portsmouth Tickets: $15 and up at ticketmaster.com

er that is their namesake tend to recur. “We try to make it exciting every time we walk out on stage and not repeat too much, but we always find ourselves playing the go-tos,” he continued.

Sullivan’s ABB connection extends beyond fan and tribute act. At the 2013 Crossroads Guitar Festival at Madison Square Garden, he traded licks with Buddy Guy and Robert Randolph during the penultimate set of an evening headlined by the Allmans. It turned out that Gregg Allman caught some of the performance. What happened next was the highlight of an evening that included taking a photo with Jeff Beck and meeting Eric Clapton.

The show used a revolving stage, so the Allmans were set up on the other side and ready to go when Guy’s band wrapped up. “When I came off stage, he saw me,” Sullivan recalled. “It was probably five or ten minutes before they were hitting the stage… he got up from his organ, came over to me, shook my hand and gave me some really, really nice compliments. He really was such a sweet, sweet, sweet human being to me.”

It’s a memory he treasures, and one Sullivan carries with him whenever he walks on stage with Trouble No More. “It was a pinch-to-yourself moment; I mean, I was only 14 at the time,” he said. “It was a wild experience. I just try to put that mojo into the music now that I’m playing with these guys.”

Top photo is Quinn Sullivan on the guitar; below left is singer Lamar Williams, Jr.; below right is guitarist Brandon Niederauer. Courtesy photos.

Exeter

Sawbelly Brewing 156 Epping Road 583-5080

Sea Dog Brewery 9 Water St.

Shooter’s Pub 6 Columbus Ave. 772-3856

Hampton

Bernie’s Beach Bar 73 Ocean Blvd. 926-5050

Bogie’s 32 Depot Square 601-2319

Community Oven 845 Lafayette Road 601-6311

CR’s The Restaurant 287 Exeter Road 929-7972

The Goat 20 L St. 601-6928

L Street Tavern 603 17 L St. 967-4777

Thursday, May 30

Exeter

Sawbelly Brewing: Qwill, 5 p.m.

Hampton

The Goat: Justin Federico, 8 p.m.

Wally’s: Joey Belladonna’s Jukebox, 5 p.m.

Newburyport

The Goat: Chris Toler, 8 p.m.

Newmarket

Stone Church: Xtreme Music Bingo, 8 p.m.

Portsmouth

The Goat: Isaiah Bennett, 9 p.m.

Portsmouth Gas Light: Mugshot Duo, 7 p.m.

Press Room: Enlightened Rogues, 8 p.m.

Seabrook

Red’s Kitchen: Jaclyn & Joey, 7 p.m.

Friday, May 31

Logan’s Run 816 Lafayette Road 926-4343

Sea Ketch 127 Ocean Blvd. 926-0324

Shane’s BBQ 61 High St. 601-7091

Smuttynose Brewing 105 Towle Farm Road

Wally’s Pub 144 Ashworth Ave. 926-6954

Seabrook

Sawbelly Brewing: TimBear, 5 p.m.

Hampton

Bernie’s Beach Bar: Granite Lion Presents: The Movement, 8 p.m.

The Goat: Mike Jetti, 9 p.m. Wally’s: Afroman, 9 p.m.

Newburyport

The Goat: Andrew Dostie, 8 p.m.

Newmarket

Stone Church: Dub Apocalypse, 9 p.m.

Portsmouth

The Goat: Chris Toler, 9 p.m. Portsmouth Gas Light: Conniption Fits – Deck; Doug Thompson – Pub; DJ Koko P – Night Club, 7 p.m.

Press Room: Songs of Freedom w/ Redemption, 8 p.m.

WHYM 853 Lafayette Road 601-2801

Newmarket Stone Church 5 Granite St. 659-7700

North Hampton Locals Restaurant & Pub 215 Lafayette Road 379-2729

Red’s Kitchen: Fiesta Melon, 7 p.m.

Saturday, June 1

Hampton

The Goat: Ben Durand 1 p.m.;

Chris Toler 8 p.m.

Sea Ketch: Clint Lapointe 1p.m., Ryan Williamson 8 p.m.

Newburyport

The Goat: Taylor Hughes, Caylin Costello, 8 p.m.

Newmarket

Stone Church: Wizzardess/EZ Cheef/Kong Moon, 7:30 p.m.

Portsmouth

The Goat: Mike Jetti, 8 p.m.

Portsmouth Gas Light: Andrea Paquin, 2 p.m.; SumX4, 7 p.m. deck; DJ Koko P 9 p.m. Night Club; Rich Wallace 7 p.m. Pub

Press Room: A Strange Day: Cure Tribute, 7 p.m.

SEE THEM AT THE MOVIES

For the past four decades, John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band have performed their own New England spin on Bruce Springsteen’s mystical party rock. They’re best-known for the song score Cafferty wrote for Eddie and the Cruisers, and you can see them at the Rochester Opera House (31 Wakefield St., Rochester, 335-1992, rochesteroperahouse.com) on Saturday, June 1, at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $32 to $36, plus fees.

Photo by John Cavanaugh.

Portsmouth Clipper Tavern 75 Pleasant St., 501-0109

The Gas Light 64 Market St., 430-9122

Gibb’s Garage Bar 3612 Lafayette Road

The Goat 142 Congress St. 590-4628

Grill 28 Pease Golf Course 766-6466

Sunday, June 2

Hampton

The Goat: Sheldon Benton 1 p.m.; Ryan Flynn 8 p.m.

Sea Ketch: Ray Zerkle 1 p.m.

Wally’s: Joey Belladonna’s Jukebox, 2 p.m.

Newburyport

The Goat: Jonny Friday, 8p

Newmarket

Stone Church: Dave Ogden Open Mic, 8 p.m.

Portsmouth

The Goat: Rob Pagnano, 9 p.m.

Portsmouth Gas Light: Truffle Band 2 p.m.; Justin Cohn 6 p.m.

Press Room: Austin Martin & the Herd, 8 p.m.

Rochester

MrSippy Barbecue: The Honeybees, 3 p.m.

Herbert’s Restaurant 1500 Lafayette Road 431-5882

The Press Room 77 Daniels St. 431-5186

The Statey Bar & Grill 238 Deer St. 431-4357

Thirsty Moose Taphouse 21 Congress St. 427-8645

Monday, June 3

Hampton

The Goat: Sheldon Benton, 8 p.m.

Newburyport

The Goat: Alex Anthony, 8 p.m.

Portsmouth

The Goat: Andrew Dostie, 8 p.m.

Portsmouth Gas Light: Tim Theriault, 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, June 4

Hampton

The Goat: Ryan Flynn, 8 p.m.

Wally’s: Musical Bingo, 7 p.m.

Newburyport

The Goat: Rob Pagnano, 8 p.m.

Portsmouth

The Goat: Isaiah Bennett, 8 p.m.

Portsmouth Gas Light: Jodee Frawlee, 7:30 p.m.

Tuscan Kitchen 10 Ledgewood Drive 570-3600

Rye Atlantic Grill 5 Pioneer Road 433-3000

Seabrook Chop Shop Pub 920 Lafayette Road 760-7706

Red’s Kitchen + Tavern 530 Lafayette Road 760-0030

Wednesday, June 5

Hampton

The Goat: Justin Jordan, 8 p.m.

Wally’s: Live Band Karaoke, 8 p.m.

Newburyport

The Goat: Brooks Hubbard, 8 p.m.

Newmarket

Stone Church: Village Acoustic Jam, 7 p.m.

Portsmouth

The Goat: Tony Fig, 8 p.m.

Portsmouth Gas Light: Chris Powers, 7:30 p.m.

Press Room: Mike Maurice/ Sophie Patenaude/Duquette, 7 p.m.

STEPPIN’ OUT

Joe Jackson made a splash with his albums Look Sharp and Steppin’ Out, and the enduring popularity of his music hall-gone-new wave back catalog has allowed him to develop a long career as an experimental singer-songwriter. The tour behind his latest album, What a Racket!, takes him to the Music Hall (28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth, 436-2400, themusichall.org) on Monday, June 3, at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $71 to $94, plus fees.

Questionable Judgment

On May 2 in Johnson County, Kansas, the district attorney charged 21-year-old Jace Christian Hanson, of Kansas City, Missouri, with unlawfully adulterating or contaminating food, a felony, at the Hereford House restaurant in Leawood, Kansas. The Kansas City Star reported that Hanson was connected with videos posted online showing him urinating into restaurant-style food containers and rubbing food on his body parts, including his feet. The FBI, which received a tip, contacted the restaurant after pinging Hanson’s phone and finding his car in the parking lot; the head chef confirmed that the au jus container shown in one video belonged to the Hereford House. When asked about it, Hanson said, “I’ll just be straight up, yeah.” He said men online, whom he had met through dating apps, had asked him to make the videos and revealed that he had committed more than 20 incidents of contaminating food. The restaurant destroyed all its food and sanitized the kitchen and adjacent areas. Gives a whole new meaning to “au jus.”

-- Firelands Elementary School in Henrietta Township, Ohio, was locked down on May 1 after a sasquatch was spotted running past classroom windows, WKYC-TV reported. Superintendent Michael Von Gunten said a person in a Bigfoot costume parked in one of the district’s lots, “crossed our campus and caused the district to enter into a lockdown.” Kids outside on recess were quickly moved indoors. Bigfoot never made it inside any of the buildings; the Lorain County sheriff’s office revealed the person in the costume was a parent pulling a prank. The parent was pulled over in a traffic stop, but no charges have been filed yet.

Wrong Place, Wrong Time

Middleburg Heights, Ohio, residents who were hoping to do business at the Social Security office there were turned away in early May, News 5 reported on May 2. It

wasn’t computer issues or flooding that shut the office down, though. Michael Murphy, president of the Local 3448 of the American Federation of Government Employees, said the problem was raccoons. “There’s urine stains on the tiles. The smoke detectors came falling down. ... (A)pparently the animals may be eating through the wiring.” When 25% of the lighting went out, employees got in touch with Murphy. “These employees were reporting concerns of noises above the ceiling as early as January,” he said. The SSA released a statement saying the office would reopen “as soon as possible.”

Awesome!

World War II veteran Roger Wonson of Beverly, Massachusetts, turned 100 years old on April 20, CBS News reported. Wonson celebrated with his family and friends and a custom cake -- and by playing drums with his band, The Current Voltage, at his senior living facility on April 24. Wonson also played saxophone during the performance. He said his brother got him into drumming: “When he was 18 and I was 12 ... I said, ‘Gee, can I practice on the drums?’ and he said, ‘Sure.’ So that’s the way it started.” The Current Voltage includes some of his fellow residents and staffers from the facility.

Least Competent Criminal

An unnamed woman who had been accused of stealing a car was released from jail on May 3 in Boulder, Colorado. Upon her release, she walked down the road until she found a truck with the keys inside, the Associated Press reported. She got as far as starting the truck, but when she was confronted with the truck’s manual transmission, she got out and walked off, leaving the truck to roll forward and hit a fire hydrant. She was arrested again and has a May 30 court date for multiple offenses.

Puzzle A from 5/23

“opera Biffs”— classing it up, but with one letter off.

Across

1. Gave a hoot

6. Some TV screens

10. Herring cousin

14. Former “SNL” cast mem-

ber Cheri

15. “It’s all ___!”

16. “Aladdin” parrot

17. Opera that’s sorta supernatural, but by chance?

19. Actress Cannon of “Heaven Can Wait”

20. 2024 title role for Michael Douglas on Apple TV+

21. Those who ___ most

23. Partner of yang

24. Opera about actor Ribisi turning into a canine?

26. ___ California, Mexico

27. Expected

28. Opera about an Irish wiggly dessert?

31. Collective auc-

tion offering

32. Software creators, for short

36. “Holy cow!”

37. Office seeker, for short

38. Shakespeare collection

39. Ooze through a crack

40. Stan Getz’s instrument

41. Opera about a superhero mechanic?

42. League where Utah is deciding on a team name

43. “The Big Easy”

44. Opera where a future king turns blue-green?

49. “Ask later” on schedules

52. Playwright

Eugene

53. Send mass phone messages during an election, maybe

55. Shoelace issue

56. Italian opera about pub quizzes?

58. German article

59. Snack with a roughly 1.75-inch diameter

60. Oopsie

61. In proximity

62. Notify

63. Break a truce, maybe

Down

1. Like a nice recliner

2. Pong producer

3. “King Lear” daughter

4. ___ go bragh

5. “King of the Surf Guitar”

6. Division for FC Barcelona

7. Held on (to)

8. “Hi and Lois” creator Browne

9. Escorted to the door

10. 45’s main feature?

11. Composer with all the symphonies

12. “What is it now?”

13. “___ Make It Look Easy”

(Meghan Trainor song)

18. 1988 Olympics track star

nickname

22. Night before

25. K-pop star, e.g.

26. Radar flash

DAILY EVENTS

MONDAYS

28. Fractions of a lb. or qt.

29. Coffee

30. Shorn animal

31. Bagel go-with

32. Kids’ show explorer

33. Shade tree

34. Through

35. Family tree branch, perhaps

37. Hand part

38. Topple

40. Superficial

41. Raccoon’s South American cousin

42. 0, on a soccer scorecard

43. Cell that fires on impulse

44. Gotten out of bed

45. Concave belly button

46. Singer Lewis

47. Quart’s metric counterpart

48. ___ Tots

49. Papal headpiece

50. Ulan ___, Mongolia

51. Clock-radio feature

54. Very urgent

57. Longtime Notre Dame coach Parseghian

© 2024 Matt Jones