NASHUA: LOCALE HERO RICHARD LANNAN

With the most public art of any city in the state, dozens of artist organizations and acclaimed orchestra Symphony New Hampshire calling Church Street home, Nashua has quietly become a creative hotbed for the Granite State. The only thing they were missing, in the opinion of many, was a performing arts center. That is, until now.

Nashua Center for the Arts (NCA), located at 201 Main Street, opened its doors on April 1, thanks in large part to a vibrant coterie of community members who’ve been pushing for nearly six years to turn the once-far-off dream into a reality. Richard Lannan, president and owner of The Lannan Company, has done as much as just about anybody. As president of Nashua Community Arts, a nonprofit formed in 2018 to raise money for NCA, and chair of the steering committee, an organization responsible for vital decision-making concerning the brass-tacks construction of the building, Lannan led the behind-the-scenes charge in getting the NCA off the ground. When the Nashua Board of Aldermen approved a $21 million bond dedicated to the NCA if the community could privately raise $4 million, Lannan spearheaded the cause at Nashua Community Arts, rallying nearly 500 donors, big and small, to contribute to the cause.

“The whole performing arts center is like a big team of heroes working together,” says Judith Carlson, longtime Nashua resident and secretary of Nashua Community Arts, “but Rich is our number one lead hero by far. He’s done more than anybody on this whole project for years, and he’s just incredible.”

“Rich Lannan has shown his commitment to Nashua in so many ways,” Nashua Mayor Jim Donchess says. “His tireless efforts on downtown improvement projects will reap economic and quality-of-life benefits for Nashuans and visitors to our city for decades to come.”

At The Lannan Company, 67-year-old Lannan works in real estate investment and development, managing apartment complex- es, retail properties, shopping centers and more. His 45 years of real estate experience proved salient for NCA — from helping hire an architect for the building design to choosing a prime location that would act as a community stronghold. And in the heart of downtown on Main Street, in a location previously home to Nashua staples like Sunlight Pharmacy, Miller’s Department Store and Alec’s Shoes, Lannan’s confident they got it right.

“It’s going to be for the benefit of the whole city,” Lannan says. “And people aren’t going to have to drive an hour or two to see a show — it’s going to be right in their backyard. When people come for an event, they’re going to hit downtown, hit the restaurants and the bars, hit some of the shops. We talk a lot about the effect and economic benefit for downtown, which is real, but I think it’s going to be for the benefit of the whole city.”

Mayor Donchess shares many of the same feelings. “The Nashua Center for the Arts is another exciting step in the renaissance of our city’s downtown,” Donchess says. “This new and unique venue will attract tens of thousands of people to attend live shows, while increasing revenue for our Main Street neighborhood restaurants and small business owners.”

The NCA isn’t merely hosting concerts — although the 753 seats and 1,000-person standing room capacity function exceptionally well in that regard. Lannan stressed again and again how dynamic the space will be, designed to host wedding receptions, corporate banquets and numerous other community events, along with a rotating gallery on the first floor where local artists can display and sell their work. In Lannan’s eyes, NCA will be the heart of Nashua’s already-bountiful art scene, bringing various groups together all under the same roof.

“It’s more than a music venue — that’s why we wanted to call it the Nashua Center for the Arts,” Lannan says. “It’s arts and music but it’s also a lot of other things, and this will be a very versatile building. The arts — I’ve learned very quickly over the last four or five years — are much bigger than what I thought they meant.”

“It’s going to bring a whole different level of vibrancy to Nashua,” Carlson says.

— Caleb Jagoda

BEST PLACE / Reader’s Pick

I’m a big hiker, so of course some of my favorite places are in the Lakes and White Mountains regions of NH. Specifically, this summer I was able to hike Cannon Mountain and experience Lonesome Lake in all its splendor. I mean, this place is magical; with the sun shining and the mountains in the back ground it looks like it could only be seen in a movie! It’s a great little hike to the lake and hut to experience NH at its finest. That’s just my two cents.

— Amy Rousseau

KING OF THE ROAD: The legendary Granite State cyclist

Ted King shares his favorite places to peddle

The entire state of New Hampshire has some of the best riding I’ve ever experienced. Which says a lot, because I’ve ridden all over the world!

I grew up in the Exeter area, so pedaling from there and all throughout the Seacoast is a great place to find quiet roads and easily tick off miles, because it’s flat so you’re rewarded with a high average speed.

We used to spend a lot of time in the Bristol/Newfound Lake region, another favorite spot. Much more challenging terrain than the Seacoast, seemingly nothing but the road going up and down, but there are some stunning roads all throughout here.

And an all-time favorite area of the state with a more iconic touch is riding from Conway and hitting both Bear Notch and the Kancamagus Highway. Extended climbs are something we don’t have the way the Alps or Rockies can boast, but when you’re riding either of these climbs, there’s nothing that feels short about them!

— Ted King

BEST PLACE / Reader’s Pick

My favorite region of the state is the Lakes Region. I love the quieter part of the Lakes Region, which I consider to be the Tuftonboro/Melvin Village/Moultonborough/Sandwich region, with beautiful beaches, quiet roads, protected islands and lands, calm waters for kayaking and canoeing, country stores, farm stands, maple sugar shacks, dirt roads through notches, fairs, swimming holes, waterfalls, a castle, many unique hikes and vistas, plus so much more. There’s something for every age in this part of the Lakes Region. The Abenaki Tower is a very special place in this area. It was built by the local people, at the intersection of Abenaki trails. Its purpose: simply to provide a stunning view for the enjoyment of everyone. This town treasure, maintained by community volunteers and members of the Abenaki Tower and Trail Association, is celebrating its centennial this year and next. Everyone is invited to enjoy the festivities and the tower. (A parking area and trailhead are located on Rt. 109 in Tuftonboro.)

— Karen Burnett-Kurie

The Best Film Location In New Hampshire

The best place to shoot in New Hampshire is in New Hampshire. Everywhere you aim a camera is sublimely picturesque and inviting — and, unlike certain states that have actual tax incentives (ahem, ahem), we don’t have a movie crew on every corner, meaning that if a filmmaker is kind and courteous, professional and inclusive, it’s not impossible to be invited to put that invitingness to good use, often for the exorbitant fee of a sense of pride and ownership. While it’s true that film fans may forever associate the Granite State, or me, if they’re lonely, with Squam Lake and “On Golden Pond,” I’ve also shot two ultra-super-ridiculously-low-budget movies in other parts of the state, from my own backyard in the Lakes Region to several surrounding towns, earning the full cooperation of the police and fire departments in Bristol and Holderness, Laconia and New Hampton. I’ve doubled parts of Plymouth for New York City in my film “Time and Charges” and made an alley in Laconia pass for one in Manhattan. In “Heavenly Angle,” I turned a Laconia office building into an L.A. bungalow and even pulled off making carefully selected skyline and river shots resemble Paris.

Next up for me: “Parallel America,” which I’ll shoot in several grange halls and town houses in Jaffrey and Meredith Center and up in Milan and down on the Seacoast, where, in partnership with numerous business owners, homeowners and, again, the exceedingly generous support of the police department, I’ll make Portsmouth look like, of all things, Portsmouth. We live in the most photogenic paradise in the world. We have mountains and lakes, villages and cities, 18 miles of ocean and endless vistas and possibilities and boundlessly talented actors and musicians, eager extras and crew members and welcoming innkeepers and ample housing and mostly manageable traffic and four seasons. Please don’t tell anyone.

— Ernest Thompson

Crashing Candlepins

Chances are pretty good that when the weather gods throw in a rainy day or two this summer, families can find another engaging way to enjoy the Granite State: candlepin bowling. When the rain falls, so do candlepins.

New Hampshire friends of mine who own candlepin bowling centers sport big smiles when the summer sun throws a gutter ball. Crashing pins, video games, hot dogs, french fries and happy kids are all part of the deal. The small-ball game is as close to being local as can be, having been invented in nearby Worcester 143 years ago. Proud Granite Staters call it “real bowling,” because it is more challenging than its older, 10-pin cousin (to this day, there’s never been a perfect 300 candlepin game), which makes it endlessly fun. Here are a few of my favorite candlepin alleys.

Bowl-O-Rama Family Fun Center 599 Lafayette Rd., Portsmouth bowlorama.com

When I took daughter Liz to Bowl-ORama when she was a kid, we always had to have their pizza. Thirty years later, they’ve upped their food game with Shenanigans at Bowl-O-Rama Restaurant. And they’ve added a bunch more games to their arcade.

Park Place Lanes • 16 Rockingham Rd., Windham; parkplacelanes.com

With 36 lanes (the state’s largest candlepin center), Park Place always has room for you, rain or shine. Boasting a full food and beverage service lane-side and ridiculously fun karaoke nights in their lounge, Windham’s candlepin center is one of the most entertaincentric in the Granite State.

Lakeside Lanes • 2171 Candia Rd., Manchester; lakesidelanes.com

Just a stone’s throw from Lake Massabesic, Lakeside Lanes first opened their doors in 1959 and are currently owned by professional bowler Tim Lipke and his wife, Wendy. While I miss the big stuffed bear that used to greet customers at the door, there is always plenty of fun to be had at this Manchester staple.

— Mike Morin

Mike Morin’s book about TV’s golden age of candlepin bowling can be ordered at candlepin.com/ product/3805

BERLIN: LOCALE HEROES PAUL GRENIER & PAULA MORIN KINNEY

which is also connected to Coos County’s immense trail network. The city has also opened up its downtown streets, allowing these riders to access businesses. Meanwhile, the Nansen Ski Club, the oldest ski club in America, uses a ski jump in nearby Milan.

“We’re all old enough and mature enough to realize that our generation will only have one bite at the apple to make this community what it once was,” says Grenier, who was born and raised in Berlin.

The city also hopes these changes will convince more young Berliners to stay here, work here and raise their families here, stopping the “brain drain” where young people go off to college and do not return.

Kinney says the Berlin and Coos Historical Society is preserving their rich logging and paper mill industry history. “We have St. Kieran Community Center for the Arts,” Kinney says, which is a former Catholic church that holds concerts.

The Berlin Botanist Society beautifies the city and the Notre Dame Arena has a strong youth hockey program. Kinney, who has worked at the chamber since 2009, says the city’s economic development groups are working on a Riverwalk that will connect the city to Heritage Park.

Grenier and Kinney believe they — along with business leaders, the community and volunteers — have made a difference in charting a new course for their former mill town.

Anyone who has visited Berlin lately will surely feel the cool vibe of change that flows like the mighty Androscoggin River and has not prevailed in this former paper mill city for a long time.

Thanks in large part to Berlin Mayor Paul Grenier and Paula Morin Kinney, the executive director of the Androscoggin Valley Chamber of Commerce, the city is riding high on a tourism wave that will pay dividends of future prosperity.

Grenier is serving his 14th year as Berlin’s mayor after serving on the city council. A former Berlin paper company worker and sales rep at Berlin City Auto Group who is now retired, Grenier, 67, is pleased with the progress the city has made.

Grenier says the city’s renaissance began with the $75,000 purchase of Heritage Park where the city holds many of its events. He says the chamber manages the park and uses revenues to enhance the park’s future.

“It’s been a very healthy relationship,” Grenier says. “We work very closely together. It’s been a great marriage.”

Kinney says the 10-acre park is now the center of Berlin for tourists and city residents to hold weddings and baby showers there. Kinney said the city now holds events such as RiverFire, the Journey to Jericho ATV Jamboree and WingZilla/RibZilla, that pull many visitors into the North Country city, which is Coos County’s economic hub.

ATV riders and snowmobilers can’t get enough of Jericho Mountain State Park,

“A community needs political leadership to make things happen,” Grenier says. “By and large, I have had my share of detractors and naysayers who felt we could not make this happen, and now, they’re changing their minds.”

— Robert Cook