Category Archives: Culture
Hooked on History
Newburyport author Anne Easter Smith reflects on the wild popularity of period dramas such as “Downton Abbey,” “Lincoln” and “Les Misérables.” Music soars. Skirts swirl. Love blossoms and tempers flare. Battles rage among classes and genders. And all the while, we stare, transfixed. On page or screen, at home or in theaters, historical drama has us [...]
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Baked Onion Apple Cider Soup with Smoked Cheddar Cheese Gratiné
Serves 6 to 8 - From Jeffrey Paige, Cotton, Manchester, N.H Ingredients: - ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter - 5 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced - 4 cups beef stock - 4 cups fresh apple cider - 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme - ¼ cup light brown sugar (omit if cider is sweet enough) [...]
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Summer Guide – Outdoor Music, Feasts & Festivals
Outdoor Music Heritage Farm Free Concert Series Lowell Heritage State Park: Through September 3 www.HeritageFarmIceCream.com Bring a chair or blanket and see a different band every Monday night at 7 p.m. along the Merrimack River at Lowell Heritage State Park’s Sampas Pavilion. The Classic Car Show starts an hour before each show at 6 p.m. See [...]
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Honeysickle
From Karen Andruszkiewicz, bar manager, MT’s Local Kitchen & Wine Bar, Nashua, N.H. Ingredients: • 1 1/2 ounces vodka • 1 teaspoon honey syrup (made using equal parts honey and hot water) • 1/2 lime • ginger beer (She recommends Squamscot from Newfields, N.H.) Directions: Fill a cocktail glass 3/4 with ice. Juice [...]
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Sub-Plots
Pleasant Valley Micro-Frams For 60 years, Methuen’s Pleasant Valley was a budget-friendly summer getaway for some of Lawrence’s immigrant millworkers. Fanning out from the banks of the Merrimack River, parcels as small as 25-feet by 50-feet were sold to newcomers. Italians, Armenians and Lebanese all got their hands dirty on the tiny plots they referred [...]
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The Merrimack Valley Philharmonic Orchestra
Fifty Years of Music and Community The Merrimack Valley Philharmonic Orchestra, which began in 1961 as a gathering of local musicians with a small grant from Raytheon, has endured the trials of time to become not only one of the region’s finest, but also a sanctuary for the hearts and souls of music lovers from [...]
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Coffee Talk – Collecting People – May/June 2010
Collecting People – A conversation with Tom & Ellen Zappala, authors of “The T206 Collection: The Players & Their Stories” Sitting next to his wife, Ellen, in the cafe at Mann Orchards in Methuen, a handsome copy of their new book resting open on the table, Tom Zappala held up the baseball card responsible for [...]
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The Show Must Go On – Merrimack Repertory Theatre
When asked why the Merrimack Repertory Theatre has enjoyed such success when so many other local theaters have recently been forced to close, Charles Towers, MRT’s Artistic Director, smiles thoughtfully. “We are small, but excellent. Producing intimate, first-rate plays creates an environment of mutual respect between the audience and the actors. We set the bar [...]
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Spirits of Summer
There is no better time than summer to sit back and enjoy a refreshing cocktail. Finding just the drink to please your palate, however, isn’t always easy. Centro Restaurant in Lowell solves this dilemma by offering a menu of cocktails where you are sure to find exactly what you desire. Centro’s inventive drink recipes are as inviting [...]
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Valleywood – Preserving the “Golden Age” of Cambodian Cinema