■The 13th Annual Penacook Tree Lighting Ceremony is at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday at Boudreau Square on Village Street. Holiday songs will be performed by Penacook Elementary School Chorus; there will be refreshments and Santa, courtesy of the Concord Fire Department.
■Join the Penacook Branch Library’s upcoming book club meeting on Wednesday at 7 p.m., to discuss Paula McLain’s novel, Circling the Sun, a story about Beryl Markham, the first woman to solo the Atlantic and her early life in South Africa. Future meeting dates and book selections are posted at the library.
■Penacook Winter Farmers Market at Riverhill Grange will be closed Wednesday and resume Dec. 5.
■The Penacook Village Association will meet Thursday at 6 p.m., in the Merrimack Valley High School cafeteria. This meeting, co-sponsored with the city of Concord, will focus on the streets around the school campus in regards to safety, traffic patterns, use of the roads for school entrance, and controlling excessive speeds, with the hope of identifying problems and implementing traffic calming improvements for residents. Guest will include city staff and school officials.
■The Catholic Daughters, Court Pope John Paul II No. 2602, will hold a Christmas Fair and Cookie Walk on Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Immaculate Conception Church, 9 Bonney St., in the church hall. Homemade cookies will be sold by the pound. You can take a chance at the raffle table filled with donated items from the vendors and CDA members and listen to Christmas music while shopping and supporting local crafters. A soup luncheon will be provided. Raffle winners will be announced at 1 p.m.
■A Holiday Wreath and Craft Raffle will be held at Penacook Community Center on Dec. 8, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wreaths decorated and donated by local businesses and friends of PCC, other holiday crafts, and gifts will be raffled. There will be a Holiday Bake Sale and light refreshments. The North Pole Workshop will be open with children’s activities. Money raised from the raffle will benefit PCC programs. For more information, call PCC at 753-9700.
CHERYL STINSON
news03303@aol.com
■The 18th Annual “Fez-tival of Trees at the Bektash Shrine Center is ending today. The Shrine Center is located at 189 Pembroke Road. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, and children under 12 are free. Group rates are also available. For further information, go to bektashshriners.org or call 225-5372.
■Concord Grange No. 322 will meet Monday at 6:30 p.m. at 48 Airport Road. Lecturer Gary Ford will present a Thanksgiving program and there will be a planning meeting to set the schedule for the coming year. Members are reminded that the annual Grange Christmas Dining Out will be Dec. 3 at 5:30 p.m. at Veano’s Restaurant in Pembroke. The members who have Secret Pals must bring a gift revealing who they were. The members will also exchange cards and a $10 gift.
■The 67th annual Christmas parade was a big success despite Mother Nature bringing snow. Concord Engine No. 7 won newest in the Fire Department category, farthest traveled was the Hillsboro Fire Department, and the oldest was the Pembroke Fire Department. Restoration Four Square Church of Concord won first place in the Church Division. Donna Robie and family won first place with the Santa Float. Many thanks to the Grange members and others who helped with the formation. Also, thank you to R&K Music Entertainment and helpers for the sound system. A big thank you to John’s Wrecker Service for providing the flatbed trailer and truck for the Santa float and the trailer for the reviewing stand.
■Dicken’s A Christmas Carol will be featured at the Hatbox Theatre at the Steeplegate Mall from Thursday to Dec. 16. Fruitcake! will be performed beginning Friday to Dec.16.
■The Concord Chapter of Adult Children of Alcoholics will meet on Monday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Grace Episcopal Church. To learn more, visit ConcordACA.org.
The Horseshoe Pond Toastmasters will meet Wednesday at noon at Northeast Delta Dental. For more information, call 223-3962.
The Karner Blue Toastmasters will meet Thursday at 5 p.m. on Hazen Drive at the environmental science building. Call 588-3126.
CHRIS WEEDEN
224-1715
clweeden@comcast.net
■The Pope Memorial SPCA of Concord-Merrimack County will hold a Holiday Open House and Wish List Drive on Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. Enjoy tours, visit adoptable pets, refreshments, and pet photos taken with Santa Paws. Visit popememorialspca.org.
■Beaver Meadow School will be holding their 29th Annual Craft Fair on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, call 225-0853.
■The Zonta Club of Concord will hold its 28th Annual Holiday Auction on Dec. 5 at the Grappone Conference Center from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The evening will include delicious appetizers, silent and live auctions, wine raffle, scratch ticket bonanza, an ante-up for education component, grab ‘n’ go goodies and a cash bar. To reserve your ticket, log onto zontaclubofconcordnh.org.
■The Concord UU Church (274 Pleasant Street) will be holding its annual Artisans and Greens Fair on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Dec. 2 noon to 1 p.m. There will be hand decorated balsam wreaths, local artisans, poinsettias raffle baskets, and a holiday boutique. Stay for lunch with soups, breads and homemade pies and go home with a great variety of cookies from the Cookie Walk. For more information, call 224-0291 or visit concorduu.org.
■The Concord Public Library is having holiday-theme crafting night of making up-cycled holiday lanterns and wreaths. This event is Wednesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and is limited to 25 participants (age 12 and up) and registration is required. Register online at concordpubliclibrary.net/registration, at the Main Desk, or by phone 225-8670, ext. 2.
■Come join the Concord City Auditorium Holiday Party on Dec. 2 at 6 p.m. Everyone is welcome. For more information, call 344-4747.
■Capital Toastmasters will Monday at 6:30 p.m. at Granite Ledges, 151 Langley Parkway. For more information, call 210-386-7351 or visit capital.toastmastersclubs.org.
LYNDA PLANTE
717-1632
soxpatscats@gmail.com
■This December, explore Shaker song and dance, and sing along with the Canterbury Singers at Concord Community Music School, in two free Bach’s Lunch programs. On Dec. 6 at 12:10 p.m., Mary Ann Haagen presents “For Dancing is the Soul’s Delight: Shaker Marches, Dances and Motioning Songs.”
■The magic and tradition of The Nutcracker returns to the Capitol Center for the Arts! Join us on Saturday and Dec. 2 in the Land of Sweets – a true family treat! Tickets are $18 to $23. Call 225-1111.
■Lindsey Buckingham, producer, guitarist, vocalist and chief songwriter for Fleetwood Mac, will be at the Capitol Center for the Arts on Dec. 8 at 7:30 p.m.
■On Dec. 5 at 5:30 p.m., Sports Historians Glenn Stout and Richard Johnson sweep into the Gibson’s Bookstore end zone to share their collaboration, The Pats: An Illustrated History of the New England Patriots, the definitive, lively, and robust history of the New England Patriots, from Billy Sullivan to Bill Belichick and everything in between. (Are you planning for holiday gifts? A signed books makes a great gift.)
■Santa and Mrs. Claus are making a stop into Heritage Harley-Davidson, 142 Manchester St., on Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. for pictures with Santa. This event is free to the public, and parking is free.
■Join the Payson Cancer Center for an educational opportunity to learn more about how the HPV vaccine is the key to cancer prevention on Dec. 5. Registration is 5:30 to 6 p.m. and the dinner/program is 6 to 7:30 p.m. The objectives are to define the importance of HPV vaccination for cancer prevention, list the indications for the HPV vaccine, provide useful and compelling information about the HPV vaccine. Share this information at 250 Pleasant St., third floor, Boucher Conference Room.
■Join Runner’s Alley on Dec. 6 as we host Dr. Andrew Longley from Bay State Physical Therapy as he performs myofascial cupping in 15 minute time slots. Space is limited and absences cannot be filled on the day. If for some reason you cannot attend, let us know ASAP. Myofascial cupping is a treatment that uses suction to lift and decompress tissues. For more information, please see baystatept.com.
■The Abbot-Downing ski program is a parent/volunteer run program developed by Pats Peak to help learn to ski or snowboard at significantly reduced rates. The program runs for five Fridays, beginning Jan. 4. Students are dismissed from school about noon to head to the mountain where they receive a one-hour lesson and then may ski the remainder of the day. There are two Fridays reserved for make-up sessions if lessons are canceled due to weather or school closings. Contact mmsawyer@gmail.com.
■Audiovisual collections, such as home movies and television and radio broadcasts, bring the past to life using sound and moving images. However, AV material also present unique challenges to individuals, families and organizations trying to care for them. This one-day workshop, presented in conjunction with the Northeast Document Conservation Center, provides overview AV materials stored in organizations and family collections and introduces strategies for their care and digitization. The cost is $75 members, $100 nonmembers at the N.H. Historical Society, 30 Park St., Saturday and Dec. 2 from 2 to 4 p.m.
■Too much to eat? Go see a movie at Red River Theatres. Now playing or coming soon: Boy Erased, Can You Ever Forgive Me? and Free Solo. Don’t forget their Art Gallery and Rockingham Brewery offerings.
JEAN VER HOEVEN
856-304-5830
jeanann@voicenet.com