Pro Portsmouth Presents Market Square Day 2011

PORTSMOUTH—
On Saturday, June 11, Pro Portsmouth will present its 34th Annual Market Square Day Festival & 10K Road Race, the City’s premier Downtown festival.
At a recent press conference, Pro Portsmouth’s Executive Director Barbara Massar thanked the many area businesses who make Market Square Day possible – in particular several of the long-term partners including the Title Sponsor of the Road Race, Access Sports Medicine & Orthopedics and longtime Festival and Race Supporting Sponsors Liberty Mutual, Oakhurst Dairy, Portsmouth Regional Hospital and Coca Cola of Northern New England.
Festival and Race Sponsors also include this year’s Program Partner, Irving Oil. They are joined by Bottomline, Runner’s Alley, PowerAde and Dasani.
The press conference introduced Dawn Pepe as the 2011 Logo Artist. Dawn’s design was chosen from nearly 80 submissions and will be featured on all Race and Volunteer T-shirts as well as the Festival T-shirt which will be available at the Pro Portsmouth booth in Market Square during the event. The second and third place designs were both submitted by member’s of Terra Merry’s Portsmouth High School Computer Graphics’ classes with second place going to Kevin O’Leary ($125) and third to Andy Zou ($75). Previously, Pepe’s work was featured on the 2004 Market Square Day logo.
This year’s Market Square Day Historic Walk takes place on Friday, June 10 at 6:00 p.m. The Walk begins at Market Square in front of the North Church.
Market Square Day features entertainment throughout the day on three stages. Various acts will fill the Downtown with music and dance. “We’re very pleased to feature our First Night® ‘Battle of the Bands’ winner, The Grounded,” noted Massar. “This year’s musical offerings take on a very diverse sound with Salt River, Grupo Fantasia, Martin England and Djoliba Kan – just to name a few.”
An abundance of crafters, local businesses and food vendors will set up ‘shop’ on the streets of Portsmouth. Over 150 will be on hand for this year’s festival.
Parking restrictions do take place in Downtown Portsmouth beginning at 4:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 11. Streets will be posted on Friday, June 10 to indicate where parking is prohibited during the festival. Parking restrictions will be enforced and vehicles will be towed at the owner’s expense. The Parking Garage offers a flat fee of $5.00 from the hours of 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and $3.00 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Shuttle service provided by First Student Transit/Pro Portsmouth runs from the overflow lot at the Fox Run Mall (across from the JC Penny/Lens Crafters side of Mall) to the Hanover Street Bus Station across from the Hilton Garden Inn (Hanover Street Bus Stop) in Downtown Portsmouth. The shuttle runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The event, often referred to as the unofficial start to summer on the Seacoast, draws on nearly 2,000 runners and competitive walkers for the 10K race and 80,000 festival-enthusiasts to the heart of the City. The Road Race starts at 9 a.m. in Market Square. The Festival runs from 9 a.m. through 4 p.m.
Market Square Day is produced by Pro Portsmouth. Pro Portsmouth, Inc. is a 501c (3) organization serving the Seacoast area. Its Mission is to promote the arts, culture, history and community of the area through such events as Children’s Day, Market Square Day, Summer in the Street and First Night® Portsmouth. For more information on the group, including volunteer and sponsorship opportunities, visit www.proportsmouth.org.
Photo caption: Pro Portsmouth’s Market Square Day 2011 will take place this Saturday, June 11 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The 2011 MSD Logo is the creation of Dawn Pepe, whose artwork will be featured in all Market Square Day marketing and on the Race, Volunteer and sale T-shirts. (Courtesy image)

Cochecho Arts Festival Lineup Announced

DOVER—
The 25th Anniversary season of the Cochecho Arts Festival opens on Monday, July 4, 2011 at the Rotary Arts Pavilion in Henry Law Park with an Independence Day celebration, sponsored in part by Liberty Mutual.
This year, the Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce is pleased to kick off the Festival’s Headliners Series with a Fourth of July performance by one of Rolling Stone Magazine’s “Top 6 Breakout Bands to Watch,” Wisconsin “Garage Pop” band, Locksley. The concert will begin at 7:00pm at the Rotary Arts Pavilion, concluding with the July 4th Fireworks display at 9:15.
The Festival’s Friday Night Headliners Series presents local and regional music performed by artists like Gazpacho, Wooden Eye and The Spectras. Following the July 4 season opener, the Friday Night Headliners Series continues with: Rock My Soul, July 8 – presented by Wentworth-Douglass Hospital; The Don Campbell Band, July 15 - presented by Federal Savings Bank; Gazpacho, July 22; Wooden Eye, July 29 – presented in part by Measured Progress; Tuckermans at 9, August 5 – presented by D. F. Richard Energy; The Spectras, August 12 - presented by the Rotary Club of Dover
This year’s Friday Night concerts will also feature local artisans displaying their work on the Festival grounds, as well as select food vendors providing picnic-friendly wares, and the ever-present Dover Fire Department Popcorn Stand.
The Tuesday Children’s Series, which is underwritten by Liberty Mutual, has grown dramatically in recent years, and these popular family events now average about 500-700 attendees per week. The Rotary Arts Pavilion’s Henry Law Park location is just footsteps away from the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire, the City’s Indoor Swimming Pool, the public playground and grassy riverside expanse of the Park itself. There are also several family-friendly restaurants and retail shops in the immediate vicinity, including the Noggin Factory Toy Store, Ralph’s House of Tone, LaFesta Brick and Brew, Lucy’s Art Emporium and Harvey’s Bakery. Collectively, this creates a template for an extremely enjoyable and fun-filled day that takes place in a very cozy, yet highly visible area of downtown.
Each week, the Tuesday Children’s Series features a different performance, including music, dancing, puppeteers, jugglers, magicians, unicyclists and theatrical performances: The Little Red Wagon, July 5 – presented by CHaD – Dover; Jody Gourlay, July 12 - presented by St. Thomas Aquinas; Wayne from Maine, July 19 - presented by Musical Arts Academy; Todd Wellington, July 26 – presented by Holy Rosary Credit Union; BJ Hickman, August 2; Marcus Gale, August 9.
The Rotary Arts Pavilion is also home to the popular “Shark in the Park” summer lunchtime concert series featuring many of the area’s most popular rock bands. The “Shark in the Park” Series is designed to give downtown residents and employees a chance to get outside during the summer months to enjoy the concerts and the beautiful surroundings of the Henry Law Park. The Thursday noon “Shark in the Park” Luncheon Series includes performances by Big John & The Twins on July 7, Rosie on July 14, The Jen Thayer Band on July 21, Truffle on July 28, Rockfish on August 4 and The Twitch on August 11.
After being successfully introduced to the Festival in 2010, the Wednesday Market Series is being offered again this year between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. every Wednesday from July 8 through August 10, and is the only segment of the Cochecho Arts Festival that is not held at the Rotary Arts Pavilion. The Wednesday Market Series consists primarily of “unplugged” acoustic music, and the setting is the Dover Farmers Market, situated directly in front of the Chamber Visitor Center at 550 Central Avenue. The Farmers Market is presented by the Seacoast Growers Association, with all of the produce, herbs, meats and poultry, cheeses, baked goods and other items being locally grown, produced and harvested. Other nearby points of interest are: Simply Green Biofuels; the Re-Store, where salvaged construction materials are sold to benefit Habitat for Humanity; Dover Cyclery; Garrison Hill Florists; Khaophums Thai Restaurant and the Dover Natural Marketplace.
In celebration of the Festival’s 25th Anniversary, the Festival Committee is also introducing a new component this year. On Saturday, July 16, the Cochecho Arts Festival will proudly present the first ever Festival Movie Night. This highly anticipated event is being co-sponsored by Marion Cheney ReMax legacy, Federal Savings Bank and Bernson Legal, and will feature a showing of the beloved American classic film Casablanca. The event will begin at dusk in lower Henry Law Park, offering attendees the opportunity to enjoy a riverside picnic on the lawn with unobstructed views of the 20’ inflatable outdoor movie screen.
Visit www.CochechoArtsFestival.org for more information on the season’s schedule, including photos of the performers and links to their websites, a history of the Festival, directions to Henry Law Park, news articles, information on how to get involved, and much more.
Festival-goers are encouraged to show their support for the Festival by purchasing a Festival button for $10. This commemorative Button features a unique 25th Anniversary Festival logo for 2011, and includes discounts and free benefits from supporting businesses. In addition to the customary “Button Benefits” that patrons can receive by wearing their Buttons to participating businesses, Button purchasers will also be given “Instant Benefits” packets, which contain coupons and Gift Certificates worth in excess of $250.
Buttons and official Cochecho Arts Festival programs will be available the end of June at the Chamber Visitor’s Center, as well as at all Festival events. The program also will be available through state and local Visitor Centers and various Dover downtown merchants.
The Cochecho Arts Festival is a summer-long series of music and entertainment that is 100% admission free for the entire community, and operated using sponsorship funds from local businesses. The Festival draws tens of thousands of attendees annually to a diverse array of over 25 outdoor events and performances. The Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce’s Festival Committee has been producing the event for the past 25 years.
Photo caption: During a recent press conference at the Chamber Visitor Center, the 2011 Festival Schedule, Performance Lineup, and 25th Anniversary Festival Logo were unveiled. (Courtesy image)

Music Hall Announces Summer Historical Tours

PORTSMOUTH—
The Music Hall, Portsmouth’s landmark Victorian theater and arts center, has announced its schedule for Summer 2011 historical tours. The behind-the-scenes tour of the historic theater, designated An American Treasure, will run on alternate Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m., June through September. Running approximately 75 minutes, the tour includes visits to the backstage area where 1901 Vaudeville era “technology” is still in use, the antique front of house dating to 1878, and the enchanting lobby renovated with great flair in 2008.
Arranged and guided by Music Hall Historian Zhana Morris, also the theater’s production manager, the historical tour paints a full picture of the history of the treasured theater, including the tales of sailors who rigged the theater in the late 19th Century, its flashy and famous owners, and stars across three centuries. Its performers have ranged from Mark Twain to Wynton Marsalis and David Crosby; Vaudeville acts with animals to “RENT” the musical and violinist Joshua Bell. Visitors will see the passage of time through the building’s award-winning restorations and renovations, which have brought back details dating back to 1878 and 1901, the hall’s periods of architectural significance.
First stop is the Beaux Arts lobby which has been heralded in the regional and national press as “jaw-dropping” and a “a one-of-a-kind surprise…. a world class space.” The 2,600 sq. ft space, including the box office, lower lobby, restrooms, elevator and coat check, reflects the Beaux Arts beauty of the theater above and showcases the theater’s history in a bold and theatrical way while offering striking 21st century amenities. Since the Lobby opened in September 2008, it has be compared to the work of Louis Comfort Tiffany, the design of ships that once filled Portsmouth’s harbor, the lushness of turn-of-the-century Colorado gold rush hotels, and the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
The tour continues into the theater’s auditorium and up to its magnificent horseshoe balcony. There the main attractions are the restored decorative paintings on the ceiling dome and the proscenium arch adorned with cherubs – award-winning restorations unveiled to the public in September 2007 and 2006. The extraordinary decorative artistry had been covered over and forgotten for decades, the work of original owners of The Music Hall and artisans from 1878 to 1901. Visitors gain insight into the paintings’ history and their one-of-a-kind discovery in Winter 2007 – a find architectural conservators called “so dramatic, it takes your breath away.”
Finally, visitors are invited backstage to view antique riggings still operating today. Merging a colorful past and present, the tour provides tour-goers with unique perspectives on yesterday, today, and the future of the oldest operating theater in northern New England.
Said Morris, “The artists who come here today are amazed, first, at how beautiful the theater is and, second, how we operate simultaneously in the old world and the new world in terms of technology and architecture. When they see the packed audiences and hear the acoustically perfect sound that comes with our 1878 design, they are even more aware of what a gem The Music Hall is, the ‘beating cultural heart of the New Hampshire Seacoast region.’ Our guest book is full of quotes worthy of framing, from my perspective. All of them encourage us to keep up with our work restoring the theater.”
Historical Tours of The Music Hall will be held on alternate Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m.: on June 15, and 29; July 13 and 27; August 10 and 24; Sept 7 and 21 at 5:30 p.m. Tour tickets are $7.50 ($5 member) and can be purchased in advance at www.themusichall.org or at 603-436-2400, or on the day of the tour at the theater’s box office, 28 Chestnut Street, Portsmouth, NH. Box office hours are noon-6:00pm Monday through Saturday.
Photo caption: The Music Hall in Portsmouth has announced its schedule for the Summer 2011 historical tours. (Photo by Blind Dog Photo, courtesy The Music Hall)