Third Annual Pizza-Tasting Event Benefits Children’s Museum

DOVER—

On Saturday, November 5, pizza aficionados of all ages can cast their votes for best regional pizza restaurants at the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire’s third annual PizzaFest and Holiday Auction. The event will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Children’s Museum of NH in Dover and is generously sponsored by D.F. Richard. Attendees will be able to sample different varieties of pizza from local purveyors, then vote for their favorites. All proceeds benefit the museum’s innovative education and outreach programs.
Seacoast area pizza restaurants will be serving up both cheese and specialty pizzas for guests to sample and judge in the categories of Kids’ Choice Cheese and Grown-Ups’ Choice. A judging panel will crown the Judges’ Pick for Best Pizza, Best Crust and Most Creative Toppings. This year’s judging panel will include a student from the Culinary Arts program at the Regional Career Technical Center at Dover High School.
Eight pizza restaurants are already confirmed for this year’s event: Dover House of Pizza, Kendall Pond II, La Festa Brick & Brew Pizzeria, Papa Gino’s, River Bend Pizza & Subs, Roger’s Restaurant, Smiley’s, and Uno’s Chicago Grill.
In addition to all the pizza tasting, there will be activities for children including games, interactive exploration of exhibits and face painting. This event is family friendly but adults on their own are also welcome, as this is a great opportunity to start holiday shopping.
This year’s Holiday Silent Auction will offer dozens of great gift ideas for family, friends, business associates and more. Items up for bid will include ski passes to Cranmore Mountain Resort, an overnight at the Inn & Spa at Mills Falls, a one-week kids’ kayak camp donated by Portsmouth Kayak Adventures, a $500 certificate toward a solar installation from Revision Energy, family portrait packages from Goldsmith Photography, vehicle maintenance certificates from Bill Dube Ford, $50 of Usborne Books and much more.
The cost of the Children’s Museum PizzaFest and Holiday Auction is $10 for adults, $7 for children age 10 and under, and children age two and under are free. Advance reservations are required as space is limited. Reservations can be made by calling the museum at (603) 742-2002 during regular weekday business hours or making payment at the front desk.
Photo caption: The proprietors of Kendall Pond II in Dover will be serving up slices at the Children’s Museum of NH’s PizzaFest for a third consecutive year. (Courtesy photo)

Seabrook Station United Way Golf Invitational Crosses $500,000 Threshold

SEABROOK/RYE—

Seabrook Station held their annual Golf Invitational to benefit United Way of the Greater Seacoast (UWGS) in September at Abenaqui Country Club in Rye, NH with outstanding results. 136 golfers hit the links and recent totals show an impressive $30,000 raised for UWGS. Since the first tournament in 1989, over $500,000 has been raised in support of UWGS and the Greater Seacoast community.
At the celebration event following the tournament, UWGS Sr. Director of Resource Development Janet Guen recognized the efforts of the Seabrook Station team:
“Each year I am both grateful and humbled by the enthusiasm and support that Seabrook Station brings to the table. It is because of the leadership and compassion of company’s like NextEra that we are able to make a difference in the lives of so many.”
Along with NextEra Energy, tournament event sponsors were Ames, BHI Energy, GE Energy, Westinghouse Electric Corp., and Shaw Stone and Webster. Special thanks go to Mike Lewis and Nancy O’Neil who co-organized the event, and to all who participated in the tournament.
Photo caption: Pictured (left to right): tournament organizer Nancy O’Neil, NextEra Energy Seabrook Station Site Vice President Paul Freeman, United Way of the Greater Seacoast Senior Director Resource Development Janet Guen, and United Way Golf Coordinator Mike Lewis. (Courtesy photo)

Opening Scenes: ‘50/50’

By Chip Schrader

Movie Reviewer
“50/50” begins with a shot of moving pavement; a hand holding an iPod moves into the frame. As the camera pans back, we see a man in a sweat suit running along a waterfront with the Seattle skyline on the other side. The man stops at the “Do Not Walk” light, while another jogger runs by him to cross the street, regardless of the sign. The light changes and he proceeds.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays as Adam, the cautious jogger who doesn’t drive because it is the fifth leading cause of death. In spite of his prudence, he is diagnosed with a rare form of cancer where mutated genes formed into a tumor along his spinal cord. When telling his 50/50 chance of survival to his best friend Kyle, played by Seth Rogen, Kyle tries to maintain his composure, stating Adam would have better chances than anyone in Vegas with those chances.
The cast is stellar with Anjelica Huston, Anna Kendrick, and Bryce Dallas Howard (The Help) supporting the painful and complicated journey of a 27-year-old cancer patient. Anjelica Huston is Adam’s mother, a worrier whose husband is marooned in the latter stages of Alzheimer’s disease. For her own survival, she seeks her son to allow her to care for him, but his girlfriend, played by Howard, leaves viewers scratching their heads with her care-giving methods.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s portrayal seethes with pain, despair and loneliness until the adversity knots into the viewers’ guts. Just in time, Kyle comes into the scene, insists that his best friend exploit this illness as a means to live his life fully, and uses his vulgar humor to steer the audience and his best friend’s demeanor into lighter territory.
“50/50” will likely introduce Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen to Oscar-conscious audiences and filmmakers. Rogen’s character, in particular, displays that the comedic actor has the chops to be funny in a serious film with this subtly nuanced character. The scenes in the treatment center, Adam’s scenes of private pain, and his anger are very real to those who have witnessed the nature of the disease. Huston shines in the doctor’s office after Adam finally lets her into his private battle; this is the first of many scenes that bring goosebumps in the last third of the movie as Adam’s road to wellness narrows.
Bottom line: “50/50” should not be missed. Viewers will get chills from the deep humanity of the male friendship that inspired this story, and the struggles of a patient who always had to play protector. Scenes with an icy physician and a young psychologist needing a case study for her doctorate subtly indicate the commonplace shortcomings of healthcare. But, the sweeping political commentary is kept at bay as the heart of the story is the most inspiring. This film will make audiences hurt, hate, love, and laugh many times over. “50/50” is based on a true story and makes us revel that friendships like this really exist. 4.5 out of 5.
Photo caption: (Courtesy movie poster image)