Children’s Museum of NH Hosts Daytime New Year’s Bash for Families

DOVER—
Children and their families are invited to ring in 2012 a little early at the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire’s annual daytime Family New Year’s Eve Celebration on Saturday, December 31. This festive event runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and includes three special “countdowns to midnight” held at 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. At each countdown, a glittering ball drops 30 feet from the ceiling as everyone counts down the last ten seconds of the year. Noisemakers and confetti create an atmosphere like Times Square, as “Auld Lang Syne” plays and ginger ale is served to all for the first toast of the New Year. Visitors are also invited to make their own sparkly party hats and write their wishes for the New Year on mini flying blimps that are launched at each countdown.
“The Children’s Museum has been hosting this tradition for more than 20 years, and it remains one of our most popular annual events,” explained Jane Bard, Education Director of the Children’s Museum of NH. “Kids hear about the excitement of what happens at midnight and want to experience it for themselves. We create a fun party atmosphere in the middle of the day so they can feel like they’ve actually celebrated New Year’s Eve. It’s a great way for different generations within a family to ring in the New Year together.”
The Children’s Museum of NH is located in Henry Law Park on the Cochecho River in downtown Dover. There is plenty of parking. Regular museum admission applies for this special event: price of admission: $9 for adults and children, $8 for seniors age 65+, and free for children under one year old.
Photo caption: Families prepare for the mid-day “countdown to midnight” at the Children’s Museum of NH’s annual Family New Year’s Eve Celebration. (Photo by TARAPhotography.com)

Benefit Being Held for Local Father Fighting Brain Cancer

Local Businesses, Artists, and Friends Band Together

PORTSMOUTH/ SOUTH BERWICK, ME—
Living Every Moment, a benefit concert for Paul Agakian, will be held at the Regatta Banquet and Conference Center off Rte 236 in Eliot, ME on Sunday, January 8, from 5 to 9 p.m.
Paul Agakian, a 34-year-old Durham native and South Berwick resident was recently diagnosed with an extremely rare and malignant form of brain cancer. The benefit is to help offset extensive medical expenses and assist in covering critical day-to-day costs for Paul’s two young children and wife Bailey, currently teaching social studies at Rochester Middle School.
The following musicians have donated their time to perform: Dan Blakeslee, TJ Wheeler, Dave Gerard, The New England Bluegrass Band Trio, Carri Coltrane, Full Chord Press, Bob Halperin and Mike Rogers, The Shaw Brothers with Taylor Whiteside, Billy Butler, Tim Theriault, Josh Jones, Dylan Schwartz-Wallach, and Paul’s brother, Roger Martin.
In addition to live music, Living Every Moment will feature a silent auction and raffles. Donated items include an exciting selection of artwork, crafts from local artisans, concert/game tickets, and gift certificates from seacoast establishments such as Cava, The Black Trumpet, Brazo, The Flower Kiosk, Pepperland Café, Indoor Ascent and many more.
This event is generously sponsored by The Regatta Banquet and Conference Center and Paul’s employer, NAPA Auto Parts, with poster art donated by Dan Blakeslee.
Tickets for the benefit are limited, and can be purchased in advance only for a suggested $25 donation from Ganesh Imports in Portsmouth, NH, and Newburyport, MA, Seacoast Sewing on Route 1 in Portsmouth (Bowl-a-Rama Plaza), Flatbread Company (Sunday -Thursday) in downtown Portsmouth, NAPA Auto Parts in York, ME, or directly through Erin Tuveson, one of the event coordinators.
Donation cans have also been placed inside various businesses around the Seacoast. Please help us support this incredible family. Direct contributions are also welcome. For more information, please visit www.supportingpaul.com or contact erin@supportingpaul.com. (Courtesy photo of Paul and Bailey Agakian)

Frozen Fenway Matchup to Feature UNH vs. Maine

By Larry Favinger
Staff Columnist
BOSTON, MA—
The ice hockey arch rivalry between the University of New Hampshire and the University of Maine will take to a new venue early in 2012, as they travel to Massachusetts to renew their storied rivalry.
The Frozen Fenway offering this time around will feature the Wildcats and the Black Bears on Jan. 7, according to school officials, Hockey East and Fenway Sports Management.
The historic doubleheader at the summer home of the Boston Red Sox will see the UNH-Maine game begin at 7:30 p.m., following a 4 p.m. contest between the University of Vermont Catamounts and the University of Massachusetts Minutemen.
“Few experiences in my four decades in college hockey were as special as the first Frozen Fenway in 2010,” Hockey East Commissioner Joe Bertagna said in announcing the twin bill. “It was a once in a lifetime experience for our four schools the first time around and I expect the same in 2012. Given that we will help launch Fenway Park’s 100th anniversary season, we are doubly grateful for this opportunity.”
“We look forward to kicking off Fenway Park’s 100th anniversary celebrations with Frozen Fenway 2012, which is a great way for thousands of families to come and enjoy favorite winter pastimes as we begin celebrating its milestone year,” said Red Sox Executive Vice President Sam Kennedy. “We want to thank Mayor Menino for his continued support, and welcome back Joe Bertagna and Hockey East to America’s Most Beloved Ballpark.”
“I’m absolutely thrilled for UNH men’s hockey to be part of the Frozen Fenway doubleheader,” said UNH 22nd-year head coach Dick Umile, a native of Melrose, Mass., when the doubleheader was announced. “I believe the UNH/Maine rivalry is as good as any in college hockey and bringing this game to a venue like Fenway Park is huge.”
The 111th meeting in the series between the neighboring states’ schools will be broadcast live in high definition on New England Sports Network (NESN).
“Being from Boston, it doesn’t get any better than playing at Fenway Park,” Umile said. “We are honored to be a part of this experience and we are looking forward to the opportunity, as I’m sure Vermont, Massachusetts and Maine are.”
New Hampshire owns the nation’s second-longest active streak of National Collegiate Athletic Association post-season appearances at 10, and had advanced to post-season play in 17 of the last 21 seasons. UNH has been to the Frozen Four seven times during Umile’s tenure as coach.
The Black Bears have appeared in 11 Frozen Fours, have a 28–18 record in NCAA Tournament games, and have won two national championships—in 1993 and 1999.

Opening Scenes: ‘Young Adult’

By Chip Schrader

Staff Movie Critic
“Young Adult” begins with an aerial shot of Minneapolis followed by a shot of a multilevel tenement building scaling up. Inside lays a woman face down on her bed with the television still on. She rolls out of bed to drink diet soda out of the bottle. When she sits down to her computer, a Word document is up with only “Chapter 1” written. Meanwhile, her agent left a message asking for the first draft of her book. She writes one sentence then opens an email that announces the birth of a baby. This baby’s picture will haunt her for the next several scenes.
The woman faced down is “Mavis Gary” played by Charlize Theron in another role where she forgoes her off screen glamour for the role of an aging woman who made it big. Making it big in Mercury, Minnesota, her hometown, is ghostwriting novels for a popular series. When she returns home from “the Mini-Apple,” Mavis’ intentions for a married ex, who recently became a father, begin to unravel in an unsavory plot.
The scene stealing Matt Freehauf is played by King of Queens alum Patton Oswalt. Throughout the film, Freehauf, a disabled former classmate of Mavis’, portrays the voice of a conscience that she seems so deeply lacking. Physically mangled from a high school bullying incident that earned him the nickname “hate crime guy,” he holds an inner morality that equals Mavis external beauty as her inner flaws prove beyond damaged and more toward grotesque.
The biting chemistry between these two actors provides most of the comic relief from the otherwise morally destitute theme of her journey. Diablo Cody, the award-winning “Juno” screenwriter, creates another successful and memorable story for indie filmgoers with this pseudo-indie release. Cody’s use of dialog in “Young Adult” has matured from frequent word plays and zingers to more realistic and meaningful exchanges between characters with the occasional one liner to spice it up.
While there are plenty of opportunities for dramatic highs and lows, there is a great deal of restraint in the acting and the writing. It is debatable whether this increases the quality of the film, or is detrimental to the development of the film and its characters. The deepest flaw in the writing might stem from the point that, although most movies have heroes and villains, this film seems like an act of revenge Cody has plotted against an old foe. Thus, Cody breaks the writer’s rule of never judging the characters, but rules are meant to be broken in art.
Bottom line: Director Jason Reitman masterfully shoots this subdued character based drama with fast paced cross shots, like close-ups of a cassette tape playing cut by Mavis driving across the state. These fast-paced sequences are followed by hypnotic and gritty documentary style shots to give the film the feel of classic Scorsese updated with a hip, shabby chic aesthetic. The acting all the way from extras to leads is spot on, but “Young Adult” is more cutting, serious and subdued than the ads would have viewers believe, which is a disservice to its achievements and target audience expectations. 4 out of 5. (Courtesy movie poster image)