Dover’s 4th of July Celebration Offers Something For Everyone

Dover legends, Gazpacho, will headline Dover’s 4th of July celebration, 

the opening event in the 2012 Cochecho Arts Festival.

DOVER –

The Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce will host Dover’s 4th of July celebration in Henry Law Park on Wednesday, July 4.  The celebration will feature two stages of entertainment, sponsored by Federal Savings Bank, carnival amusements, children’s activities, food vendors and an eight-pound hot dog eating contest.    The event is scheduled to kickoff at 2 p.m. and will conclude with the Liberty Mutual fireworks display set to begin at 9:15 p.m. 

Performances will begin at the Rotary Arts Pavilion at 2 p.m. with the Garrison Players’ performing their very own rendition of the Declaration of Independence.  Following the Garrison Players will be NorthEastern Ballet Theatre’s “Stars & Stripes” performance at 3:30 p.m. and a patriotic concert from the New Hampshire Army National Guard’s 39th Army Band at 6 p.m.

Entertainment on the River Stage, located in Lower Henry Law Park, will start at 3 p.m. with a performance by Tricky Dick’s Magic Show, followed by Matt Randall’s Black Belt Academy at 4 p.m. Mr. B’s Taekwon Do is at 5:30 p.m. and two performances from Americana Roots Rock performer Dan Walker are at 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m.  Capping off the July 4th celebration will be local legends, Gazpacho, taking the River Stage at 7:30 p.m. for a “totally awesome 80’s experience” that will continue throughout the Liberty Mutual Fireworks. 

“We are so excited about the full day of activities we have planned in Dover for the 4th,” said Stephanie Bolduc, July 4th committee chair.  “July 4th is a special day and through the support of Liberty Mutual, Federal Savings Bank, the City of Dover and countless donations from community members and organizations, we have been able to assemble a day that has a little something for everyone and will be remembered by all who attend.” 

Throughout the day Vertical Entertainment will have a climbing rock wall, simulated bungee jump ride and other carnival amusements in operation.  The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire and Paint Along Dover will be on site with arts and crafts for the kids and Lauri Thompson will be offering face painting. 

Deputy Dogs of Dover will be holding a hot dog eating contest of epic proportions at 4:30 p.m.  Teams of three will compete against one another to see who can eat a gigantic eight-pound hot dog, with bun and chili, in the fastest time.  The contest is $50 per team of three and all proceeds go directly to the Dover Children’s Home.  The winning team will go home with trophies and local gift cards.

For more information on Dover’s 4th of July celebration, contact the Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce at 603-742-2218.

Winners of First Granite State Beacon Award Announced

Congressman Frank Guinta posed with recipients of the first Granite State Beacon Award, Jennifer Turco Beaudet of Goffstown on the left, and Florence Wiggin of Stratham on the right.  The award was presented during the Women’s Job Fair in Manchester. (courtesy photo)

MANCHESTER –

The recipients of the very first women’s “Granite State Beacon Award” was presented during the Women’s Job Fair in Manchester. The inaugural award is shared by Florence Wiggin of Stratham and Jennifer Turco Beaudet of Goffstown.

“A beacon gives light to others,” Representative Guinta said. “The Granite State Beacon Award recognizes New Hampshire women who are actively working to improve and expand opportunities for women, and who also serve as positive role models.  For some women, success is measured by professional accomplishments and advancement in the workplace.  For others, it’s offering a helping hand to neighbors through civic and charity work.  For many women, success includes raising happy, confident and proud children and nurturing them along the path to adulthood.  Because of the many contributions made by Florence and Jennifer, New Hampshire is a better place to live, work and call home.”

A total of thirty-seven women were nominated for the award by members of Guinta’s Women’s Advisory Committee. Nominees included business executives, artists, community and civic activists, charity volunteer workers, small business owners and many others.

Florence Wiggin was selected for her wide array of community work. Besides being involved in her family’s egg business, she is a volunteer with Stratham Community Church, helps with the International Medical Equipment Collaboration, serves on the committee planning Stratham’s 300th birthday celebration and the Stratham Library’s centennial committee, serves on the New Hampshire Friendship Chorus Band, and somehow finds time to also serve on the Stratham Heritage Committee.

Jennifer Turco Beaudet was chosen in recognition of her remarkable story of overcoming repeated adversity. She is a survivor of both cancer and dating violence, and volunteers a great deal of her time and energy to help women who are struggling against both of those challenges. As a law school student, she also worked at Poverty Law Clinic as a Shelter Legal Services volunteer, and is currently with the Manchester office of Primmer Piper Eggleston & Cramer PC.

Hall of Fame Legend to Fly at Air Show

Sean D. Tucker in his Oracle Challenger III bi-plane (courtesy photo)

PORTSMOUTH –

National Aviation Hall of Fame legend Sean D. Tucker will be performing his awe-inspiring aerobatic flying routine at this weekend’s Service Credit Union Boston-Portsmouth Air Show.  The show takes to the skies Saturday and Sunday, June 30 and July 1 at the Portsmouth International Airport at Pease.  Tucker and Team Oracle arrived to begin practice on Wednesday, June 13

Tucker is internationally-known as the world’s premier civilian aviator and has received the highest awards in the industry including induction into the National Aviation Hall of Fame, the International Council of Air Shows Hall of Fame, the Living Legend Aviation Award, and many other awards and recognitions. He has been flying air shows worldwide since the mid 1970's and has won numerous aerobatic competitions. In that time, Tucker has flown more than 1,000 performances at more than 425 air shows, in front of more than 80 million fans.

Tucker’s airplane, the Oracle Challenger III bi-plane, has continued to improve each year. Tucker started with a factory built Pitts Special 30 years ago and modified it each year. After reaching the limits of the Pitts, Tucker's team designed a one of a kind airplane that could do anything that he asked of it. This resulted in the most high-performance aerobatic aircraft in the world in its time, the Challenger II biplane.  Tucker’s continuous demand to push the aircraft further resulted in the 2010 unveiling of the Oracle Challenger III, which is the most high-performance aerobatic aircraft in the world today.  This fire-breathing monster packs more than 400 horsepower, weighs just over 1,200 pounds and responds to the slightest pressure on the control stick even at 300 mph. To endure the extreme physical demands of each routine, Tucker maintains a rigorous physical training schedule by working out more than 340 days per year in a routine alternating jogging and weight-lifting.

Not only is Sean D. Tucker the leading aerobatic pilot in the world, he is also a larger than life character who touches the hearts of his fans and inspires millions of Americans. Tucker is extremely passionate about sharing his love of aviation with air show fans.  His self-proclaimed goal is to share the magic of flight with fans by inspiring and thrilling them. “I want them to go away saying that the air show was one of the most engaging days of their lives,” Tucker said. “We are extremely excited to be performing for the great fans in Portsmouth this weekend.”

Air Show to Feature Blue Angels, WWII War Birds

(courtesy photo)

By Larry Favinger

Staff Columnist

PORTSMOUTH – The sky will be filled with modern and historic aircraft later this month as Pease International Airport welcomes the Service Credit Union Boston-Portsmouth Air Show.

The annual aerial extravaganza will be headlined for the second time in three years by the United States Navy Blue Angels and will also feature some of the most renowned War Birds of World War II vintage. These planes include a Navy F4U-5 Corsair, a P-51 Mustang, a B-25 Mitchell bomber, and a TBM-3E Avenger.

The show is produced by the Daniel Webster Council, Boy Scouts of America, and the Brain Injury Association of New Hampshire, which, along with more than thirty other local not-for-profit groups, will benefit from it. The show is scheduled at Pease Saturday, June 30, and Sunday, July 1, and will be a fitting start to Fourth of July week.

According to a show spokesperson, the F4U-5 Corsair was a carrier-capable fighter primarily during WWII and Korea. Daniel McCue, who was born in Maine and raised in New Hampshire, will be flying the aircraft. McCue has been an air show performer for more than twenty-five years. The P-51 is an American made long-range single-seat fighter aircraft. This plane celebrates the nation’s armed forces. Each paint feature on it represents and honors those who have served our country and who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Father and son team Bill and Scott “Scooter” Yoak spent thirteen years working to make this Mustang a reality.

The Disabled American Veterans Flight Team brings the B-25  to this year’s show. The B-25, probably remembered as the plane used in the Doolittle Raid over Tokyo, Japan seventy years ago, shares a mission with DAV - reminding people of the sacrifices veterans make for freedom. DAV representatives will be on hand throughout the weekend to meet and greet veterans and answer questions about DAV benefits.

The Avenger is a torpedo bomber that made its debut at the Battle of Midway during World War II. These unique acts join the Blue Angels and the show’s second jet demonstration team, the Black Diamond Jet Team.

Other performers include the U.S. Army Parachute Team “Golden Knights”, air show legend Sean D. Tucker, aerobatic superstar Michael Goulian, Wingwalker Jane Wicker and the KC-135 Stratotanker. These are but a few of the attractions coming to the show. Fans can receive performer updates via social media on Facebook.com/ServiceCreditUnionBostonPortsmouthAirShow and Twitter.com/BostonPortAS.

Advanced general admission for the show is $20 for adults and $15 for youth ages 6-11. Ticket prices will increase to $25 for adults and $20 for youth the week of the event. There is a $10 fee for parking. There are several premium seating options and private chalets that include VIP parking passes available for purchase in advance. All tickets can be purchased at www.BostonPortsmouthAirShow.com.

Joan Didion Offers Straight Talk on Love and Loss

Joan Didion, author, and Margaret Talcott, associate producer of Writers on a New England Stage, at the Music Hall Tuesday night. (Photo by Tim Gillis)

By Timothy Gillis

Staff Columnist

PORTSMOUTH -

Renowned writer Joan Didion read from her latest work at the Music Hall Tuesday night. “Blue Nights” recounts the death of her daughter, Quintana Roo, from acute pancreatitis on August 26, 2005. That death came during Didion’s book tour for “The Year of Magical Thinking,” about the death of her husband, the writer John Gregory Dunne, and her daughter’s prolonged illness. The latter work won the National Book Award for Non-Fiction and catapulted Didion from accomplished author to celebrity status.

She was interviewed onstage after her reading by Virginia Prescott, host of New Hampshire Public Radio’s “Word of Mouth.”

“People came to know you through "The Year of Magical Thinking," Prescott said.

“And I got to know them,” Didion replied promptly. “A woman stopped me in the airport. She was with her two kids, and they were trying to twist away from her, you know - as kids do, and she told me how the book changed her.”

Didion’s “Blue Nights” started out as a book about her daughter’s death, but in many ways, became a book about her own aging and ill health. Always a petite woman with a powerful voice, Didion was escorted onto the stage and sat to read from her memoir. Her wit was as sharp as ever, however, especially as evinced in the interview.

Blue Nights is a myriad of styles - part F. Scott Fitzgerald, with glittery summer nights recounting the high-profile life the family led as Hollywood screenwriters, and part Allen Ginsberg, with repetitive lists of punctuated pain. Didion was asked if this style was intentional.

“It’s always intentional,” she said.

Didion admits that, despite her world travels and intelligent writing on topics as diverse as Miami’s Cuban expatriate community to fictional romantic thrillers, she didn’t know anything about raising a child.

Her mother tried to help her, she said, but “she didn’t know much of anything besides washing bottles.” When they adopted Quintana Roo, in 1968, they were planning to just go ahead with plans to travel to Saigon, despite the violent political climate.
“If you knew me, you’d know how clueless I was about being a mother,” she said.
The narrative of her child's adoption, as a chosen child, was often a difficult one to tell.

“There is a dark side with adoption: if somebody chooses you, there's somebody else who didn't choose you,” Didion said. She was aware of how vulnerable her daughter was, but she is still critical of her own manner of motherhood. “I tried to protect her by ignoring it,” she said.
“For a writer who tours through disaster zones, and stood in for us all, it's hard to imagine that,” Prescott replied.
A recurring image through the memoir, and in Quintana Roo’s childhood, is of the “Broken Man,” this haunting specter of a man who wears a gas station shirt with his ordinary name on it, leering at her in the bedroom.

“Was it a symbol?” Prescott asked.

“I didn't think it was a symbol. I thought it was a real man, trying to harm my daughter,” Didion said. “But we outgrew him.”
The author is famous for having said she didn’t know what she thought about something until she wrote it down. What does she know now, about the deaths of the husband and daughter, and her own declining health?
“The Year of Magical Thinking was about coming through, about surviving," Didion said. "Blue Nights was about not surviving, about aging. That's the experience. I may not survive."

Hilltop School Holds Fundraiser for Future Community Center

(courtesy photo)

By Sydney Jarrard

Staff Columnist

SOMERSWORTH –

The vacant Hilltop School in Somersworth is undergoing renovations to become a community arts, culture, and education center, with the anticipated opening in the spring of 2013. There is a fundraiser coming up on June 23 - a concert featuring folk, rock and roll, and jazz bands, with all proceeds going to the Hilltop School revitalization. The fundraiser is at the Somersworth High School pavilion at 6:30 p.m. with a raindate of Sunday, June 24.

As it stands now, the Hilltop School is an empty building in the historic district of town, which has turned the heads of many local residents in the past several months.

After a vote by the school board to build a new elementary school in a new location, the Hilltop School ceased operations in 2011. The people who came together as the Friends of Somersworth group saw the potential in the building and the historical significance of the structure, knowing that if left alone, it could be left abandoned or sold for next to nothing.

Realizing that many people in the area were traveling out of town to engage in arts and culture, the group began the initial phases to support the development of a creative community in the city - through the use of the Hilltop School - and to help with downtown redevelopment, the quality of life of the citizens, and to improve the town’s image. They sought to restore the building and bring it back to the community as a center for education and culture.

Starting with just a few residents living by the hill, the Friends of Somersworth group became a state-recognized organization in July 2011. The group includes residents of all ages and now has more than 100 active community members from town including Somersworth, Dover, and the Berwicks in Maine.

From those members, an official board was established earlier this year with thirteen members, and it meets once a week to hash out any new or persisting issues with the plan for the school.

The group began its extensive outreach in September 2011, delivering a business plan and petitioning the city to establish a public-private partnership with the group.

The 21-page business plan proposed a dreamlike vision of a community center, complete with blooming landscaping, an outdoor amphitheater, the sounds of music lessons and someone learning Chinese, the smell of paint from an artist’s studio and coffee from a communal kitchen. The plan states that the center will be “the start of something amazing; the start of a partnership; the extension and connection of a community; the establishment of creative placemaking in the city; the first words in the story that tells future generations that Somersworth is something more today than it was in 2011.”

Knowing that the plan will change and adapt as they encounter obstacles and opportunities, the Friends of Somersworth group was thrilled when the Somersworth City Council unanimously approved the initial proposal in February 2012. The group is now working with the city to secure grant money to begin the redevelopment of the school. As Emmett Soldati, the board’s chair, explains, “Arts and culture are alive and well in the Seacoast region.”

Fundraising for the project is in progress, both for short-term needs and then for long-term, but the Friends of Somersworth group knows they are not in this alone. “That’s where it’s going to become a community project,” says Soldati. The plans are in place to draft an artistic map of downtown Somersworth, with proceeds from ad space to help fund the school, in the hopes of branding Somersworth as a destination.

The biggest challenge the group has faced since gaining approval by the city is keeping track of all of the ideas. “It almost seems like we’re constantly in the brainstorming stage,” says Soldati. “At the end of the day, no building renovations have been made. Until that time, it is very open and last minute changes can be made. The big challenge were working with right now is taking what we have and just running with it.”

In addition to the planning, there’s much to be done - fixing the heating, installing fire doors, and wading through the many inspections - but the work is underway. “It’s been a pretty exciting project for us,” says Soldati.

The hope is to phase the building into progress in stages, as each section or floor of the building becomes ready for use. If the cards fall right, residents of Somersworth and towns nearby will be visiting the space for music lessons or a group meeting or a painting class by next spring.

32nd Annual Somersworth International Children’s Festival

SOMERSWORTH –

(photo courtesy of Metro Creative)

The celebration kicks off the weekend on Friday, June 15, at 6:30 p.m. at the Festival Pavilion located at Somersworth High football field. This year, they feature T- Bone and the local popular band Gazpacho. The evening will also have more than thirty vendors with an excellent variety of foods, games, activities, and a large fireworks display. The evening will be sponsored by the City of Somersworth to promote the pride of Somersworth.  

The enjoyment continues on Saturday, June 16,  as the Main Street of Somersworth and the Noble Pines Park become an area of entertainment. With three stages on Main Street of continuous acts, you can enjoy kids’ entertainers to adult entertainment from blues to rock and roll music. Also, they will have lots of ethnic entertainers.   There will be a large variety of kids’ activities - for example the Expo Tent will have pine wood derby racing and exotic animals from the Zoo Encounters. You can actually hold a snake! They also have an early childhood play area where the tiny ones can make bubbles and play in the sand or finger paint. There will also be a variety of all American and ethnic foods. More than eighty crafters will bring their wares for you to buy.

 Take a trip around the world and visit the World Cultures area, which will feature many countries. This area includes groups from Brazil, Poland, China, Rwanda, Indonesia and many other countries with different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. They will demonstrate aspects of their heritage. As children learn about a country, they will have a passport stamped for that country. When they have stamps from all the countries represented, they will be entered into a drawing for a bike and many other  great prizes. In this area, many of the countries will offer foods from their native lands.

Then take a bus up to the Noble Pines Park. There will be pony rides, a free petting zoo, llamas, food vendors and another stage of entertainment to amuse the children and the young at heart. There is even a water slide done by the fire department.

The festival has a large variety of more than 200 vendors, crafts, activities and food for the young and old alike. For more information, call the Somersworth Festival Association office at 603- 692-5869.

Pulitzer-prize Winner Speaks about Her New Book

NEWINGTON & PORTSMOUTH -

(courtesy image)

As part of a pre-Father’s Day event, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Barbara Walsh will speak about her new book, “August Gale: A Father and Daughter’s Journey into the Storm” Friday, June 15, at the Newington/Portsmouth Barnes & Noble from 4 to 7 p.m.

In “August Gale,” Walsh - who has interviewed killers, bad cops, and crooked politicians in the course of her career - faces the most challenging story of her lifetime: asking her father about his childhood pain. In the process, she takes readers on two heartrending odysseys: one into a deadly Newfoundland hurricane and the lives of schooner fishermen who relied on God and the wind to carry them home. The other, into a squall stirred by a man with many secrets, a grandfather who remained a mystery until long after his death.

A New Hampshire native and University of New Hampshire graduate, Walsh is also the author of “Sammy in the Sky,” a children’s book illustrated by painter Jamie Wyeth. She will also sign her children’s book at the event.

Walsh has worked at several newspapers during her career, and at the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune in Lawrence, Massachusetts, she worked on a year-long series about first-degree killer Willie Horton and Massachusetts’ flawed prison furlough system. The story won a Pulitzer Prize and affected the 1988 presidential election.

For more information, contact Barnes & Noble at its 45 Gosling Road store 603-422-7733. Read more about Barbara Walsh at http://barbarawalsh.net.

Local Sunday Schoolers Become Environmentalists, Raise Funds to Protect Trees

Anna Boudreau of the Strafford Rivers Conservancy accepts a generous donation from Kristin Forselius' 2nd and 3rd grade Sunday School Class at Durham Community Church. L to R: Jack Lilly, Lucy Rainer, Liam Ashburner, Madison LaForce, Ailla Cross, Jack Glutting Gilsdorf, Kyra Langley & Mia Hricz. Kneeling: Evelyn Ashburner and Emma Hall. 

(courtesy photo)

DURHAM & ROLLINSFORD –

Kristin Forselius is very proud of her 2nd and 3rd grade Sunday school class at Durham Community Church. On Sunday, June 3, the class presented the Strafford Rivers Conservancy, a nonprofit land trust, with a donation of $597.08 which was the result of the fundraiser portion of their “give back” project. Last fall, the class decided to focus on a community service project that would help in the preservation of trees and launched a ten-week endeavor to carry out their goal.  The project incorporated two elements, an educational piece and a fundraiser.  With the help of Chris Hall and Brenda LaForce, the children made 558 flower seed balls to sell and raise money for the tree preservation work of the Strafford Rivers Conservancy (SRC). For the educational component, the students wrote the play called “Should We Plant a Seed?” and performed it at the Durham Community Church on Sunday, May 20.  “Their goal for the play,” said Forselius, “was to spread the word about why we should appreciate and preserve the beautiful trees we are blessed to have around.” When  asked what their favorite part of the project was, 2nd grader Evelyn Ashburner said, “Getting messy and putting the seed balls together!” Mia Hricz said “The most fun part for me was thinking about helping someone else and knowing that we’re helping save trees.”  Anna Boudreau, executive director of the SRC was on hand to receive the generous donation from the beaming children. “I wasn’t expecting this,” said Boudreau. “This is amazing. You’ve all done such a great job. Thank you.”  Ms. Forselius pointed out how “one person, or in this case, fourteen of you put together, can make a big difference.”  “It’s just like the seed!” said Liam Ashburner, as he and fellow classmate, Jack Glutting Gilsdorf, jumped up to recall the final words of the play, “It may be small, but seeds grow into something big!” For more information about how you can support the Strafford Rivers Conservancy, contact Anna Boudreau at 603-516-0772, via mail at the SRC, PO Box 623, Dover, NH 03821 or visit them online at www.StraffordRiversConservancy.org.

Strawbery Banke Hosts "Passion For Fashion" Benefit Gala

PORTSMOUTH -
On Saturday, June 30, Strawbery Banke Museum will host the "Passion For Fashion Gala." The event, which supports the museum's education programs and preservation efforts, will take place under a tent on the museum's grounds at 14 Hancock Street in Portsmouth, beginning at 6 p.m. The Gala is being held in conjunction with the museum's exhibit, "Thread: Stories of Fashion at Strawbery Banke, 1740-2012."
Renowned fashion designer and television star, Austin Scarlett ("Project Runway: All-Stars" and Lifetime's "On the Road with Austin and Santino"), serves as the evening's emcee. Museum patrons, Lawrence A. Larose and Janet Y. Larose, who co-curated the exhibit with museum curator Elizabeth Farish, and conceptualized the event, serve as co-chairs.
The Passion For Fashion Gala, includes an elegant champagne reception and celebrity designers runway show, followed by a limited availability VIP dinner.
The Gala was inspired by Strawbery Banke Museum's extraordinary collection of men's, women's and children's fashion dating from the 1740 through the 1954. The Celebrity Designers Runway Show showcases a number of cutting-edge and contemporary designs by nineteen extraordinary 21st century fashion designers represented in the Thread exhibit, paying homage to the diversity of the unique pieces contained in the museum's collection. Designers participating in the exhibit and the celebrity designers runway show include: Austin Scarlett, Epperson, Emily Muller, Carter Smith, Emma Hope, Philip Treacy, Katerina Lankova and Chesley McLaren and local designers including Robin Bettencourt, Sarah Beth Johnson, Sarah Koski, Bridget Bleckmann, Erana and Leah Kirk. The designers were inspired to use the historic collection as their creative force in the execution of their fashion forward garments.
The Passion For Fashion Gala promises to be an elegant and unforgettable evening and the highlight of the summer season for all those who attend. Guests are encouraged to wear "festive dress" (black tie optional).
For more information on the Gala or to purchase tickets, please visit Strawbery Banke Museum's website: www.strawberybanke.org/tickets. Guests may purchase tickets for the champagne reception and celebrity designers runway show or for the full Passion For Fashion Gala with preferred admission to the champagne reception and celebrity designers runway show and a place at the VIP dinner.
In addition, a raffle to benefit Strawbery Banke offers a one in 200 chance of winning a package to attend New York Fashion Week 2012, including a wardrobe styling and image consultation provided by Amy McLaughlin Lifestyles (value $500), roundtrip airport transportation via Green Rides USA (value $220), Delta Airlines gift card (value $300), gift card for luxury accommodations in Manhattan ($800), dinner for two at Alfredo's in Manhattan (value $300) and two tickets for New York Fashion Week 2012 to view the Spring Collection 2013 by Marchesa (value "priceless"). Raffle tickets are also available on Strawbery Banke's website: www.strawberybanke.org, and the holder need not attend the Gala to win. (courtesy photo)

WorkReadyNH Opens Free Training to 16 Year Olds

PORTSMOUTH –

The WorkReadyNH program is expanding to help youth age 16 and older develop job skills, officials at Great Bay Community College announced today.  Since the program began accepting participants in October of 2011, WorkReadyNH has worked with more than 60 unemployed or under-employed area residents to enhance their workplace skills and employability.  Great Bay Community College is now running their ninth class and has had a total of 42 participants complete the program.  Currently, there are a total of 22 students in the two classes running. 

Originally, the program was offered at no cost to unemployed New Hampshire residents ages 18 and older.  Because it has been received so well by employers and partner organizations like NH Works, the free training age requirement has been extended to those 16 years or older.  WorkReadyNH is also available to New Hampshire residents working 30 hours or less per week.

“By extending  WorkReadyNH to include 16 -18 year olds, we can assist a population that is not typically able to access professional development opportunities.  We are able to help them build their resume, and portfolio, and at the same time have a real life business experience in a job simulation format.  The program was shaped to help people prepare for an effective job search and be successful once they’re hired,” said Christopher Lawrence, statewide liaison for WorkReadyNH.

“Students who complete the WorkReadyNH program receive a National Career Readiness Certificate in addition to a soft skills credential,” said Jennifer Scotland, WorkReadyNH Director at Great Bay Community College. “Not only have employers been thrilled with the outcomes of our program, but participants say they have changed their lives in just 15 days.  We have seen job seekers who on day one come into our program downtrodden and about to give up on their job search.  By participating in our course, they hone in on their strengths and learn about the workplace with remarkable outcomes.  Now that we can open the doors to a wider audience of potential participants, WorkReadyNH can make even more of an impact on the workforce and answer New Hampshire employer’s needs.”

Eligibility

WorkReadyNH is FREE to New Hampshire residents, ages 16+, working 30 hours or less per week (or is unemployed).  To find a qualified WorkReadyNH graduate or to refer a job-seeker to WorkReadyNH, please contact the Great Bay Community College WorkReadyNH Center at 603-427-7636 or workreadygbcc@ccsnh.edu. Next classes begin June 25 (Night class, Mon-Thurs, 4-8pm) and July 9 (Day class, Mon-Thurs, 9am-1pm).  Complete schedules and more information can be found at www.ccsnh.edu/workreadynh. (courtesy photo)

Cartoon Class Draws on Student Excitement

Anthony Raimondo with one of his cartoon creations (courtesy photo)

DOVER –

Anthony Raimondo is the kind of kid that will only launch into new projects unless it’s something he is truly excited about. So when the 15-year-old Dover resident started buying comic books and plastering his room with cartoon posters, his parents knew they should take it seriously.
And that is when Tony Raimondo, Anthony’s dad, heard about a local cartoon camp taught by a nationally-published cartoonist. The week at Seacoast Specialty Camp was exactly what Anthony’s parents hoped for, and more.
“When he started, Anthony was still drawing stick figures,” said Debbie Caritos, Anthony’s mom. “Then he started drawing characters he was really interested in. Now, he sits for hours in his room and draws. His work is much improved and he’s drawing people who look like people.”
This summer, Anthony will attend Seacoast Specialty Camps’ cartoon class for the third season. And the difference between his artwork in 2010 and now is notable, said cartoonist and teacher John Klossner of South Berwick.
“Anthony is very passionate and hard-working, and we've seen results,” said Klossner, a freelance cartoonist whose work is in several national publications, including the New Yorker.
Camp director Jayne Morell said Anthony was just the kind of teenager she wanted to reach when she started Seacoast Specialty Camps in 2010.
“I wanted to create an opportunity for kids who want to evolve as individuals and to offer opportunities that enrich the creative and artistic spirit,” said Morell, who has started several different camping programs over the years.
In the past two years, Morell has run CSI crime investigation camp, fashion design camp and screen writing camp, as well as the cartoon class. All of them were based in Portsmouth and have filled. Morell recently moved from South Berwick to Portland so for 2012 the camp will only include Klossner’s “Cartooning and Comic Book Design” camp. Hopes are to expand programs to the Portland area as well.
This year the program has moved to Washington Center in Dover, where it will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The facility changed to a more central location for the campers who come from towns ranging from Newburyport, Massachusetts to York and North Berwick Maine.
“One of the things I love about these programs is that students usually attend on their own, because they are motivated to participate. They develop brand new friendships, as well as to bond with kids of similar interests.”
Caritos credits Klossner’s impressive ability to match his teaching style to the needs of a variety of young artists. For instance, Raimondo was improving his craft but still having difficulty drawing from his own imagination. Klossner tailored a second set of classes in part to help Raimondo do that. He had students draw a few lines then fold the paper over and pass it on for the next student to continue.
“This got Anthony to learn how to use his imagination,” Caritos said.”He’s still struggling with it, but doing much better and he’s really happy he is in this camp. He can’t wait till the next session.”
For more information on Seacoast Specialty Camps, go to http://www.seacoastspecialtycamps.com/ or write seacoastspecialtycamps@gmail.com.  Seacoast Specialty Camps offers scholarships and partners with local nonprofits to offer tuition assistance.