SEACOAST BOOKS

Kathleen Marden, niece of Betty and Barney Hill of Portsmouth, NH has a new book out in May 2013 entitled THE ALIEN ABDUCTION FILES. Whatever your view of the UFO topic -- fact or fiction -- Marden's work is a solid attempt to study these cases deeply. She also appears in a new interview in VANITY FAIR magazine which is definitely worth reading. (Continued below) 

JUNE 8, 2013  

The 36^th Annual Market Square Day Festival & 10K Road Race just around the corner. The Market Square Day Historic Walk takes place on Friday, June 7 at 6:00pm.  The Walk begins at Market Square in the North Church. Besides three stages filled with  entertainment on June 8, 2013, MSD includes 150 local businesses and food vendors who will set up ‘shop’ on the streets of Portsmouth. (Continued below) 

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Award-winning author and illustrator Tracy Kane will appear at the Lilac Festival at the Wentworth Coolidge Mansion in Portsmouth, NH on May 25, 2013. The author of the popular Fairy Houses Series of photographic and illustrated books will read from her books and share fun ideas for building fairy houses at 11:00 am. (Continued below) 

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An evening of 18^th century entertainment and refreshments is in store for the Old Berwick Historical Society’s membership at Counting House Museum on Thursday evening, May 23.  Doors open at 7:00 pm, and anyone is welcome to join. (Details below) 

SeacoastNH.com Presents  
Historic Portsmouth #462  

Can you help a reader identify more of the men in this picture? It comes from Maureen Gralton Durgin whose fraternal grandfather, Michael Regan, is standing (first on left) in the middle row. Regan and his family lived on 216 Bartlett Street.  (Continued below) 

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The Rye Historical Society will offer a narrated trolley tour of historic locations in Rye on Saturday, May 11, from 10:00 am to 11:30 am. The tour will proceed down Central Road to Ocean Boulevard, heading north to Odiorne Point. (Continued below) 

SEACOAST POETRY

Kimberly Cloutier Green of Kittery Point, ME, was named Monday night as the new Portsmouth Poet Laureate at ceremonies at Portsmouth City Hall. Ms. Cloutier Green will serve a two-year appointment, until April of 2015, as the ninth Poet Laureate under the auspices of the Portsmouth Poet Laureate Program. (Continued below) 

OPEN MAY- OCTOBER 2013

The Ogunquit Museum of American Art, the only museum in Maine devoted exclusively to collecting and exhibiting American art, opens its doors for its 60th year. The Museum was founded in 1953 by artist, collector and philanthropist, Henry Strater. (Continued below) 

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Generic Theater will be reading Laura Wade’s Breathing Corpses on May 15 as part of the free monthly play reading series at the Players’ Ring, 105 Marcy Street, Portsmouth, N.H. (Continued below)

SeacoastNH.com Presents 
Historic Portsmouth #461  

One of the hardest things about promoting tourism is coming up with simple clear slogans and strong iconic images. Portsmouth has often called itself "The City of the Open Door," but that phrase may not resonate as strongly today as it did during the Colonial Revival. (continued below) 

MAY 18, 2013

We don't usually select bake sakes for TOP EVENTS, but this one tops our list. That's because we want everyone to experience the John Greenleaf Whittier House, so any excuse gets our attention. We've been here a half dozen times and even spoken tot he ladies -- mostly ladies -- who are the devoted fans of JGW who wrote so many of our favorite poems about Seacoast New Hampshire too. (Continued below) 

HEAR YE! HEAR YE!  

The Gundalow Company has been recognized as a 2013 “Editors’ Choice” winner in Yankee Magazine’s Travel Guide to New England, on newsstands now.  This designation is awarded by Yankee’s editors and contributors, who name select restaurants, lodgings, and attractions in New England to the exclusive list.  (Continued below) 

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The Wentworth Lear Historic Houses announces a special carving demonstration and lecture by local carver, cabinetmaker and founder of The Breed School, Allan Breed on Saturday, May 11 at 2:00 pm. This special event compliments the "The Many Faces of George Washington," now on display through June 1. (Continued below) 

SeacoastNH.com Presents 
Historic Portsmouth #460  

The "newbies" who have recently moved to Portsmouth for its trim sidewalks, renovated homes, and lush gardens have no clue how recently this was a hardscrabble port city. Back in the day, instead of snappy sailboats and pleasure craft, the South End waterfront docks were less than family friendly. (Continued below)

RUNNING MAY 17-26, 2013

Shakespeare meets Reality TV. New Hampshire Theatre Project's 2012-13 Season comes to a close with Shakespeare's quirky comedy Two Gentlemen of Verona -- with a twist. A lesser-known work by the Bard, this classic is full of vapid, self-obsessed young people without any discernible occupation or ambition other than relationships, money, and leisure... Sound familiar? 

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Discover Portsmouth and George Hosker-Bouley present the 2013 Discover Thursdays Performance Series featuring Amare Cantare on Thursday, May 2, 7PM. This original and exciting series will start with five shows in May and kick off again with thirteen shows this fall.  (Continued below)

APRIL 26 - JUNE 1, 2013

The Wentworth Lear Historic Houses announces the opening of "The Many Faces of George Washington." The national traveling panel examines the multidimensional, real-life man behind the myth. The Wentworth Lear Historic Houses is pleased to be the only northern New England organization to host this special exhibition in 2013. 

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The fourth annual Gosport Regatta sets sail on Saturday, June 8. Organized by Star Island and the Piscataqua Sailing Association, this premier seacoast event allows spectators to experience the excitement of open ocean racing with a fleet of 40 sailboats in the racing, cruising and J-24 classes. (Continued below) 

HEAR YE! HEAR YE!  

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) acting chairman Joan Shigekawa announced today that the African Burying Ground Memorial Park is one of 817 nonprofit organizations nationwide to receive an NEA Art Works grant. Following a successful round of grant applications, the African Burying Ground Memorial Park is approved to receive $20,000 to support the creation of the memorial on Chestnut Street  in downtown Portsmouth.

HISTORY MATTERS

He deserves to be the most famous of all Portsmouth residents, and yet his name is still not widely known. A combination of luck and influence put a Portsmouth, NH boy from the South End smack in the heart of power at the dawn of the American nation. But each time Tobias Lear rose high on the wheel of fortune, his life soon came crashing back to earth. (Full story below)