Brendan Batchelder and Chloe Barcelou inside their tiny house. Photo by Chris Saunders

Film set designers Chloe Barcelou and Brandon Batchelder built their tiny house on wheels themselves, curating every piece of their compact home for maximum charm. At their current location at a remote farm in New Hampshire, the couple’s “yard” features a homemade swing with an inscription, “I’m in the garden.”

Barcelou explains. “It was Christmastime and we had no money to spend on gifts, so Brandon said he was going to surprise me. He said, ‘I’m making you something that you’ve always wanted.’ And I knew he was making it out of wood, so I thought, I can’t imagine what it could possibly be that’s made out of wood and something I’ve always wanted? But it ended up being something I’ve always wanted—a swing—and this is a quote from The Secret Garden, which is my favorite.”

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Don’t touch

What is it: “Thorny Bowl.” Bronze bowl with a base of porcupine quills. 5 in. wide, 3 in. tall. Price: $395.

Who makes it: Joy Raskin, Concord, New Hampshire. “I’m fascinated by porcupines,” says Raskin, “and their quills are quite challenging. Making the porcupine bowl was a different step for me. The longer quills add drama, which is what I was going for.”

Why we love it: The play between the lustrous, new-penny glow of the copper bowl and the organic wreath of spikes it’s nestled in. Use it to present something with the same unexpected dichotomy, like cayenne chocolates or fleur de sel caramels.

Metro Pendant. Photo courtesy of Vermont Modern

Hang it up

What is it: Metro pendant. Adjustable from 37.5 to 42.4 in. long. Available in several finishes. Price: $1,050.

Who makes it: Vermont Modern, Castleton, Vermont. “It delivers a design impact that doesn’t overpower a space,” says Sean Ruck of Hubbardton Forge, the company behind the VM lighting line. “Depending on how the tubes of the pendant are adjusted, it’s possible to have a very visually intriguing piece that still allows for open lines of sight within a space.”

Why we love it: The chic, urban styling and mass-transit-map inspiration created in the land of green mountains and covered bridges. The ability to change up the look with a twist here, a turn there, or a different bulb style assuages our design commitment issues.

Schon DSGN Pens. Photo by John Polak

Write tastefully

What is it: Schon DSGN Pens, Classic Collection. 4 in. long when closed, 5.75 in. long with cap posted on the back. Price: $58–$178.

Who makes it: Ian Schon of Schon DSGN, Boston, Massachusetts. “Materials like leather wear in, rather than out,” says Schon. “I think the raw metals used in these pens have a similar effect of wearing in, making them reflect the amount of use and care that one would have for an object that travels with you all the time.”

Why we love it: A sleek, modern addition to our bordering-on-obsessive collection of beautiful writing supplies. The varying weights of the metals—from 1 oz. for aluminum to 3.3 oz. for bronze—create different writing experiences for the user.

Joy Raskin – Silversmith
Concord, New Hampshire
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Vermont Modern – Lighting
Castleton, Vermont
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Schon DSGN – Pen Makers
Boston, Massachusetts
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Top Image: Thorny Bowl by Joy Raskin | Photo by John Polak

The post Take It Home: Sleek, Spiny, Shiny appeared first on Take Magazine.

Is classical music dying? Not if John Page, music director of the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, can help it.

Page wants to make classical music relevant to modern audiences. Since 2011, he’s led the PSO, a semi-professional orchestra comprised of lawyers, doctors, educators, students—even an elk farmer. Page believes the success of the PSO lies in building community, so orchestra members are almost exclusively from New Hampshire. Their performances draw attendees from southeast Maine, coastal New Hampshire, and down into northeastern Massachusetts.

“In an age where music education is being decimated, music must be linked closely to community and education,” Page says. “If you’re not touching those things as a musician, you’re not making the impact that you should. Symphony orchestras don’t have a God-given right to exist.”

Part of Page’s enthusiasm comes from personal experience. Music was “everywhere” when he was growing up in 1970s Northern Ireland, especially during “The Troubles,” when state-run social programs used music to bring children together. “It was one of the only places where Catholics and Protestants came together,” he remembers. “All schoolchildren were educated in music. That’s really where my music education started.”

John Page, Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra, photo by Virgil Mehalek

Page’s original passion was voice; he later started playing French horn, piano, and organ. It wasn’t until he was pursuing a masters degree at University College Dublin that he took up the baton. “I filled in for a conductor who was taking a sabbatical,” he says. “He asked if I had experience (I didn’t) and I said, ‘Yes.’ Then I told my friends in the orchestra that their job was to make me look good.”

Page has been conducting ever since. He came to the U.S. in 2003 to apprentice with Benjamin Zander, the charismatic conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (among the communication techniques Page learned from Zander are his lively pre-concert talks to audiences). He later taught at the New England Conservatory and Boston University. Married and a father of two, he balances Monday night rehearsals with the PSO with his day job conducting four orchestras a week as director of orchestral activities at Tufts University. That’s in addition to guest conducting orchestras in Ireland and around the U.S.

The PSO performs four major concerts annually at The Music Hall, Portsmouth, including two holiday concerts in December; they also present chamber music performances at the Kittery Dance Hall in Maine. The organization forges community partnerships (including a performance of Swan Lake with an area dance school during the Prescott Park Arts Festival), visits area schools, and participates in music education outreach whenever possible.

Among Page’s, and the PSO’s, greatest community triumphs were two sold-out performances this spring of Beethoven’s iconic Symphony No. 9, bringing together four area choruses and soloists at Portsmouth High School. It was a big moment: 1,600 people attended. Most had never seen a PSO performance.

Working with people, Page believes, is the key to being a successful conductor. “You really have to watch and listen,” he says. “Winning people over personally is half the battle.”

John Page–music director
Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
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Photos by Virgil Mehalek

The post John Page: Building Community With Music appeared first on Take Magazine.

New Hampshire is the type of state where you tend to know your neighbors. So it wasn’t surprising for filmmaker Michael Venn to run into an old friend in downtown Portsmouth. Their conversation, however, was anything but typical.

Venn was shocked when his friend, a man in his 20s, shared his struggles with heroin addiction. “This is the type of kid you’d want your daughter to date,” he recalls. “Good looking, from a good family, seemed to have his act together.” That chance encounter, combined with myriad headlines about the state’s opioid crisis, inspired Venn’s film, The Heroin Effect. It had its inaugural screening March 30 to a sell-out crowd at The Music Hall in Portsmouth. Another Music Hall screening is scheduled for May 25.

In the U.S., 144 people die daily from heroin and other opioid overdoses. It’s an epidemic that’s touched many New Hampshire residents. For Venn, who professes an obsession with coffee (he’s rarely without a cup), his research on heroin and opiate use changed his perspective on addiction. “It’s a medical issue,” he says. “The only way to tackle this problem is to be real about it and start a conversation.”

Being real meant telling a story that humanizes addiction and focuses on positive outcomes. Venn interviewed more than 50 people for The Heroin Effect, including people in recovery, politicians, police officers, and judges. The film introduces Eric, Sandi, and Dean, former addicts who are now actively involved in the recovery movement. Each tells their own story, without narration. There’s also a riveting video diary by Daniel, who openly discusses his struggles with heroin use. The film is driven by their stories. “My goal is that the audience likes everyone they see on screen and identifies with them,” Venn says. “These people are your next door neighbors, family members, and friends.”

Venn has explored storytelling through music and writing since he was a child. After college, he initially followed his dream to be a musician, playing drums in bands locally and in New York City. He was always interested in film. “I was the kid who watched movies incessantly, then dissected them,” he says.

A faithful attendee of the New Hampshire Film Festival, Venn was inspired to write screenplays, eventually volunteering to help local filmmakers. That led to small acting parts, writing soundtracks, and then directing and producing his own work. Venn made his directorial and writing debut in 2010 with the short film Dark Scribbles. He produced and co-directed an award-winning documentary, In Danger of Being Discovered as well as a PSA, It’s Time, Let’s Talk, about the opiate crisis. He’s also written and directed music videos.

Venn hopes to secure a film distributor for The Heroin Effect and have it seen by as many people as possible. The film’s initial screening at the Music Hall generated statewide buzz. “People told me they were telling others about the movie,” he says. “If you’re still talking about the film after it’s shown, I’m doing something right.”

Michael Venn–Filmmaker
The Heroin Effect
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Photo by Raya Al-Hashmi of Raya On Assignment

The post Telling Stories of Recovery appeared first on Take Magazine.

When a well-known local New Hampshire director approached seamstress Mary Selvoski about refitting a dozen costumes for an 1800s version of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, the master seamstress didn’t hesitate. “He gave me two weeks,” she says and shrugs. “I’ve had tighter deadlines.”

It’s Monday morning when I catch up to Selvoski at her shop, Mary’s Closet, in an old warehouse called the Varick Building in the Millyard of Manchester, New Hampshire. Selvoski is cutting and restitching what to my eye just looks like an old blanket. But then she drapes her work over a nearby mannequin and the blanket is reborn as a flowing cloak. “It’s a spirit,” she says proudly. “There’s a few of those in The Tempest.”

If you have gone to a production of community theater anywhere in New Hampshire in the last four decades, odds are you’ve seen Selvoski’s work. Since 1980, the Granite State’s seamstress to the New Hampshire stars has been outfitting community theater groups, providing costumes from scratch or refitting outfits to meet the production’s needs. Taking a quick walk through her vast storage space, even the least theatrically savvy can identify the vast reach of her work. There’s a whole row of princess and queen outfits, from several copies of Beauty’s iconic yellow and blue gown to Glinda the Good Witch’s pink wings and high crown. An entire row is devoted to vests for men and another for Santa suits. There’s a shoe room and a hat room. And high up on the top shelf near the ceiling hangs an enormous Hello Kitty head. “My daughter made that,” Selvoski says. “She did a good job, don’t you think?”

In early 2016, Selvoski sold Mary’s Closet to Seacoast Repertory Theater, a well-known regional outfit based in Portsmouth. Now rechristened “Department M” by Seacoast Rep, Selvoski maintains her own corral of clients and serves as a designer and rental agent for the company. At this point, Selvoski estimates that she has 15,000 costumes in her warehouse.

Mary Selvoski in her workshop, Seaport Repertory Theater

Born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, and raised in Revere, Selvoski got her start in sewing out of stubbornness. She was a tumbler on the gymnastics team in her high school, but disliked her team’s costumes. “So I made new ones,” she says. “I’m very competitive, I look at other people’s work and think that maybe I can do better. That’s what’s kept me going.”

Ironically, it’s this same competitive nature that prevents the seamstress herself from attending the theater. She’s too critical. “I’ve never really been able to get into the show. I’m always looking at bad hemlines,” she says laughing. “Once I saw that an actress had a skirt made of the same material as an actor’s shirt and I thought, What were they thinking!”

Mary Selvoski – Seamstress, Costume Designer
Manchester, New Hampshire
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Top photo courtesy Mary Selvoski

The post Mary Selvoski: Seamstress to the New Hampshire Stars appeared first on Take Magazine.

Chances are good that if you grew up anywhere other than a city, you’ve been to a drive-in movie theater at least once. Maybe you were a kid and a night at the drive-in movie theater was a way for your parents to get out of the house and not hire a babysitter. Or maybe it was as a teen when the local drive-in movie theater was the perfect place to gather with friends (maybe even a few who got in for free hidden in the trunk) and party while taking in the latest flick. Whatever the scenario, for many of us, the drive-in movie theater was a rite of passage.

We can thank New Jersey auto-parts salesman Richard Hollingshead and the size of his mother for coming up with the idea. Apparently his mother found traditional movie theater seats a tad confining. So he placed a 1928 projector on the hood of a car in his driveway, and tied sheets to the trees in his backyard. Voila! An American tradition was born.

After further experimentation, Hollingshead received a patent for the idea in May of 1933, and created Park-In Theaters, Inc. in Camden, N.J. He charged 25 cents per car and per person to see Wives Beware, a British comedy. The drive-in movie became an icon of American culture, after his creation, especially in the 1950s and 60s following World War II. Parents, children, and teenagers would travel to them frequently on the weekends, and it was considered one of America’s favorite pastimes. At one point in time, the U.S. boasted 5,000 drive-ins open across the country. Today, about 400 drive-ins remain in the U.S., with some of the best ones located right here in New England.

Drive-in Movie Theaters in Massachusetts

LEICESTER TRIPLE DRIVE-IN

The Leicester Triple Drive-In has three screens for movie viewing. At $28 a carload, one can drive over to Leicester to see a drive in movie with family or friend, and order food from their snack bar. Customers love the friendly and welcoming staff there, which makes for a great movie experience.

Address: Route 9, 1675 Main Street Leicester, Massachusetts 01524
Phone Number: (508) 892-4400
Hours: box office opens at 6:00 pm; open Friday-Sunday from mid-April/early May through the last Sunday of August.
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MENDON TWIN DRIVE-IN

The Boston travel guide,10best.com, lists the Mendon Twin Drive-In as a must-see attraction. You can see two movies for $27 a car, and enjoy concessions from their snack bar, ice cream window, or Pop’s Beer Garden, added in 2014. The very adult 5000-square foot patio offers six draft beers, wines by the glass, fire pits, and a view of Screen One. Mendon Twin Drive-In opened June 14, 1954 and is celebrating its 63rd year.

Address: 35 Milford Street, Mendon, Massachusetts 01756
Phone Number: (508) 473-4958
Hours: Fri: Open 6:00 pm, Sat: Open 6:00 pm; rain or shine; open seven nights a week Memorial Day to Labor Day; open weekends only other times of the year.
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WELLFLEET DRIVE-IN THEATRE

Wellfleet Drive-In is the only drive-in theater located on Cape Cod. With a playground and mini-golf course, it’s very kid-friendly. Fodor’s Travels lists it as one of America’s best drive-in movie theaters by Fodor’s Travels.

Address: 51 State Highway, Route 6, Wellfleet, Massachusetts 02667
Phone Number: (508) 349-7176
Hours: Open mid-May through September; box office opens at 6:30 pm; shows rain or shine.
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Drive-in Movie Theaters in Maine

BANGOR DRIVE-IN

The Bangor Drive-In is back in business, reopening in July 2015 after an initial run that lasted 35 years. Equipped with twin screens, the drive-in is open in the summer, and is pet-friendly. Yes, Fido is welcome. Bangor Drive-In is also available for event rentals if your’e tired of Chucky Cheese birthday parties.

Address: 1674 Hammond Street Hermon, Maine, 04401
Phone Number: (207) 922-3878
Hours: spring 2017 opening date TBD; open rain or shine
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SACO DRIVE-IN

The Saco Drive-In season begins in May. Food menu options include hot dogs, nachos, and mozarella sticks.

Address: 969 Portland Rd, Saco, Maine 04072
Phone Number: 207-286-3200
Hours: gates open at 7 pm; May-September
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SKOWHEGAN DRIVE-IN THEATRE

The Skowhegan Drive-In Theatre has replaced its old 35-mm film projection equipment with new digital equipment to bring it up to speed to show the latest films. They’ve also renovated the concessions both, so there’s plenty of tasty options for everyone.

Address: 201 Waterville Rd, Skowhegan, Maine 04976
Phone Number: (207) 474-9277
Hours: rain or shine; generally open from Memorial Day to Labor Day
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Drive-in Movie Theaters in New Hampshire

MILFORD DRIVE-IN THEATER

The Milford Drive-In Theater has a new digital projection and Dolby digital sound system, and is also pet-friendly. Open since 1958, the drive-in also has its own web app so it’s easier to check out the latest information regarding movie times and weather reports.

Address: 531 Elm Street Milford, New Hampshire 03055
Phone Number: 603-673-4090
Hours: box office Friday & Saturday: 6:15 pm; box office Sunday-Thursday: 7:15 pm; closes in relation to the weather (updates posted on website); open mid-April
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NORTHFIELD DRIVE-IN

The Northfield Drive-In is a bit of an anomaly since half the drive-in is in New Hampshire while the other is in Massachusetts. This theater opened in 1948, and weekly movie selections include at least two shows.

Address: 981 Northfield St., Hinsdale, New Hampshire
Phone Number: (603) 239-4054
Hours: showing movies Friday-Sunday; open during the summer
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WEIRS DRIVE-IN THEATER

Weirs Drive-in Theater was one of the first drive-ins to open in New Hampshire, and is still owned by the same family that began operating it 40 years ago. Equipped with a snack bar and four different screens, Weirs Drive-in typically offers something for everyone on its screens.

Address: 76 Endicott St N Weirs Beach, New Hampshire
Phone Number: (603) 366-4723
Hours: spring 2017; open 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm
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Drive-in Movie Theaters in Connecticut

PLEASANT VALLEY DRIVE-IN

Pleasant Valley Drive-In is located in the middle of nowhere in the tiny town of Barkhamsted. But don’t equate location for the quality of the facility. Pleasant Valley Drive-in offers a variety of concessions, including burgers, pizza, clam boats and fried mozzarella. The theater also welcome pets. Open since 1947, the theater can host up to 250 cars. Fridays is  “Carload Night”, where you can fill your car with as many people as you’d like—all for only $20 per car.

Address: 47 River Rd (Rt. 181) Barkhamsted, Connecticut 06063
Phone Number: 860-379-6102
Hours: weekends in early spring through fall (including early October if the weather is warm); gates open and tickets are sold at 6:30 pm
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MANSFIELD DRIVE-IN THEATRE AND MARKETPLACE

The Mansfield Drive-In Theatre and Marketplace is a drive-in and flea market rolled into one. The drive-in plays a double feature every night, and is open from April to September. The flea market, open on Sundays, is home to a variety of vendors. So come early to shop before the movies.

Address: 228 Stafford Rd., Mansfield Center, Connecticut 06250
Phone Number: (860) 423-4441
Hours: April & May, Fridays-Sundays; June, Fridays-Sundays, and Wednesdays; mid June, July and most of August, open every night; September-Mid-October, Fridays & Saturdays; gates open at 7:15pm (October 6:45pm); open rain or shine
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SOUTHINGTON DRIVE-IN

The Southington Drive-In originally opened in 1955, finally closing in 2002. The drive-in reopened in 2010 after Southington voted to purchase the property and expand it to the Recreation Park nearby. The drive-in has been able to donate $33,000 to 14 local non-profit civic organizations in Southington since reopening.

Address: 995 Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike, Southington, Connecticut
Phone Number: (860) 628-22
Hours: ticket booths open at 6:00 pm; June through September
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Drive-in Movie Theaters in Vermont

SUNSET DRIVE-IN THEATER

The Sunset Drive-In Theater is aptly named. You can catch a beautiful sunset before catching a flick on one of four screens. The drive-in counts a snack bar, playground, and mini-putt area among its amenities. Hot rod and classic car owners get special treatment here: the first two rows are reserved for them.

Address: 155 Porters Point Rd Colchester, Vermont
Phone Number: (802) 862 – 1800
Hours: open from mid-April on
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FAIRLEE MOTEL AND DRIVE IN THEATER

If you’re passing through Vermont and need a place to stay, and want something fun to do, the Fairlee Motel and Drive-In Theater might be just the ticket. Dedicated to staying up to date with the newest digital trends, the drive-in is currently raising funds for a new projector to keep the drive-in open. The drive-in is open seasonally, but the motel is open year-round.

Address: 1809 US Route 5 N, Fairlee, Vermont 05045
Phone Number: (802) 333-9192
Season/Hours: late spring through summer; gate and snack bar open at 7 p.m., first movie shown at dusk; seasonal schedule: every weekend, starting April/May; every night from July 4th weekend through Labor Day weekend; open Friday & Saturday only through Columbus Day weekend
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Drive-in Movie Theaters in Rhode Island

RUSTIC TRI VUE DRIVE-IN

The Rustic Tri Vue Drive-In has three giant outdoor screens and a full concessions stand. With digital projection for all their screens now, you can see the latest movies while enjoying the view from your car. The space is also available for rental for birthday parties or summer bashes.

Address: 1195 Eddie Dowling Highway North Smithfield, Rhode Island 02776
Phone Number: 401- 484-5452
Hours: opening April; open seasonally April through October
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The post Pass the Popcorn! 16 New England Drive-in Movie Theaters appeared first on Take Magazine.

Not long ago, out of curiosity, I stopped at the Williamsburg General Store on Route 9 in Williamsburg, Massachusetts. What caught my eye in that riot of scented soaps, ice cream, gewgaws, old-fashioned candy, and New England crafts (some actually from New England) was an orange can behind the glass door of the refrigerator case: a can of Moxie.

I hadn’t tasted, or seen, that soda in a decade. Moxie is a drink I associate with my grandfather, Dr. William Shavelson, who practiced medicine in Revere, Massachusetts from the mid-1920s until the mid-’70s. He is the only person I remember who drank Moxie regularly and voluntarily. Was it because he was a doctor, or because I couldn’t stand the bitter stuff as a child, that I assumed it must have medicinal roots?

I call Merrill Lewis, a retired Carrier air-conditioner engineer from Manchester, New Hampshire, who is president of the New England Moxie Congress, a fan club with 250 to 300 members. The drink did have medicinal roots, Lewis confirms, and gentian root is its distinctive ingredient. “Moxie was invented in 1885 by Dr. Augustin Thompson of Union, Maine,” he says. “It is the nation’s oldest bottled soft drink and it is still sort of, kind of, going strong.”

Moxie was originally produced in Lowell, Massachusetts, and then from the twenties until the forties, in Moxieland, a former brewery complex in Boston’s Roxbury section. Today the brand is owned by the Moxie Beverage Company of Bedford, New Hampshire, a division of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Northern New England.

Lewis pointed me to a nineteenth-century Moxie bottle label on which the drink was called “nerve food,” promised to strengthen and invigorate users, and even help with “loss of manhood, imbecility, and helplessness.” At its peak in the 1920s, Moxie was said to outsell Coca-Cola, though that’s hard to verify. Certainly, its success had something to do with its oddball promotion: there was the mechanical Moxie horse on an auto chassis, the giant Moxie bottle with the vendor inside, the Moxie Boy logo, and later endorsements from movie stars and Ted Williams. In August 1923, after Calvin Coolidge took the oath of office in Plymouth, Vermont upon the death of President Harding, he steadied himself with a glass of Moxie.

While Moxie has suffered near-death experiences for generations, its admirers and renown seem to be growing. The Moxie Congress, established in 1991, was instrumental in the 2009 creation of the Moxie wing of the Matthews Museum of Maine Heritage in Union, Maine. (Moxie is Maine’s official soft drink.) “The centerpiece,” says Lewis, “is a thirty-three–foot Moxie bottle, which used to be a refreshment stand.” Naturally, the Congress plays a big role in Lisbon, Maine’s annual Moxie Festival, which will be held this year from July 7-9.

I ask Lewis if there’s something that makes Moxie a particularly New England beverage. “New Englanders are a hearty bunch,” he says, “and they show no signs of pain. It takes a lot of moxie to drink it.”

Moxie – Bottled Soda
Bedford, New Hampshire
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The post Distinctively Different appeared first on Take Magazine.

Steven Cybulski got into marketing mustard as a hobby in 1996 and found an opportunity to pursue it further after a botched hip surgery. Twenty-one years later and Blackwater Mustard Co. is thriving, with specialty Blackwater mustards filling shelves in stores throughout New Hampshire. The mustard operation is a subsidiary of Blackwater Fine Swine, Cybulski’s former organic pork farm.

“The mustard was well received at farmers’ markets, and over time I have expanded the product line,” Cybulski says. The line now includes 10-plus varieties of mustard, including whole-seed, spicy, and sweet mustard flavors. Other award-winning Blackwater mustards include the Chocolate Stout Mustard, MUG-O-MUSTARD, and the Original Hot/Sweet mustard. The newest additions to the Blackwater Mustard Co. family include Amber Ale, American Ale, and Rye Pale Ale—all a collaboration with Londonderry’s 603 Brewery. “Our mustards are made by hand in small batches from our own recipes,” Cybulski says. “No mass production, or chemical preservatives.”

Blackwater Mustard Co.

“Each mustard,” Cybulski says, “has characteristics that lends itself to specific applications.” Some of these applications include the recipes listed on Blackwater’s website, including baked cod, ham glaze, brown ale braised chicken, and lentil soup—all of which call for a different Blackwater mustard.

In New Hampshire, Blackwater mustard can be found at Cimo’s South End Deli, River Hill Market, Gould Hill Farm, Applecrest Farm Orchards, The Everyday Cafe and more. The mustard can also be spotted in Massachusetts at Siena Farms and Pemberton Farms.

Cybulski’s company got its name from old town maps. On these, the area of Contoocook where Cybulski runs his mustard company, was referred to as the “Blackwater District,” due to the proximity to the Blackwater River. And so a name was born—although Cybulski feels the need to offer this additional explanation. “We have no affiliation with the mercenary goon squad that was prominent in the Middle East a while back,” he says.

Instead, Cybulski’s squad includes his life partner, Jill, and her two daughters. Together they keep the business running year-long, and ramp up from September until the new year. “We are a family business,” says Cybulski. “New England is a great place to be. Four seasons, access to magnificent natural resources, culture and history, and winters that are a cakewalk compared to Upper Michigan.”

Steven Cybulski – Owner, Blackwater Mustard Co.
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Western-Massachusetts-native-turned-fake-judge John Hodgman always says, “Specificity is the soul of narrative.” In other words, the more precise a story is, or the more unique the subject matter, the better. Through specificity of content and approach, artists can present audiences with unique characters, stories, and experiences.

The same logic applies to film festivals and the cinema they celebrate. In addition to the dozens of big film fests across the region, film junkies and industry folks alike have privileged access to niche New England film festivals in every state. Movie lovers can see everything from queer romance to cinema written, produced, starring, and directed by folks with hearing impairment. Some of these festivals are right around the corner, while others are still accepting submissions. All reveal subjects that are unique and satisfyingly specific.

AIP Film Festival
April 2 – April 8
Cinestudio
Hartford, CT

Hartford’s beautifully designed 1930s-era movie theater continues its yearly film fest for Francophiles, April in Paris, which goes beyond the French New Wave and into the realm of contemporary cinema. Prospective moviegoers have nine opportunities to see French films produced from 1982 to 2016, all of which examine the exceedingly relevant, “effects of crossing borders, from the political to the personal.”

Wicked Queer Film Festival
March 30 – April 9
Various venues
Boston, MA

Laverne Cox in Free CeCe! | Director Jac Gares, 2016

The 33rd incarnation of Boston’s film festival revealing and unpacking the queer experience through documentary, comedy, and drama will feature internationally renowned voices of the queer community and emerging artists alike. Queer film enthusiasts of all kinds have dozens of chances to see films across the city in a new neighborhood each night.

Maine Deaf Film Festival
April 28 – 29
University of Southern Maine
Portland, ME

The 15th annual Maine Deaf Film Festival is the longest-running and perhaps the only film festival of its type in the nation. Programmed and planned in collaboration with students and boasting content exclusively created by deaf folks across the region, MDFF skillfully solves some of the problems of underrepresentation of people with hearing impairments both in front of and behind the camera.

SENE Film Festival
April 25 – 29
Various venues
Rhode Island

With dozens of films ranging from experimental shorts to feature-length animated dramas, SENE provides attendees nearly endless opportunities to pick their vast or small corner of the world to explore. The Wednesday night screenings of experimental films and documentary features is both a can’t-miss evening and an excellent example of the range and specificity of topics explored throughout the festival.

New Hampshire Film Festival
October
Various venues
Portsmouth, NH

Still from All The President’s Heads | Director Adam Roffman, 2016

With the time for submissions still open, we can’t say for sure what niches the New Hampshire Film Festival will investigate. However, if last year’s programming is any indication, cinephiles will delve into some strange and specific topics. For example, All the President’s Heads, a film about a history devotee who saves two dozen, massive presidential busts from destruction after being displaced by the building of an Enterprise Rent-a-Car.

Independent Television Festival
October 11 – 17
Various Venues
Manchester, VT

Okay. . .this isn’t technically a “film festival.” However, was True Detective (the charcoal dark, riveting serialized HBO murder mystery disguised as a police procedural) a television show or more of a seven-and-a-half-hour movie split into manageable 54-minute chunks? As the line between prestige television and film blurs more each day, so will our categorizations for the sake of this list. Anyway, ITVFest still counts because it’s a moving image festival celebrating a niche part of a hulking industry, a section of the industry that often gets ignored in cinema as well; the independents.

Global Roots Film Festival
April 7 – 9
Contois Auditorium
Burlington, VT

Still from Ladies & Gentlemen… Mr. Leonard Cohen |
Directors Donald Brittain & Don Owen, 1965 | Presented by VT PBS and RETN

This niche film festival is brought to us by the Vermont International Film Foundation which also presents the yearly Vermont International Film Festival. The Global Roots Film Festival endeavors to bring Vermonters, “great films from the countries of many of the New American communities. . .to foster a greater understanding of our diverse cultures.” This year, Global Roots turns the lens towards contemporary films coming from Quebec.

Top image, still from Signature Move | Director Jennifer Reeder (2017)

The post 7 New England Niche Film Festivals You Can’t Miss appeared first on Take Magazine.

Three years ago, Jerry Beck took a drive with his young daughter through New Hampshire and passed a sign for Ruggles Mine in Grafton. His daughter shrugged, but Beck convinced her to check it out. Armed with a pail and hammer for rock collecting, they emerged from a tunnel into the expansive cavern of the now-defunct mica mine. “We just thought this was the coolest place we had ever seen,” he says today.

Beck, who specializes in bringing art to unique and forgotten spaces, immediately envisioned a show there. Ruggles Mine has since closed and gone up for sale. In November, Beck got permission to stage an exhibition of musicians, sculpture, light and sound installations, video, poetry-readings and performances throughout the rock-framed environment.

He now hopes The Revolving Museum, the artistic-event organization he founded in 1984, will purchase the mine and turn it into a destination—an experimental and interactive theme park of visual creations woven together “so that your imagination is exploding wherever you look,” he says. To that end, he and TRM are planning another Ruggles Mine exhibition and fundraiser in late summer or fall.

But that’s not all Beck has planned for New Hampshire. He also has partnered with City Arts Nashua to help revitalize its downtown with public art. The “Comeback Kitchen Table” show will launch in May to call attention to the vanishing custom of families gathering for meals and conversation—“what used to be the heart and soul of family life,” Beck says.

Comeback Kitchen Table | Revolving Museum Director Jerry Beck and City Arts Nashua Board President Kathy Hersh

More than 1,000 artists are working on 10 projects for the show. An alternative high school has created a Jean-Michel Basquiat-themed installation with an anti-drug message. “It will hopefully be a catalyst for people to explore the tables, sitting down, talking,” Beck says of the show.

The idea grew out of Beck’s nostalgia for his own family time spent around the kitchen table when he was a kid, laughing and telling stories. Today, trying to draw his 10-year-old daughter’s attention away from her digital screen is a challenge, he says.

An art major at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Beck spent a semester in London, charmed more by the punk rock scene than Renaissance painting. Back in Florida, he and some fellow art students launched a series of public art projects in empty buildings and other forsaken sites. They called themselves SARTists—Student Artists Reshaping Tallahassee.

In 1983, Beck started graduate school in Boston at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University. He founded The Revolving Museum soon after with “The Little Train That Could .. Show” in an abandoned city rail yard. The old train cars were turned into gallery space and performance stages. On “hobo night,” homeless participants told stories. Another early TRM show took over an old Civil War fort on Georges Island in Boston harbor.

Each of Beck’s efforts seeks to connect communities with the creative work in their midst, a goal all the more relevant during this time of upheaval, he says. “We’re in a cultural revolution right now,” Beck says. “And the arts—as they always have—need to be at the forefront.”

The Revolving Museum – Jerry Beck, founder and artistic director
Fitchburg, Massachusetts
Ruggles Mine –  Grafton, New Hampshire

Comeback Kitchen Table exhibition in Nashua, New Hampshire
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Top photo Ruggles Mine Show, Revolving Museum

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