Arts and Recreation

Park Theatre To Premiere New Documentary about Paul McCartney on February 19

"Paul McCartney: Man on the Run" screens only one-time at the Jaffrey performing arts center

Image courtesy of The Park Theatre

JAFFREY, New Hampshire (February 2, 2026) What happens when you wake up the morning after leaving the most important rock band of all time? A new documentary film about Paul McCartney's transition from Beatles' band-member to solo and Wings artist screens only one-time at The Park Theatre in Jaffrey, New Hampshire on Thursday, February 19 at 6:30pm. Tickets are $15 each. Paul McCartney: Man on the Run is having special single screenings on the 19th of this month at select theaters all over the U.S. before it begins streaming at the end of the month. The Park is screening the film in its award-winning 330-seat Eppes Auditorium with giant screen and 17-speaker surround sound. The Park is only one of two theaters in New Hampshire screening the film.

In April 1970, Paul released his first solo album, McCartney, alongside a shocking press release that announced the beloved band had split. When asked what he'd do next, he said his only plan...was to grow up. Man on the Run captures Paul's transformative decade in the wake of The Beatles' break-up.

Through stunning archival footage, Linda McCartney's exceptional photographs, and interviews with Mick Jagger, Chrissie Hynde, Sean Ono Lennon, Mary and Stella McCartney, all the living Wings members, and of course Paul himself, the film examines this time through a uniquely vulnerable lens.

The film event includes a bonus conversation with Paul McCartney & director Morgan Neville, exclusive to cinemas.

Tickets are $15 and may be purchased online at paultheparktheatre.org/paul, by phone at (603) 532-8888, or in person at the box office.

The Park Theatre is located at 19 Main Street in downtown Jaffrey, NH, just 95 minutes from downtown Boston and 30 minutes from Worcester, MA. The facility is fully accessible and has a bar lounge.

Coming Up at Nova Arts in Keene

Friday, February 6: Kenny Warren's Sweet World with JP Schlegelmilch

We believe that jazz is liberation music, a means of connecting us to our humanity, our communities and to nature. As an expression of radical love, free music empowers us to fight fascism, racism, militarism, and economic exploitation.

Kenny Warren - trumpet/compositions
Christopher Hoffman - cello
Nathan Ellman-Bell - drums

Sweet World's sound is a composite of its three members, each unique voices from New York's vibrant music scene. Melodic, rhythmic, jazz, folk and sonic exploration in the context of Kenny Warren's lively compositions. Their debut LP on Out of Your Head Records was hailed by the Best of Bandcamp as "the sonic representation of a beating heart".

Opening up is JP Schlegelmilch, a Brooklyn-based pianist, accordionist, electric keyboardist and composer. In his various musical projects, JP seeks to synthesize his diverse musical interests, creating a personal and non-genre-specific music. Over the years JP has devoted himself to the study of jazz and classical music, while trying to maintain a sense of freedom to include influences from all music that he loves, including the rock music he obsessed over as a teenager (here in Keene).

Since moving to Brooklyn in 2006, JP has been performing with his own groups and has had the opportunity to perform with some of New York's most esteemed improvising musicians.

JP's current projects include Visitors, a power trio featuring JP on Yamaha Electric organ, Jim Black on drums, and Jonathan Goldberger on guitar. Their debut album was released on Skirl Records in 2018 and was included on Rolling Stone's "Best Jazz Albums of 2018" list.

JP has also been playing organ in Matt Bauder's Hearing Things, a band that specializes in "a kind of Middle Eastern flavored surf-rock with old school R &B honking and striptease-worthy themes" (Peter Margasak, the Chicago Reader).

New projects in the works include a quartet with piano, cello, violin and percussion. The music was inspired in part by the great composer Lou Harrison.

Door opens at 7:00 p.m. and music will begin at 7:30.

Access For All tickets available thanks to support from Savings Bank of Walpole. (Note: To purchase more than one Access For All ticket, each must be done in a separate transaction.)

Shows are all ages and seating is first come first served.

Tickets and more info available at novaarts.org/event.

Nova Arts Announces the 2026 Edition of The Thing in the Spring

Nova Arts is proud to announce the 2026 edition of The Thing in the Spring, an annual ecstatic celebration of music and art, which has happened here in southwestern NH for 18 years. This year's festival features exciting collaborative presentations with the Colonial Theatre and Monadnock Music, as well as twenty-five plus performances across 3 stages in 3 days, from May 15 through May 17.

Friday May 15, each stage will have a very distinctive sound. The inside stage will be headlined by innovative guitar virtuoso Yasmin Williams, with Florist's Emily A. Sprague also doing a set; also on this stage will be Jack in the Green, an amazing local pub-singing collective. Outside will be louder with Delicate Steve (known for his inimitable guitar style, as well as session work with Paul Simon & Amen Dunes), Big Blood (legendary Portland family quartet), and shoegaze slayers Dinger.

Saturday May 16 we are partnering with the Colonial Theatre to present hiphop architect and Wu Tang Clan member Ghostface Killah at the theatre; afro-futurist and actual doctor Sammus opens. Leading folks to this special evening concert will be the Undertow Brass Band, an incredible punk rock marching band from Providence, parading from the Nova Arts stages to the Colonial. Before this momentous trek, you can see an unbelievable slate of experimental, jazz, and classical music featuring Chicago's Natural Information Society, saxophonist Cole Pulice, trombonist Kalia Vandever, guitarist Gregory Uhlmann, and a special collaboration with Monadnock Music featuring their string quartet performing the music of area composer Katie Semro. Also throughout this day will be four incredible poets from around New England: John-Franics Quiñonez, Diannely Antigua, Jess Rizkallah, and Maya Williams.

Sunday May 17 we'll have psychedelic and expansive folk music featuring performances by Woods, Saintseneca, Thanya Iyer, Habitat, Nova One, Mary Elizabeth Remington, and Edsel Axle! Also worth noting is the amazing artwork for the posters that was done by printmakers Aran Zachary Marciniak; he will be on hand throughout the weekend as well!

Attend for a day, an evening, or the whole weekend: day passes, tickets to the Colonial show, as well as a limited number of weekend passes are available now at thethinginthespring.com. The Thing in the Spring is a project of Nova Arts, fiscally sponsored by Arts Alive, and supported by the Putnam Foundation & the Osier Fund. Please visit the website for more information on the weekend as well as our great partners and underwriters who make it possible. We are also extending the Access for All program to apply to all of the Nova Arts shows that are part of The Thing!

Nova Arts is located at 48 Emerald St, Keene, NH.

Regional News

Financial Focus®

Local business owners: Don't overlook retirement plans

If you're a local business owner, you're juggling many priorities: growing revenue, managing expenses, supporting your team and planning for your own future. What if one tool could help with all these goals?

A workplace retirement plan might be that solution and can, directly or indirectly, offer benefits that extend beyond simple savings.

Double the tax advantages. Starting a retirement plan can deliver immediate tax advantages. For the business, employer contributions are tax-deductible. And as a participant in your company plan, your pretax salary deferrals are excluded from income taxes; your investments within the plan are tax-deferred until distributed. Many plans now offer Roth options that allow tax-free withdrawals in retirement.

Local businesses may also qualify for federal tax credits that help offset startup costs, employee education expenses and plan administration fees. Additional credits may be available for auto-enrollment features and employer contributions made during the plan's first five years.

A competitive edge in hiring. In today's labor market, offering a retirement plan can differentiate your business from competitors and help improve employee retention.

Many plans also provide access to financial education tools and resources, helping your employees make informed decisions about saving, investing and planning for retirement. This support can lead to greater employee satisfaction and productivity, contributing to a positive work environment for your business.

More flexible than state-sponsored options. If you live in a state requiring an employee retirement program, you might be considering a state-sponsored plan. While these programs can provide a starting point, they typically offer fewer investment options, lower contribution limits and limited design flexibility.

Establishing your own workplace retirement plan lets you customize features for your business needs to control administrative costs, set contribution limits and offer employees a wide range of investment options. This added control in plan design can lead to better outcomes for your business and your employees.

Reducing a hidden risk in your own retirement planning. Business owners often have as much as 80% of their net worth tied up in their businesses, according to the Exit Planning Institute. While that demonstrates commitment to success, it also creates significant financial risk to the owner.

Relying solely on a future business sale to fund your retirement can be precarious. Market shifts, timing challenges or limited buyer interest could derail those plans. By building personal assets through your employer-sponsored retirement plan, you can gain financial flexibility and reduce the risk of having your retirement lifestyle depend entirely on one event.

Getting started. With various retirement plan options available, determining which one fits your business best can feel overwhelming.

A qualified financial advisor can help you navigate these decisions, explaining the trade-offs between different plan types and identifying which option best suits your unique situation. They can also help you understand eligibility requirements and ensure the plan you choose aligns with your business goals and personal financial objectives.

Starting a workplace retirement plan represents an investment in your future, your employees and the long-term success of your business.

Gardening

A Plant for Every Room in Your Home

Pothos plants have thick, waxy heart-shaped leaves and come in a variety of colors and patterns.
Photo courtesy of melindamyers.com

by Melinda Myers
Add a bit of greenery to your home's décor with a few new plants. Match the plants to your style and the growing conditions in each room to create the desired results.

Consider the time you have and want to invest in caring for plants when selecting and placing them throughout your home. If you prefer to give your plants lots of attention and are attentive to watering, add a few challenging plants and those that like consistently moist soil. If you are busy or prefer a more hands-off approach, look for drought-tolerant plants that thrive with minimal care. Check plant tags and reliable resources for information on the light, water and care needed before purchasing your plants.

Start with one room and once satisfied with the results, move to the next. Dividing any project into smaller parts will be easier on your budget and schedule and often results in greater success.

Focus on the room where you spend the most time or feel it needs a greenery boost. Perhaps it's your living room, family room or a reading nook. Use large floor plants to create a focal point, provide height and balance in the room and brighten bare walls. Fiddle leaf and weeping figs, rubber plants, dragon tree (Dracaena marginata), and palms are a few popular plants often sold as indoor trees. Set them on a plant caddy to protect your floors and make it easier to move them for cleaning and maintenance. Add some decorative artificial lights if needed.

Add some welcome color to any room. Neon pothos with its bright chartreuse leaves, crotons with its multicolored leaves, dracaenas with striped variegation and Raven ZZ plant with its purple-black foliage are just a few to consider. Incorporate a few low-maintenance flowering plants like anthuriums, bromeliads and moth orchids.

If you spend a lot of time cooking, washing dishes and cleaning up, your kitchen may be your priority. A windowsill herb garden provides fresh herbs to include in your favorite recipes. Their fragrance, when given a pet, makes clean up a bit more tolerable.

Create a sense of calm and promote a good night's sleep with greenery. The beauty, oxygen and boost in humidity plants provide is also beneficial. Consider adding a few trailing plants grown in hanging baskets or displayed on shelves. The cascading foliage provides a bit of screening and softens hard surfaces for a cozier look.

Take advantage of the humidity in the bathroom and enjoy a splash of greenery when stepping out of the shower or tub. Try some ferns, air plants, prayer plants and other tropical plants that benefit from this environment.

Don't overlook your home office. Research found looking at and tending plants can help increase focus and creativity.

Don't let fungus gnats ruin the calm you are trying to create. They feed on organic matter in the soil, usually don't harm your plants, but are annoying as they flit into your face and gather at the windows and your computer screen. Manage them with naturally occurring soil bacteria, Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti), found in Summit® Mosquito Bits® (SummitResponsibleSolutions.com). The bacteria will kill the fungus gnat larvae in the soil but is safe for people and pets. Follow the label directions and repeat as needed.

Evaluate your home's décor and do a bit of research before you start shopping. Like any home project, planning can help save time and increase success.

Melinda Myers has written over 20 gardening books, including The Midwest Gardener's Handbook, 2nd Edition and Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses "How to Grow Anything" instant video series and the nationally-syndicated Melinda's Garden Moment radio program. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine and her website is www.MelindaMyers.com.