Arts and Recreation
Houdini's Famous Illusion To Be Performed By Magician Ben Pratt at Park Theatre
"The Wall of Rope Illusion" will be featured at the performance in Jaffrey, NH on Saturday, January 24
"Now you see him..." Master Illusionist Ben Pratt
Photo courtesy of The Park Theatre
JAFFREY, New Hampshire (January 14, 2026) The famed magician and illusionist Harry Houdini will be honored at Jaffrey's Park Theatre on Saturday, January 24 at 7:30pm. As part of his performance, magician Ben Pratt will feature his version of Harry Houdini's famous "Wall of Bricks Illusion." Houdini walked through walls in full sight of the audience. Pratt's new take of this memorable illusion, a walk through a wall of rope, will be an audience favorite among his many other illusions and tricks.
Ben returns to The Park for an unprecedented fifth time. He brings his illusions, magic, comedy to the grand 330-seat Eppes Auditorium at The Park. One of his showstoppers is levitating a child from the audience into the air.
Like most magicians that you see today, Ben Pratt fell in love with magic at a very young age. He grew up in a tiny town in New Hampshire with a population of less than 1,000 people. Far away from any big city or access to any magical props. However, that never stopped him from living his dream of performing. Ben has won multiple awards, opened for major celebrity acts, and has performed all over New England and beyond, including Las Vegas, Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun, and Gillette Stadium. Ben creates a 75-minute in-your-face stand-up comedy show combined with magic and illusions that widely appeals to both adults and kids. From the moment he walks into a room ready to perform to when he exits, he will always leave people begging for more.
Tickets for BEN PRATT are $25 with front-of-audience VIP table seating at $40. All seats are reserved. Purchase in advance by going to theparktheatre.org or by calling the box office (603) 532-8888. The theatre doors will open at 6:30 pm. The Lounge will be open for cocktails, beer and wine (ID required).
The Park Theatre performing arts center is located at 19 Main Street in downtown Jaffrey, New Hampshire, just 90 minutes from Boston & 60 minutes from Worcester, MA.
UK Production of "TITANIC: The Musical" Screens in HD at Park Theatre
Winner of 5 TONY® Awards, this filmed for cinemas special event comes to Jaffrey, NH on Sun, January 25
A scene from TITANIC: The Musical
Photo courtesy of The Park Theatre
JAFFREY, New Hampshire (January 14, 2026) As part of their ArtsCinema Stage2Screen Series, The Park Theatre of Jaffrey is presenting the HD filmed UK production of the Tony®-winning musical TITANIC: The Musical on Sunday, January, 25 at 2:00 p.m. The film will be shown in their award-winning 330-seat auditorium with its 27-foot wide screen and 17-speaker ultra surround sound.
The filmed-for-cinema version of TITANIC: The Musical captures the acclaimed 10th anniversary UK tour production, which originated from Thom Southerland's intimate chamber staging that first premiered at London's Southwark Playhouse in 2013. This acclaimed revival, celebrating a decade of critical success in the UK, was recorded live during performances at the New Victoria Theatre in Woking, Surrey, England, from July 10-15, 2023.
Directed by Thom Southerland, the production features music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and a book by Peter Stone, with set and costume design by David Woodhead, lighting by Howard Hudson, sound by Andrew Johnson, musical staging by Cressida Carré, and musical supervision by Mark Aspinall. The cast includes Martin Allanson as J. Bruce Ismay, Graham Bickley as Captain Edward Smith, Ian McLarnon as Thomas Andrews, and others portraying the real-life passengers and crew. The filmed version runs approximately 2 hours and 25 minutes, focusing on the hopes, dreams, and personal stories of those aboard the ill-fated RMS Titanic on its maiden voyage in 1912.
Critics praised the production's emotional depth and powerful staging; The Guardian called it "breathtaking," The Telegraph deemed it "magnificent," and reviews highlighted its stirring focus on human aspirations amid tragedy, with one noting it as a "heart-rendingly powerful production of a modern musical theatre masterpiece." The intimate scale enhances the storytelling, making this filmed capture a compelling cinematic experience that honors the musical's enduring legacy.
Tickets for TITANIC: The Musical are $18. All seats are reserved. Purchase in advance by going to theparktheatre.org or by calling the box office (603) 532-8888. The theatre doors will open at 1pm. Cocktails, beer and wine (ID required) are available for purchase.
The Park Theatre performing arts center is located at 19 Main Street in downtown Jaffrey, New Hampshire, just 90 minutes from Boston & 60 minutes from Worcester, MA.
Note for local folks: Theatre at the Mount (Mount Wachusett Community College, Gardner, MA) will be doing a production of TITANIC: The Musical as part of their 2026-27 season, featuring local performers in the cast. See the movie, audition for the show!
Coming Up at Nova Arts in Keene
Saturday, January 17 - Incredible Jazz / Compositions from Europe and Keene!
On Saturday January 17, we welcome some amazing musicians from Europe plus our very own Keene alum Tori Young!
Whether combining the rhythmic timbres of wood, metal and audience claps or duetting with the atmospheric and elegiac echoed sounds of water dripping into a metal basin, Bex Burch is a composer, percussionist, producer and improviser who emphasises space, repetition and aspects of chaos. These themes characterise an ongoing approach she describes as "messy minimalism."
Burch's critically acclaimed 2023 debut solo album, There is only love and fear was released via Chicago avant-garde label International Anthem and named The Guardian's Contemporary Album of the Month. She was nominated for the Deutscher Jazzpreis 2025, and has previously released music as part of Boing! with Leafcutter John, and the Strut-released cosmic, boundary pushing quintet, Flock. She runs the label, Vula Viel Records, the community music event, Kantine Musik, and has collaborated with influential artists like Peter Zummo, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Ben LaMar Gay, Dan Bitney and Macie Stewart.
Bex completed an 18-month instrument-making apprenticeship in Ghana from 2008 with master gyil player Thomas Sekgura, a formative experience that still plays out, not only in her musical language and practice, but notably having been making the Dagaare gyilli since 2008, Bex has more recently created a new xylophone she handmade under Jamie Linwood's mentorship, tuning its harmonics to maximise the resonances she wanted to hear. Her new piece, "as yet untitled," premiered in Los Angeles' 2220 expands her composition practice further too, as Bex's wide-eyed approach to listening, composition and improvisation continues to evolve and break new musical ground.
Tori Young is a percussionist, composer, and singer who graduated from Keene State College in May 2025, where she was recognized as both the Presser Scholar and the Instrumentalist of the Year. She has performed with the Keene Chamber Orchestra and the Windham Philharmonic, bringing a versatile and expressive musical voice to every ensemble. For the past three years, she has worked with the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, most recently serving as the Manager of the Young Artists Orchestra, contributing to one of the nation's leading summer programs for young musicians.
Tori currently serves as the Front of House Manager at Keene State College and plans to pursue graduate studies in Music Theory, continuing to deepen her artistic and academic work.
The doors open at 7:00 p.m. and music will start around 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 is located at 48 Emerald St, Keene, NH.
Regional News
Second Chance Animal Services Helps More Than 64,000 Pets in 2025, Shattering All Records
When three-year-old Ducky came to Second Chance, she needed surgery for a painful eye condition. Now she's ready to find her forever home.
Photo courtesy of Second Chance Animal Services
EAST BROOKFIELD, MA (January 13, 2026) - Second Chance Animal Services announced today that the nonprofit helped a record breaking 64,143 pets in 2025, far surpassing its previous annual high of 56,000.
This milestone marks one of the most impactful years in the organization's history. Every Second Chance veterinary hospital experienced growth in the number of pets helped, with some locations assisting thousands more animals than in prior years. This is a remarkable triumph for the nonprofit hospitals that continue to break down barriers to access to veterinary care by offering affordable care to everyone and additional subsidies to those that qualify.
In 2025, Second Chance's adoption team responded to an increase demand for care for pets with complex and long-term medical needs, including several large-scale rescue efforts such as the 52 cats taken in from a single home and the intake of 26 golden retriever moms and their puppies who were under two weeks old at the time of rescue. The organization supported an unusually high number of mothers with underage puppies and kittens who required extended foster care before becoming adoption ready. These intensive cases resulted in a slight decline in the number of pets adopted. As a no kill shelter, Second Chance does not euthanize pets for space and remains committed to providing care for animals who need time, medical treatment, and specialized support.
"We were hoping to reach 60,000 pets helped, but in the last two months things truly skyrocketed," said Sheryl Blancato, Founder and CEO of Second Chance Animal Services. "Each year we think we may start to level out, and each year we reach new heights. It is incredibly exciting for the pets we are able to help every day, but it is also a sobering reminder of the growing challenges facing pets and the people who love them."
Blancato added that Project Keep Me, which provides temporary boarding and care for pets while domestic violence survivors secure safe housing and while veterans focus on in-patient treatment, saw need more than double in 2025. The program helps ensure that pets and the people who love them can stay together by offering peace of mind during times of crisis and transition, allowing families to heal and reunite without the added fear of losing a beloved companion.
Demand also rose sharply for the Second Chance pet food pantry program, which now supplies pet food to 26 local human food pantries. New partner pantries joined the program in 2025, and requests for pet food surged as more pet owners faced financial hardship. The pantry program is a direct reflection of Second Chance's mission to keep pets with the people who love them and out of shelters. Second Chance expects to break ground early this year on an expansion that will allow the organization to feed even more pets in need.
Second Chance's spay and neuter program shattered annual records in 2025, with 8,747 procedures performed. Nearly every hospital saw an increase in spay and neuter surgeries, including a significant rise at the Worcester hospital despite a temporary closure at the beginning of the year following a fire in late 2024. The organization's low-cost spay and neuter program plays a critical role in keeping pets healthy and reducing the number of animals entering shelters.
Founded with the mission of saving lives and enhancing the well-being of pets and people, Second Chance Animal Services provides affordable veterinary care, adoption services, spay and neuter programs, and community support throughout Massachusetts. The organization attributes its record-breaking year to the strong collaboration and dedication of staff and volunteers, and the continued generosity of donors and community partners.
"This simply could not happen without our compassionate supporters and the teamwork throughout our organization," Blancato added. "Together, we are making a meaningful difference for tens of thousands of animals and the families who love them."
Second Chance Animal Services looks ahead to 2026 with a continued commitment to expanding access to care and helping even more pets in need. Find more information at www.secondchanceanimals.org.
Gardening
Easy-Care Flowering Indoor Plants
Bromeliads are long bloomers with unique tropical flowers.
Photos courtesy of MelindaMyers.com
Brighten your home's décor and elevate your mood by adding a few flowering plants to your indoor garden. You may be surprised to find a wide array of flowering plants that will bloom when they are grown indoors. Match the plant to the growing conditions and your maintenance style for ease of care and greatest success.
Add a long-blooming moth orchid (Phalaenopsis) to your collection. It thrives in most home environments, making it the easiest of all the orchids to grow. Position your orchid in a brightly lit location that's free of hot or cold drafts. Water thoroughly with tepid water once a week. Leave the flower stalk intact and wait for a second smaller flush of flowers. Or prune it back to an inch above the foliage, provide proper care and watch for a fresh set of flowers in about a year. Or gift the non-flowering plant to a gardening friend. There's always one who's willing to wait for the next set of flowers. In the meantime, you can invest in a new variety for your home.
Treat yourself to an easy-care anthurium. You can now find white, red, pink, lavender and even yellow anthuriums for sale almost year-round. The colorful heart-shaped "flowers" are modified leaves that hold their color for many weeks. Grow this low maintenance, very forgiving plant in bright, indirect light and water thoroughly whenever the soil begins to dry.
Include bromeliads, another long bloomer with unique tropical flowers. Those with pliable leaves are more tolerant of lower light, while the stiff-leaved bromeliads need bright light to thrive. Water the soil often enough to prevent the roots from drying. After weeks and even months of flowering, the plant eventually dies but forms offsets, known as pups, you can grow to maturity.
The tubular, red-burgundy flowers of lipstick plant (Aeschynanthus radicans) reveal the inspiration for its common name. Grow this long-blooming, trailing plant in a warm location with bright, indirect light. Water thoroughly when the top inch of soil begins to dry. Move it to a slightly cooler location and allow the soil to dry a bit more between waterings during the winter.
Have fun by adding a hanging basket of goldfish (Nematanthus) to your collection. This easy-care plant produces long-lasting, orange-red flowers that resemble goldfish. Place it in bright, indirect light and water when the soil begins to dry.
Keep these and your other houseplants healthy and minimize pest problems by providing proper growing conditions and care. Fertilize actively growing plants with a flowering houseplant fertilizer according to label directions. Boost the humidity by grouping plants together. As one plant loses moisture, transpires, its neighbors' benefit. Place pebbles in the saucer or tray to elevate the pot above any water that collects there. As the water evaporates, it increases the humidity around the plant and eliminates the need for you to empty excess water out of the saucer.
Check all your plants for insects each time you water. It is easier to manage small populations than larger infestations. Use yellow sticky traps to monitor and trap white flies, fungus gnat adults, thrips and other houseplant pests. Manage fungus gnat larvae residing in the soil with organic Summit Mosquito Bits®. It contains a naturally occurring soil bacteria, Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti), that's safe for people, plants, and pets. Just follow the label directions for the most effective control.
Look for opportunities to include these and other flowering plants in your home. You'll enjoy the added color and beauty these plants provide.
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 was commissioned by Summit for her expertise to write this article. Myers' website is www.MelindaMyers.com.