Brian Cook, executive director of Revels North, and his team are finding innovative ways to bring Christmas Revels to our community. A part of our Upper Valley community since 1975, the Christmas Revels celebration made the move to the Lebanon Opera House in 2019. Cook and his team concocted the idea of a heart-warming animated Revels film for the 2020 season but were determined to have an in-person performance for 2021 and have created a new conceptualization of Revels to make that happen. “We see this as another chance to reinvent what we do. We feel like, let’s have some fun with this. We don’t want to let a little thing like a pandemic interfere with a tradition that goes back to 1975,” Cook said. 

This year, Christmas Revels is going to be a two-part extravaganza with both an outdoor portion in Colburn Park that will be free to the public and ticketed events in the Lebanon Opera House. 

The outside portion of the program will be, in Cook’s words, “classically Revels,” and feature traditional favorites such as Dona Nobis Pacem, The Shortest Day recitation, and Lord of the Dance. This program will include two half-hour performances daily of the festival at 4 and 5:30pm. “All of the standards of the community chorus and your Christmas Revels will be there, and it will have everything you expect year after year, plus even more happening in the park besides these performances, so we hope it will be both familiar and surprising,” Cook said. New pieces will also be included, such as a hit song from last year’s animated film titled Julian of Norwich, better known as Bells of Knowledge. Cook hopes the free outdoor performance and festival will prove welcoming to newcomers to the Revels: “Hopefully it will be an invitation to people who’ve never tried Revels before to give it a shot.”

The indoor portion of the festival in Lebanon Opera House will be a series of different concerts by three guest artists. “We wanted to capture three performers – each very different from the other and each exceptional at what they do,” Cook said. 

The Friday night performance will feature Eden MacAdam-Somer, a composer/performer/improviser who weaves together violin, vocals, and percussive dance. “[Eden’s] range of interest and cultures is staggering,” Cook said. A timely highlight of her performance, Cook believes, will be her knowledge of the music of Afghanistan. “She’s traveled to Afghanistan about six times in the last 15 years and taught at the music school in Kabul. So, she’s soaked in Afghan music, and I anticipate that will be part of her show.”

The Saturday performances feature Dr. Richard Antoine White, a classical tubist. His performance will present his music and life story, which will include a 30-minute documentary about his journey from experiencing homelessness in Baltimore to performing as a world-renowned musician in prestigious symphonies. White also has a personal connection to the area as he grew up with Revels North artistic director Nils Fredland and his performance will feature local musicians. “[White] is coming at a really interesting time in his career,” Cook said, “He just has an amazing life story.”

Finally, Sunday will star Còig, one of Atlantic Canada’s premier Celtic quartets. Hailing from Cape Breton, the three-time Lebanon Opera House veterans are “right in the wheelhouse of Revels” with their passionate performances of traditional and contemporary Celtic music. “This is in line with what audiences have come to expect from Revels in 45 years, so this will be the familiar performance and MacAdam-Somer and White will be something new,” Cook said. 

While the theme of this year’s celebration is officially Lighted Candles in the Winter Trees – a line from the recitation The Shortest Day (a Revels regular) – Cook and his compatriots decided not to focus on a particular cultural theme due to the new form of the performance. “This unique situation gave us the flexibility not to focus on one particular culture. We’re hoping that through this festival we are able to capture the overall breadth of interests, cultures, and traditions that Revels likes to explore.” 

For Cook, the Christmas Revels is a family affair. From participating in the show in 1981 as a child, to having his children involved in the performance between 2011 and 2017, to acting as director beginning in 2019, Christmas Revels has been a thread throughout Cook’s life. It was his children’s participation in the project that led to his becoming executive director, Cook said. 

Cook’s first year with Revels in 2019 ushered in the first performance of the Christmas Revels in Lebanon after making the trek over from Hanover where the show had been performed since 1975. “The first show did really well,” Cook said, “We were delighted with both the Opera House and the town and excited to establish new roots in Lebanon. The Revels community was excited about the Lebanon Opera House.” Cook reports hearing such remarks as: ‘It was so much easier to get parking,’ and ‘We had such a great meal at Three Tomatoes or Salt Hill!’ “Our audience immediately felt good about the new home,” Cook said.

Cook is hoping this year’s festival will continue to deepen the connection with Lebanon and that “the free outdoor portion downtown will be an invitation for people in town to come and give us a look, whether it’s for the first time or the first time in a long time.” 

Even before moving to Lebanon, Revels North has had ties to the town. Erling Hystad, a member of the Lebanon city council, has been involved with Revels since the very first show in 1975. Originally behind the scenes, he became a performer and will be in this year’s show. Additionally, the Revels board features Lebanon and West Lebanon residents such as President Kim Rheinlander, Treasurer Mandy Spencer, and board member Karen Zook, owner of Scratch Supply Co. This year’s show also features a recent Lebanon High School graduate, Sam Clifton, who both attended Revels as youngster and first performed in 2019: “It was a great way for Revels to begin a relationship with Lebanon as a community, and the city has been right by our side as we figured out our plans for both last year’s efforts as well as this year’s.” Several members also work in the Lebanon community, in the schools or Upper Valley Music Center. “It’s pretty fun to have Lebanon represented in all generations,” Cook said.

Lebanon has also provided Revels the flexibility to create an event they may not have been able to do in Hanover. “The ability to do what we are doing is made possible by this town. There are eight other cities who perform the Christmas Revels and we’re the only one trying to do something this crazy. The reason we can do it is the proximity of Lebanon Opera House to Colburn Park and the vibrant downtown that surrounds it. This is only because of what Lebanon has to offer.”

Cook is excited about continuing to build the relationship with Lebanon in the future. “The town leadership is excited about the arts and the culture commission is really enthusiastic about us coming to town.” Cook is eager to have “Lebanon families get excited about this and view this as their own.”  

Cook notes that Christmas Revels is only possible through the support of the community, such as with a grant from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and Mascoma Bank underwriting the festival for the fourth year in a row. He also encourages folks to donate if they like what Revels is doing and want to support offering this to the community for free. In addition to the free outdoor performance, the indoor ticket prices are reduced, and the Saturday matinee will feature an $8 youth ticket. 

Cook is most excited about making this year’s festival as broadly available to the public as possible and providing the opportunity for people to gather and celebrate. “I think being able to get people back together in downtown Lebanon this year will be a thrill for all of us, because ultimately that’s what this organization is about. It’s about gathering the community to celebrate.”

The Christmas Revels Festival will be held on December 17, 18, and 19 with free outdoor performances in Colburn Park at 4pm and 5:30pm and activities, vendors, and artists from 3-7pm. Indoor performances at the Lebanon Opera House are at 8pm on Friday, and 1:30 and 7:30pm on Saturday and Sunday. The outdoor performances will be mask optional. LOH will be seating at reduced capacity and requiring masks. 

Lebanon’s Recreation Director Paul Coats scans Colburn Park and says, “You don’t get settings like this everywhere.” At 400 x 235 feet, Colburn Park is not huge, but what might be no more than a giant roundabout, is in fact the physical hub and community anchor of Lebanon’s compact downtown. This was never more apparent than in the summer of 2021, when Covid weary citizens took to the park for escape, diversion, and connection. 

Coats first discovered New England while hiking the Appalachian Trail in 1998. When he returned home and saw a job opening for a recreation coordinator in Lebanon, he went for it. Since then, he’s been instrumental in the evolution of the park and the activities it hosts. Many of them may be new, but the little park’s ability to serve the community in a big way is a long-standing tradition. 

The area that is now Colburn Park was given to the town by Robert Colburn, on the condition that it become the site for the town meetinghouse. Over time two turnpikes converged in the park, and in 1839, the town voted to move the meetinghouse to the present-day Lebanon City Hall. 

In 1849, the State of New Hampshire agreed to route the turnpikes around the common, thus opening the opportunity to make the common a proper park. It was then graded and surrounded by the granite and wrought iron fence which still stands. The roadways became the four cross-park footpaths, and in 1884, the common officially became “Colburn Park.”

The park was consistently used for town meetings and auctions, speeches, celebrations, fairs and gatherings. Nicole Ford Burley, curator of Lebanon’s Historical Society says, “Colburn Park has had a bandstand since at least the mid-19th century, and concerts have always been regular occurrences.” Ford Burley tracks the park’s use through pictures dating back to the 1860s.

Pictures from 1910 show a crowded gathering of horse and buggies and a lone automobile. Soon Model T Fords filled the spaces around the park, their owners shopping at the bustling shopping district along Hanover Street. Photos from 1910 also show thick bundles of utility lines hanging on telephone poles around the park. Those were likely buried during the Urban Renewal that Lebanon undertook after the massive fire of 1964 destroyed the downtown shopping area, and Hanover Street was converted to today’s outdoor pedestrian mall.  

Jude Dutille grew up in Lebanon and works in the downtown Lebanon jewelry store his family has owned since 1959. Growing up, Dutille remembers the summer fair in the park as a major social event. His graduating class from Lebanon High had their annual Alumni Day parade around the park, a tradition that endures today. Having worked in the store daily since 1981, he attests, “There’s more going on in the park than there used to be.”

Music remains the mainstay of events, anchored by the Thursday night Front Porch Music Series concerts that can draw up to 1000 people. A robust Farmers Market runs from May through September every Thursday 4 – 7pm, leading into the concerts. For the past five years, Movie Screen on the Green has offered outdoor movies every Friday in September. The winter highlight is the long tradition of the lighted Christmas tree, though Ford Burley notes that during the 1920s, a part of the park was flooded each winter to allow ice skating.

The fair may have stopped in the 90’s but a steady uptick in annual festivals and special events at the park include 4th of July festivities, the Food Truck Fest in August, Lebanon Rotary Club’s Brew Fest in September and LebFest: a joint venture between the Recreation Department and the Upper Valley Business Alliance to showcase local businesses. 

The latest addition is the Lebanon Opera House Nexus Music and Arts Festival. When all performances were canceled for the summer of 2020, Joe Clifford, executive director of LOH envisioned and created Nexus Fest. The three-day event featured events and performances in three close venues – the Lebanon Mall, a stage behind the Opera House and Colburn Park. LOH also utilizes the park for “Silent Disco” nights, where a DJ transmits music through special glowing headphones. 

Private businesses and municipal efforts have collaborated to vitalize the area surrounding Colburn Park. Coats points to the renovation of the Lebanon Opera House in 2001, and the subsequent additions of Salt Hill and Omer and Bob’s to Lebanon Mall mainstays like Village Pizzeria and Three Tomatoes. Lucky’s Coffee Garage has become a lively anchor at the northeast corner of the park and Roger’s House – the luxury hotel converted to senior housing in 1970 – recently had a significant facelift. 

Covid, and the suspension of expensive city programs like the day camp and the pool, presented an unusual opportunity to divert funds to park improvements, like repaving the walkways to make every part of the park accessible to all. 

“Colburn Park really is the epicenter of the arts in Lebanon,” says Clifford, noting the proximity of the City Center Ballet, the AVA gallery, and the Upper Valley Music Center. “I’m really proud of the city for putting resources to it.” 

Coats’ tenure has seen steady upgrades at the park, from the modest but hugely popular play area to the Little Free Library kiosk, to the upgraded electrical outlets in and around the perimeter of the park. By the time of publication, two new streetlights will be installed, and with them, free town Wi-Fi.

Parking areas on the south side of the park that are allocated for up to three food trucks offer more options for park visitors, and opportunities for entrepreneurs. Lalo’s Taqueria, a popular eatery on the Lebanon Mall started out as a food truck on the park, as did Phnom Penh Sandwich Station which now has two permanent locations. 

As with any well-trafficked park, healthy, vibrant trees are both the greatest invitation and the greatest ongoing challenge. When the native Elm trees died off in the late 20th century, they were replaced by hardier species, like the invasive red Norway maples that thrive there today. The long-term plan is to replace them with native trees. 

Trees also figure into park lore. Dr Myrick Wood who lived on S. Park St, is said to have chased down the vandal who cut down the park’s former Christmas tree. The current tree was dedicated to Wood in 2006, with a plaque that stands guard next to it. Local war veterans are honored at two monuments on either side of the bandstand.

On a mild fall day, Amos Hoyt and Juliette King have pulled their motorized scooters up to enjoy the sun at a picnic table in the park. Hoyt lives across the street at Roger’s House and Juliette King lives a half mile away in Lebanon Towers. Hoyt comes to the park two to three times a day in warm weather, while King visits frequently. Both meet their respective great grandchildren over by the playground on occasion. When asked about their favorite event in the park Hoyt answers without hesitation: “All of them.” 

Learn more about Colburn Park at the Lebanon Historical Society http://www.lebanonnhhistory.org. Reserve Colburn Park free for a group or personal event at lebanonnh.gov 

When a small but committed group of ‘Founding Mothers’ started WISE 50 years ago as a women’s career and parenting resource center – email, floppy disks, and pocket calculators had just been invented. Also in 1971, women could not own credit cards or purchase property. And the concept of gender-based violence was not part of any community conversation: it would take decades for this to change. Yet the pioneering WISE founders began hearing and believing women’s stories of sexual and domestic violence at home and at work and took the courageous step to act on those stories. Fifty years later, the next generation of WISE staff, volunteers, and board members is still providing a haven for people who suffer from gender-based violence, offering support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

How does an organization successfully sustain this kind of challenging and important work for 50 years? According to long time Executive Director Peggy O’Neil, WISE has continued to evolve with the times, and is fueled by the remarkable dedication and commitment of everyone involved in the organization. “Fifty years is a long time, and one reason for our staying power is that the most amazing people come together – donors, volunteers, survivors, staff, board members – to address this issue and try to make a difference. From the 70s to 2021, people in very difficult situations have reached out and they know they can trust us with their stories.” 

Past Board Chair and WISE strategic advisor Lizann Peyton echoes Peggy’s sentiments. “One reason WISE is so successful is that the staff and board have always thought powerfully about changing systems. WISE leads systems innovation throughout the Upper Valley, partnering with critical organizations beyond its own direct services, working with schools, courts, health care providers, human service agencies, businesses, and others. WISE understands what it takes to help people feel safe and secure.”

Working from an empowerment-based model which promotes resilience and positions the person seeking help as the primary decision-maker, WISE works closely with community organizations to create consistent responses to validate women’s experiences. Lizann remembers a time when public and institutional awareness was not so coordinated. “When I joined the board in 1993, it was difficult to recruit board members and harder to find funding support. The more public awareness was raised, the more people came to WISE for services. WISE has been good about promoting the success stories, and that has changed the dialogue to show that there is a way to talk about these issues as a community. It creates a virtuous cycle – the more you succeed, the more the community supports and comes to WISE as a leader.”  

In the early 90s, WISE staff engaged with local hospitals to provide an advocate to speak in confidence with people who went to the hospital after experiencing trauma. This outreach served to elevate the public and institutional perceptions of the value of the services available at WISE. Board member and past President Jenny Williams says WISE has done pioneering work with police departments as well, and that collaborative relationships with community institutions have been a vital part of raising community awareness. “The organization has become very proactive – at least half of our job is prevention. We have the WISE training courses that anyone can apply to take part in. It helps explain why gender-based violence exists, and we can educate adult community members through the basic training course (a screening process applies). The next level of the training prepares volunteers to serve on the crisis hotline,” explains Jenny. WISE also has five ‘co-locations’ around the Upper Valley to expand accessibility to services.

Another shining example of a positive impact on community systems is the presence of WISE educators in grades K-12 in Upper Valley schools through the Prevention and Education Program. Explains Peggy, “We have had educators in the schools for three decades. We’re a small community, so you see young people who you worked with in middle school, and they tell a story about the educator helping them, a family member, or a friend who benefited from the experience.” High school students also report incorporating the learning into their peer group conversations, social groups, and communities. Lizann notes, “The program also teaches kids to understand the language and that helps them and others to navigate real-life situations. We have seen a shift in how boys and men are engaging in the conversation about gender-violence.” Jenny echoes the far-reaching success of the education program. “One of the beautiful things about the education program is how the students engage in asking tough questions. When I sat in on a class at Hanover High School, the topic was consent, and Kate (educator) gave the students a forum where they weren’t going to be criticized. I think this can be very powerful for girls and boys.”

What does the future hold for WISE? With the current reality of a solid organizational structure and financial stability, the team at WISE can take the time to focus on long-range planning. Both Jenny and Lizann, credit Peggy’s enduring leadership in allowing WISE to grow, change, and adapt, and in supporting a leadership team and board that remain committed to the cause. “In this line of work, there seems to be a lot of turnover, but many members of the board and leadership team at WISE have been there for a long time. Peggy has a rare combination of relational skills and being an organized and strategic thinker,” says Jenny.

Because WISE has continually adapted to the Upper Valley community’s needs and perceptions, the organization has developed a broad array of services to achieve its ambitious mission: “leading the Upper Valley to end gender-based violence through survivor-centered advocacy, prevention, education, and mobilization for social change.” 

“The work we’re doing is ongoing,” says Peggy. “We have to plan pretty far out for impact. We are still concerned with fundraising, but we have a strong foundation that gives us the ability to take some deep breaths and do important long-term planning. Twenty-five years from now I hope to see WISE continue to have successful leadership transitions both with the staff and the board.” 

And fortunately for the Upper Valley, the WISE team has the capacity and dedication to continue its commitment to progressive leadership in the challenging realm of gender-based violence prevention for at least the next 50 years. 

For more information about WISE and its programs, visit their website, http://www.wiseuv.org or call 603-448-5922. The crisis hotline number is 866-348-WISE available 24 hours a day.

If there is one philosophy that Lebanon resident John Fenley lives by, it is that which was imparted to him by his parents years ago. 

“My mother taught me that you have to have faith and fight and persevere through the hard moments in life,” says John. “She has shown me what it means never to give up. And my father taught me that you can achieve your dreams if you work hard.”

For John, these words have had significant meaning considering his diagnosis of a craniopharyngioma brain tumor at age three which required five surgeries to successfully remove. And although the resulting brain injury created obstacles, he strives to define himself by his abilities rather than his disabilities.

“My brain tumor has affected my life in countless ways, but I have never allowed it to define my life,” says John. “People of a pessimistic mindset would say it’s so unfair that I had to suffer five brain surgeries. But I would remind them of how blessed I am. I had a strong, loving family to see me through the darkest moments. I was fortunate enough to be born in a time when performing these difficult surgeries has been possible. And, in a time when medicine is advanced enough to provide me hormones in pill form to replace what was lost. I was also fortunate enough to have been born in a country that boasts some of the best hospitals in the world. See? I am blessed.”

Born in Carmel, NY in 1985 to Madeline and Dennis Fenley, John is the youngest of two boys. His older brother Chris was eager to welcome him into a family that values kindness and caring.

“My roots are important to me,” says John. “I’m one-quarter Irish, one-quarter German, and half Italian. Ha! Maybe that’s why I have a loud and boisterous charm like many Irish-Italians!”

When he was five, his parents divorced, so John spent summers with his father in Virginia and Thanksgivings with his extended family in Montauk, Long Island. His mother moved to Hanover, and worked at the Tuck School. “She has been diagnosed with cancer three times and is, without a doubt, the strongest person I know,” says John. “She is my hero.”

Attending the Hanover Ray School and Hanover High School (class of ’04), John forged ahead to Keene State College but “washed out”, as he calls it, with a medical leave – a sure disappointment for a young man who dreamed of becoming an elementary school teacher. He sought out a neuropsychologist who explained that his years at high school were difficult due to frontal lobe scarring which can manifest itself in disorganization, forgetfulness, and lack of initiative – often misinterpreted as laziness by others.

“When that puzzle piece clicked into place, I remember bitterly proclaiming, ‘So, between my hypothalamic damage and frontal lobe scar tissue, Doc, you are basically telling me I have Fat and Lazy Disorder?’”

John’s tumor continued to grow back. It was, as he describes, like an “uninvited, invisible enemy that kept lurking in my skull.” A majority of his childhood memories are fuzzy, hospital scenes. He had brain surgery at ages, 3, 5, 7, and 9. After his parents’ divorce, his mother and father would trade off days with John and his brother at the New York Presbyterian Hospital. “I feel bad about how scary it must have been for Chris growing up with a little brother in and out of the hospital,” said John. “I feel like it forced him into the role of the silent strong one in the family.”

Once back on his feet, John joined SOAR (Speaking About Human Rights), formerly Upper Valley Neighbors, an advocacy chapter based in Lebanon. He had served as its president from 2008 to 2018. In 2012 he was elected President of the statewide advocacy organization, People First of New Hampshire. In that same year, John was appointed to the Council on Developmental Disabilities by the Governor and helped create Advocate NH – an organization that plans and delivers the annual statewide disability rights conference. In 2013 he joined the Self Advocacy Leadership Team (SALT) a group that addresses issues of abuse and neglect, accessible transportation, and mentorship of young advocates. Through his extensive involvement in these organizations, John has had many opportunities to testify at the New Hampshire State House on issues of health and human services.

Then, twenty-four years after he thought he had vanquished his invisible foe, a CAT scan in 2018 revealed that his childhood nightmare had returned. John went under the knife for his fifth brain surgery. “I wasn’t quite as spongy and resilient as I was when I was a kid,” he said. “Now I was an overweight, thirty-three-old adult, and I was terrified.”

This most recent surgery has taught John that “nothing is sure in life”, that “things can go from bad to worse in the blink of an eye.” And yet – as his parents taught him – he forges on; and for the last seven years, in a big way. 

John is a co-founder of Spark! Community Center in Lebanon – a place where adults with special needs, their families and caregivers, and members of the Upper Valley community can come together and take part in fun and educational activities and whose vision is “to be a vibrant center that embraces a diverse integrated community where all participants are inspired to realize their fullest personal potential”. 

Although he spent years developing a career in self-advocacy, John realized that other disabled individuals were also in need of a life goal. It angered him that many were wandering aimlessly during their days off.

“I felt they deserved better,” John said. “I envisioned a warm and welcoming space where they could pursue their passions for free with community members of all shapes and sizes. I called it Spark! with the hope that it would ‘spark’ creativity and conversations of equality. Everyone has a talent or ‘spark’ worth sharing.”

So, John met with a local mother of an adult-disabled child and shared his dream. With her business degree, she used her professional acumen to help file for a 501C3 status and enlist a board of directors to serve the new organization. Spark! Community Center went from dream to reality.

John has served as Community Outreach Coordinator since the grand opening of Spark! in 2014.

“I love my job because it allows me to pursue my passion of art by creating graphic design elements for flyers and announcements,” John says. He makes drawings of the nonprofit’s mascot, Sparky the Spark Plug, to promote upcoming classes and events. “And in an ironic twist of fate, I guess I did become a teacher! I have the joy of teaching virtual classes on Zoom every day. Right now, I am teaching a Virtual Road Trip class every Monday in which we’re exploring the East Coast states from Maine to Florida and learning fun facts about their state symbols, famous residents, history, and cool places to visit. What I love about the center is that it has endless possibilities, and we can add new and different activities based on community interest.”

Spark! Community Center Executive Director Melissa Valcourt has known John since February 2020 when she began working at Spark! “John is a very dependable employee and the founder of Spark! Community Center in 2014, who created and followed the vision and mission statements to a T,” she said. “He is currently the Outreach Specialist and teaches 65% off our online classes daily as well as the lead person for our Friday Fun Night events. He is always thinking of others and making sure that everyone feels included in whatever we are doing. John is a huge advocate for the disability community and is a great speaker. He has had some medical conditions that put him in a coma a few years ago but has overcome all of these roadblocks and is thriving at 15 hours a week with Spark!” 

John has a vision for the future of Spark! With enough local community donations, he hopes to move Spark! into a bigger, more vibrant space.

“I see a future where more families with young children, teens, and seniors all come to take advantage of what Spark! has to offer,” he said. “And I will continue to advocate for the voiceless and strive to be a friend and mentor to the people who come through our door. And maybe someday, if I can find the time, I will publish a book about my life and faith, and what I have learned.”