After a successful first year, the Upper Valley 24-Hour Play Fest was back this September, held at the Briggs Opera House in White River Junction, and organized by Lebanon residents Rachael Thomeer and Molly Raposa. What is a 24-hour Play Festival? Great question! It’s just what it sounds like: 24 hours for participants to audition, write, direct, rehearse, and then perform short plays in just one calendar day.

With the festival beginning at 7pm on a Friday night, the actors audition (everyone is cast), and the writers stay overnight to work on their plays until the wee hours of the morning, when they then head home for some sleep. On Saturday morning, the directors and actors arrive to review scripts and hold the casting session, and then the tech crew arrives, rehearsals take place, and a performance begins to take shape. By 7pm Saturday night, the plays begin – six ten-minute plays – written, rehearsed, and performed in just 24 hours, and never seen before by any other audience. The Play Fest’s theme this year was “The Day Everything Changed”.

Upper Valley 24-Hour Play Fest Producers: Molly Raposa, Aaron Richter, Rachael Thomeer, Loriston Fennell

I met with two of the four producers to ask them some questions – Rachael Thomeer and Molly Raposa. Rachael has a background in community building, social events, and theater, and she served on the board of the Upper Valley Young Professionals. Having participated in a couple of play festivals in college, she had a vision of bringing such an event to the Upper Valley when she moved here in 2021, with the goal of inviting people from the broad community to come together for a fun, low-barrier, all-inclusive experience. She explained that the small time commitment (of 24 hours) helps make the event accessible to many, and the aspects she looks forward to the most are the camaraderie and team-playing of the participants who all work to bring the plays to life.

Eliza, UV 24-Hour Play Fest actress

Outside of organizing the Play Fest, Rachael also works in the box office at the Lebanon Opera House, and she loves how walkable downtown Lebanon is. “I like walking on the Rail Trail, going to the summer farmers’ market, and visiting the downtown businesses (Katie’s Cookies is my favorite!),” she said.

Molly also has a theater background, having majored in theater management and participating in play festivals at college as a director. She gave a shout out to the “Upper Valley Ladies 20s and 30s” group on Facebook, which is where she was first introduced to Rachael last year and joined in her mission to hold annual play festivals for the Upper Valley.

Both Rachael and Molly live in Lebanon, and “The festival has always been rooted in Lebanon,” Rachael said. “Since its founding, we’ve always had at least half of our production team live in Lebanon.” A few of the actors this year hail from Lebanon, too.

Even though the event itself is only 24 hours long, the producers and collaborators – all of whom are volunteers – work on making this event possible for months. In the months of planning leading up to the festival, the producers met at libraries in Lebanon and Hanover to plan the event. Rachael said that she sometimes forgets that the UV 24-Hour Play Fest is a real thing that an audience is coming to watch: it’s “not real until it’s real,” she said, and “it’s so short it feels like a dream.”

“It’s exciting and so nerve wracking at the same time,” Molly explained. “We are so heavily involved, and on the day-of, we’re starting to pass [what we’ve worked on] off to other people [actors].” She expressed how exhilarating the leap of faith and trust feels in passing their idea over to the Play Fest participants and seeing what they come up with over such a short period of time.

As far as this kind of event being a valuable part of the community, they both had a lot to say. Rachael said that this kind of event brings people together, especially during a time when social ties have disintegrated in recent years. “We really try to be inclusive and welcoming,” she said. “It’s an opportunity to let people try new things, and I think that’s just really empowering for them…We want to offer a low barrier of entry, and we want to make it really low stakes.” The first priority is that “we want everyone to have fun, feel safe, and be comfortable,” she added. “Our second thing is that [we] put on a good show. We really care about our [audience and actors] and their experience.”

Aran Eagle (L), director and Talon Eagle (R), actor

Molly said, “we’re just so passionate about bringing accessible art to the Upper Valley.” A 24-Hour Play Fest is a unique niche that is “awesome for the community.” A lot of people don’t want to make a big commitment (time wise), but still want to be involved in theater, and the Play Fest provides a great, low-commitment opportunity for them. “And, if you walk away from the day wanting to get more involved in the local theater scene at all of our amazing local arts venues, that’s awesome, and that’s a win for us,” Molly added.

This event is all-inclusive, no experience necessary, and come as you are, with some participants trying it for the first time, while others may have a background in theater and acting. Everyone gets to participate and share in the collaborative process, making it a rewarding and community-building experience.

As far as any changes since last year’s event, there were a few notable things. The auditions used to happen the morning-of, after the writers had written the plays. However, not knowing the demographics of the actors ahead of time, they wrote plays that were not necessarily written with specific demographics in mind, such as more kid-friendly scripts. This year, they had the writers watch the auditions, so they had a better idea who they were writing for, and this made a big difference. They learned a lot about the venues as well. Last year, they held the first Play Fest at Parish Players, and it was such a huge success; not only did they have to turn away participants because of lack of space, but the festival sold out! So, this year they found a larger space and ended up having over double the number of participants – 60 participants in total, with the number of children increasing and even a couple of families joining the mix.

Eliza, an 11-year-old participant, said this was her first play festival experience, though she has been involved with plays in the past at camp and was in

A Christmas Carol at Northern Stage. What excites her most about this event is the pressure of it. “I work best when I’m under stress,” she said. “This is really motivating but also scary, in a good way.” She thinks this is a valuable part of the community because it “causes a lot of people who share the same interests to come together and meet new people, and share their passion,” she said.

Fauve Dela Cruz, actress

Alexander Bulova, one of the co-directors who participated in 24-hour play festivals back in college, said that the most challenging aspect of the event is having only 24 hours to pull everything together. He is very used to coming into rehearsal having already done the blocking and preparation, and you don’t have that kind of time with the 24-Hour Play Fest. “This is really an opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and just work in the moment, learn with the actors, and discover stuff in the moment, which is really valuable,” he said. He explained that it’s important to keep things fresh for the performers, and that you don’t want them to “over act” and be tired by show time. “You want a little bit of uncertainty before you go on stage, because that’s where the acting and the magic comes from, is working with that audience and discovering stuff in the moment.” Also, the format removes barriers between the different roles, and everyone comes together. “This is a great opportunity for people to step out of their day-to-day lives and their jobs and just have fun.”

Play Fest actor Rawan Bresselsmith, from Lebanon, is new to acting, though you would never know; she is such a natural! Her background in ballet lends to her familiarity with stage performance, and part of her studies in medical school require some role playing. This was her first time taking part in a play festival, and she explained that the most challenging aspect of a ten-minute play is learning to memorize lines. And, in their play, they had a few scenes taking place all at once, which made it a challenge to stay focused on her next line. “This is a great way to meet people that I otherwise never would have crossed pathways with,” she said. “Coming together to do something collectively challenging is so fun…this is the essence of teamwork.”

Fauve Dela Cruz, another actor, said this is her second year involved with a play festival. What excites her most is “how it is so uncertain, and we have no idea what the outcome is going to be,” she said. “Everyone is obviously pushing to their best, but there’s no pressure to make it perfect…You literally have no time to get into your head, you’ve just gotta do it and go for it, and that’s the beauty of this whole thing that everyone’s going for…because you’re only doing it once.”

“It requires a lot of different people of different abilities, and so it pulls from all these different areas of the community,” Fauve added. “It will pull people from all walks of life…This is such a great entry-level way of getting into it and getting your feet wet and seeing if you like it, versus a huge commitment for a full production.”

Rawan Bresselsmith (L) and Jane Svindrychova (R), both UV 24-Hour Play Fest actresses.

Talon Ansteth heard about the UV 24-Hour Play Festival from his partner, who participated as a director. He was planning on being an usher, until someone dropped out from acting and he decided to audition. He participated for a number of years with the “Arts In Reach” program in Durham, Nh, and this really piqued his interest and involvement in theater.

What excited Talon most is that, “from the group that I’ve been in, they’re very inclusive, and they understand that I can’t do a lot of things, and they’re really helping me express myself in the play itself.”

You might not think it takes long to put something like this together, but there is always more behind the scenes than we ever imagine. It takes months to find just the right space, the sponsors and partners that come together to make this possible, the creative marketing, and all the thoughtful coordination. The four producers, including Molly, Rachael, Loriston Fennell, and Aaron Richter (who is the music director/organist and admin assistant at the West Lebanon Congregational Church), all volunteered their time, energy, and effort to make this happen. And, at the end of the night, a successful, exciting show that left me with such enthusiasm that I just might have to participate next year myself!

December 21 marks the winter solstice this year – the shortest day and longest night of the year, and the moment when the Northern Hemisphere tilts the farthest away from the path of the Sun in the sky. This has become the annual date of the Homeless Memorial Vigil that is the product of efforts by LISTEN Community Services, Lebanon Human Services, the Upper Valley Haven, the First Congregational Church of Lebanon, TLC Family Resource Center, and a range of other individuals and organizations, many rooted in Lebanon. The 2024 vigil will take place on December 20 starting at 5:30pm at LISTEN’s campus in White River Junction, in memory of those who have passed in the last year, whose lives have been shortened due to homelessness. The event is open to anyone who wishes to attend to recognize and grieve the lives that have been lost.

The winter solstice has long been the setting for memorial vigils across the country for those who have been without stable housing. In the Upper Valley, the event has taken many iterations over the past few years. The event, which centers on the reading of names of the departed, has also featured stories about the departed, hymns, and calls to action. In recent years, the event has taken place at various locations in the Upper Valley, including Colburn Park in Lebanon, as well as on the Upper Valley Haven’s campus in Hartford. In 2018, the vigil included a walk across Lyman Bridge to symbolize the bi-state nature of the event; in 2020, the vigil was broadcast virtually. This year, the event will be co-sponsored by organizations in Lebanon and Hartford and will take place outside LISTEN’s Community Dining Hall, a common destination for many seeking a warm dinner in the evening. Following the event, organizers, community leaders, and other members of the regional community will hold vigil, aiming to keep a campfire lit throughout the night.

Attendees holding vigil around a campfi re at 2022’s memorial vigil

In her introduction at last year’s vigil, LISTEN Community Services programs director, Angela Zhang, invited attendees “to notice the cold and the wind, and how it feels on your skin, in your fingers and toes, on your nose and ears, in your bones.” This experience is a key component of the vigil, and Zhang asked her sheltered listeners to imagine how their unsheltered neighbors feel when they do not have the option to return to a warm place after the event. “For those of us who are sheltered, this is an exercise of imagination,” she said. “For those of us here who don’t have shelter, this is a daily, lived reality, and the beginning of a long night, not just a long hour.” The vigil’s speakers then read the names and stories of nineteen individuals from the Upper Valley who passed away in 2023.

Angela Zhang of LISTEN Community Services speaking at the 2023 vigil.

Sterling Daniel Swortfiguer is one of the Upper Valley residents whose passing was mourned by the attendees of last year’s vigil. Sterling was born on October 22, 1947, and died alone in his vehicle on March 25, 2023 in Lebanon. He worked as an interior designer in New York City for many years before coming to Vermont and becoming a substitute teacher at Leland and Grey Union High School in Townshend.

The Upper Valley community also mourned Walter McDow, who spent many of his later years in Lebanon and White River Junction. Walter was born on November 10, 1965 and died on January 13, 2023 in the care of the oncology unit, visiting nurses, and hospice staff at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. He enjoyed listening to country music, watching old sitcoms, and sharing stories about his loved ones. While living in the Upper Valley, Walter was a regular client of LISTEN, Lebanon Human Services, and the Haven; many staff members of these helping organizations continue to grieve Walter’s passing.

Sterling and Walter were two of the nineteen individuals whose stories were read at the 2023 vigil. Sadly, there will be more stories of our neighbors to be shared at this year’s gathering, but the spirit of remembrance and togetherness will be collectively experienced. The list and stories will be compiled shortly before the date of the vigil, to ensure the information is as accurate and comprehensive as possible, but there are likely more individuals who were not known to service providers, and certainly far more experiences than can be shared in the short time of the event.

The Upper Valley Housing First Working Group has been meeting regularly since 2016 under the guiding principle that safe and reliable shelter is a fundamental need for human beings, and so the first step in supporting the needs of unhoused people is to ensure this access to shelter, after which their other needs can be addressed. The working group has since seen numerous successes, including the apartments at 10 Parkhurst Street in Lebanon, that provide access to both housing and supportive services to those in need as the result of a partnership between Twin Pines – which owns and manages the building – and the Haven, which provides supported housing services and a seasonal emergency shelter that opened on Mechanic Street in Lebanon at the beginning of 2024 and is returning this winter. The working group in turn convened a smaller organizing group for the Homeless Memorial Vigil; this year the group began meeting in July to plan the December event.

Reading the list of names at the 2023 vigil.

The vigil is an important event for many in the community. “Mourning the dead is one of the most fundamental of human instincts, an activity that is common across cultures around the world,” notes Reverend Stephen R. Silver of Lebanon’s First Congregational Church, one of the members of the organizing group. “The unhoused who have passed away in the past year were our neighbors, members of our community. It is fitting to acknowledge the death of these individuals, known and unknown, for they are people, just like you and me, and it is appropriate that we grieve their passing.”

The vigil’s organizers recognize and support the need of people to grieve the loss of life; that said, they also hope to prompt members of the community to take what action they can to mitigate this problem. For some, this may be as simple as having a conversation with neighbors; for others, it may mean volunteering time at organizations and municipal boards. Lebanon Human Services director, Lynne Goodwin, notes that “inaction will lead us right back here next year,” organizing another vigil for more lives lost. As such, the organizers have the distinctive goal of organizing an event that calls for its own end. This reality is not lost on the organizers, who hope in future years to complement the vigil with a celebration of those community members who have found permanent housing. Until the point at which no more lives are lost due to homelessness, though, the group intends to continue mourning those lost lives and to seek more solutions to support our most vulnerable neighbors.

Editor’s Note: The following article was inspired in part by an annual tradition in my hometown hosted by our own historical society, which we call a “ghost walk”. Every October, our community and historical society come together to bring stories of town residents from our past to life again, with the help of some amazing volunteer actors. Dressed in period clothing and standing near their respective headstones (in a different local cemetery each year), the “ghosts” tell the tales of the lives they once lived, embellished with some fun comparisons to the modern-day.

Lebanon, too, has its own amazing history full of vibrant individuals, and as this article highlights, sometimes the stories from lesser-known, “simple” folk can be some of the most interesting, and they’ve played a great role in the development of our communities. When inspiration strikes, Lebanon takes action, and so, it’s my pleasure to give you something to look forward to for next October: keep an eye out for more information on a Ghost Walk with the Lebanon Historical Society!

Many of Lebanon’s modern residents are familiar with the most famous of Lebanon’s historic residents: renowned neuroscience subject Phineas Gage, founder of Mormonism Joseph Smith, or Senator Norris Cotton. However, Lebanon’s history is full of individuals who, in their day, would have been known to all their contemporaries – but today, their names are largely forgotten. In this article, I’d like to introduce four such Lebanonians, and offer a snapshot of their lives and contributions to the town that they called home.

Elbridge Thompson, c. 1898

Elbridge Thompson

If you were in Lebanon looking for a fine hat, a new cloak, or repairs to your fur coat between 1863 and 1928, your first stop might have been E. H. Thompson’s millinery (hat-making) shop. Conveniently located next to the town hall on the site where Dutille’s stands today, Elbridge Thompson’s shop was a Lebanon institution for 65 years – but not so great an institution as Elbridge himself.

Born in Lebanon in 1840, Elbridge was the older brother of the more famous Brigadier General, John Milton Thompson. Elbridge went into millinery early, and by 1868, he had already established a shop facing Colburn Park. Though he held a lifelong passion for hats and clothing, continuing to repair fur garments into his 90th year, Elbridge was a man of many interests. For 60 years, he served as the choirmaster of the Lebanon Methodist Church and taught singing lessons. When the new Methodist chapel in East Lebanon was dedicated in 1893, Elbridge’s musical arrangements accompanied the event. In 1925, the 85-year-old Elbridge performed his first vocal solo at a church fundraiser.

Elbridge was a lifelong member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and was, as his obituary reported, “active in all civic affairs and intensely interested in the welfare of the town.” Elbridge passed away in 1931 at the age of 91, and his gravestone can be seen at the School Street Cemetery.

Harriet Nickerson Thompson

While you’re visiting Elbridge’s burial site, you may wish to say hello to his wife, Harriet Nickerson Thompson. Harriet was born in South Dennis, Massachusetts, in 1846, the daughter of a sea captain. She traveled the 200 miles to Lebanon to attend the Tilden Ladies’ Seminary on Seminary Hill in 1866, which is how she met Elbridge. They married in 1870.

Harriet was a central figure in numerous community organizations: she founded the Twelfth Night Club – a women’s civic group – and hosted the first meeting of the Lebanon Mothers’ Club. She was also a writer; after an overseas tour with her sister’s family in 1884, Harriet compiled a series of 50 travel guides to various European cities. In 1890, she published From the Thames to the Trossachs, a book about traveling through England for readers to enjoy from the comfort of their own homes.

Harriet’s extensive travel and research informed her civic work, and she regularly gave talks and lectures throughout New Hampshire and Vermont. She was the guest speaker at the 1889 dedication of Lebanon’s new town library; she lectured the Enfield Shakers about the sights of Washington, D.C.; in Hartford, she spoke about the slums and missions of Boston; and in Royalton, she spoke about the abolition movement. Harriet died in 1915 at the age of 68, and is buried next to her husband in School Street Cemetery.

Napoleon Jette

While you were visiting Elbridge Thompson’s shop for a new hat in 1922, you may also have visited Napoleon Jette’s store for new shoes. Like Harriet, Napoleon wasn’t a Lebanon native; he was born to a farming family in Sherbrooke, Quebec, in 1874. Napoleon moved to Lebanon at the age of 18, and married a fellow Quebec native, Albina LaLiberte, in 1895. Albina’s father William was a cobbler, and Napoleon joined him in the shoe business, first operating shops on North Park Street and Hanover Street, and then constructing his own commercial block – the Jette Block – at 55 Hanover Street in 1921.

Napoleon ran his cobbler shop for decades, maintaining a reputation as one of the best shoemakers in the region. Upon his retirement in 1939, Napoleon passed his store on to his son Ted, who carried on the business for several more decades. Napoleon’s retirement from the shoe business, however, signaled merely a change in direction; in 1940, he was elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives.

Napoleon and Albina had 14 children. 11 of their children and 26 of their grandchildren attended the Sacred Heart School, and from the school’s 1909 founding until 1961, there was always a Jette in the classroom. Napoleon died in 1948, six years after Albina, but many of their descendants still live in and around Lebanon.

Constant Storrs

Another notable Lebanon family is the Storrs family, who were among the first European colonists to settle in Lebanon. Even within this notable family, however, Constant Storrs stands out. Constant was born in Mansfield, Connecticut, in 1752, the fifth of eight children. Before following his older brother Nathaniel to Lebanon in the late 1770s, Constant served in the Revolutionary War, ultimately rising to the rank of Colonel, producing and maintaining wheels as a wheelwright in the Continental Army.

Nathaniel had moved to Lebanon in 1769, settling on the King’s Highway on top of what is now Storrs Hill. Constant joined him a decade later, and quickly became a central figure in the town’s development. He was part of the committee to construct a new meeting house in 1792, and in 1804, Constant, Elisha Payne, and Russell Freeman formed a corporation to create the Fourth New Hampshire Turnpike, connecting Lebanon with Boscawen and the central part of the state. At the same time, Constant was busy helping to found Lebanon’s first library, the Lebanon Social Library.

Back on Storrs Hill, Constant managed his farm and a small gristmill or sawmill. Aside from the usual produce and livestock, Constant also cultivated an apple orchard. Writing many decades later, Charles Downs recalled Constant’s grove: “If in the center village and vicinity, go by all means to Constant Storrs, for he has the largest orchard in town, six acres.” Constant died in 1828, leaving four sons to carry on his legacy.

Our History

Though perhaps less flashy than their more famous compatriots, the lives and contributions of these four Lebanonians were significant parts of Lebanon’s history, the echoes of which can still be felt today. I hope you’ll think of Elbridge, Harriet, Napoleon, and Constant as you travel on Route 4, visit the shops in the Jette Block, don a fancy hat, or daydream about traveling overseas.

Now that foliage season has come and gone, and without a billboard in sight, sometimes life on the highway can get a little bit boring when you’re driving down interstate 89 on your way to run some errands in good old West Leb. But not so anymore, now that there’s a new pop of color to greet you off of Exit 20 – West Lebanon’s very own mural.

The “West Lebanon, NH” mural, painted across the back of PetSmart in the shopping plaza on Route 12A, is an ode to some of the things that make our City the wonderful place that it is to live, work, and play.

“You’ll find nods to local flora and fauna throughout the piece, and with outdoor adventures being a constant for many folks here, we’ve played with the idea of split seasons and have incorporated two beloved local activities: hiking and ski touring,” said Tyler Blinderman, senior art director for WS Development, the Boston-based real estate company that owns the plaza. “The mural is really a tribute to the year-round joy of exploring this beautiful state.”

The mural, visible from the interstate for southbound traffic, took several years of sustained interest and planning to come to fruition, though the installation only took about a week.

“It involved prepping and priming the wall, projecting the design to sketch it accurately, and painting,” said Andrea Constantine, senior manager of creative operations for WS Development.

Blinderman, who designed the mural, is part of a larger team of designers within WS Development, but works remotely in Vermont just across the border, so she was able to “draw inspiration right from [my] backyard,” she said. “It’s always about creating something beautiful for the communities that we’re a part of, and we hope this mural brings a moment of joy to everyone who comes across it.”

When Falguni Mehta first followed her husband to Lebanon, she imagined it would only be for a year or two. Twenty-four years later, with a career in engineering and healthcare and a son ready to set out for college, she’s started on another venture: bringing delicious, healthful food to the city she calls home.

Newly ensconced in the home of the recently-closed China Station on Miracle Mile, Turmeric Kitchen serves food from across India: from Rogan Josh from Kashmir in the North to Chettinad from Tamil Nadu in the South – with dishes from many other stops along the way. A restaurant specializing in Indian cuisine might seem like an unusual direction for someone whose career has been built around improving the quality of healthcare services and engineering processes, but for Mehta, they come from the same place: a lifelong interest in how we take care of ourselves and each other.

Falguni Mehta, owner of Turmeric Kitchen on Miracle Mile in Lebanon.

Growing up in Gujarat, Mehta’s family helped form her first connection between food and health. She recalls that the food there was very sweet: “They use sugar in everything, from curry to lentil dishes.” But she says that her mother had always had a very healthy approach to cooking: “she would alter family recipes to use less salt, less sugar, less fried, less butter, less this, less that…and you know, knock on wood, she’s 75, doing well.” Her first experience with American food was rather less auspicious.

When she first came to the United States, her husband’s aunt and family came to pick them up. She recalls one of their then young children offering a stern warning: “You eat Subway, right? If you don’t eat Subway, you won’t survive in this country.” She laughs about it now, but at the time she took it seriously. “It was an acquired taste for us…we’d never had a cold sandwich in India.”

Still, opening a restaurant was never exactly in the plan. After getting master’s degrees in engineering, she and her husband interned in upstate New York before he eventually landed a job in Lebanon, and she followed along on what she expected to be a short-term stay in a small New England town. But the stay extended, and Mehta wound up getting into healthcare. “I found my calling,” she says, in the field of healthcare and making Lebanon home.

After investing several years in her career, Mehta took some time off in order to spend more time with her family. “It was extremely important that I raise my son,” she says, “so he grows up knowing our roots, Indian culture, traditions, cuisine, and various languages.” While raising her son, Mehta also completed her MBA, but she initially hesitated at the idea of starting a business: “business is too much,” she once told her husband, but she tucked the idea away and it became a longtime dream. She might consider it, she thought, when her son went off to college, though she never thought she’d open a restaurant. “We’ll see how I feel.”

Her son is now seventeen and attends Lebanon High School, and for the last year Mehta has been feeling the impending departure approaching. “My son is my entire world,” she says. “I know I will be crying all day long [when he goes],” so she decided, “I need to find something, something new and exciting, that will keep my mind busy!” At first, she considered art lessons at AVA in Lebanon or taking up singing, but the thought of starting a business had been on her mind as well. That’s when inspiration came to her, in the shape of a bright blue food truck. She remembers thinking, “Taste of Punjab? What is that?”

Mehta and her husband had long been running a yearly Indian cultural dance festival called “Navratri”, at which they typically provided an assortment of Indian foods. In previous years, they had to go down to Manchester or Nashua, but last year, thanks to Taste of Punjab, they were able to get the food made locally for the first time. More interestingly, the food truck’s owner, Manjit Singh, was interested in collaborating – and in getting into a real kitchen: “It’s hard to cook Indian food in a food truck,” Mehta says. “This sparked the idea and opportunity to use my business background and open an Indian restaurant to provide a better, healthier option to our community.”

After some back and forth about the structure the business should take, Mehta eventually collaborated with Singh to create the new brick and mortar restaurant that would come to be called Turmeric Kitchen. It was a challenge to find chefs who could cook a wide variety of dishes. “Up here, you only see North Indian food…[like] tikka masala – paneer tikka, chicken tikka masala – and butter chicken.” As a result, she cast her search net wide. “That’s why we had to go to New York, New Jersey, D.C., [and] Colorado,” she says, to look for people able to make authentic dishes from all over India. “There is a lot more to Indian cuisine than just Punjabi food.”

Fans of the Taste of Punjab food truck needn’t worry, though. Mehta volunteers on Lebanon’s new Food Truck Task Force and has plans to bring the truck back under the Turmeric Kitchen name, “come next spring.”

And as for that name, it all comes back to Mehta’s focus on health –

in this case on the health benefits of food. Turmeric has long been used in ayurvedic medicine, and studies

have shown that curcumin, a compound found in the spice, has anti-inflammatory properties. Plus, as a long-time vegetarian, she promises there will always be vegetarian (and nut and gluten free!) options on the menu, as well as fusion menu items that will combine traditional Indian flavors with elements of global cuisines, and a focus on local and healthy ingredients: “We are what we eat,” she says, “I have seen, first-hand in my own home, the health benefits of what you put in you.”