According to longtime resident Jonas Taub, the Antrim in the Evening summer concert and event series are a happy byproduct of Antrim’s unusual history. 

In 1894, Antrim made the decision to officially relocate the town’s center from a hilltop at the geographical center of town, where original settlers had built the town’s Meetinghouse, to the mill village on Route 202 after the population migrated to the flourishing Contoocook River mills. In 1994, Antrim threw a celebration to commemorate the centennial of the move. Taub, who has lived in Antrim for 38 years with his wife, Ruth Benedict, was one of the volunteers who helped pull off the 10-day celebration.

“It was the centennial of the town center moving to the business district, and we were celebrating the year a lot of the buildings were built downtown – the Town Hall, the new church,” Taub said.

The centennial committee was led by Isabella “Izzy” Nichols, who was a music teacher and member of one of Antrim’s prominent families.

“Izzy was very special,” Taub said. “To me, she the musical glue of the community. She was an accompanist. She was involved in the church. She was everywhere. She went to Julliard, and she came back and was the music teacher at ConVal. She was the teacher of many Antrim kids who went on to have serious musical careers.”

It was Nichols who had the idea to commemorate the centennial of the move with a town celebration. 

“Izzy wanted to do an old-fashioned July 4, and people really got behind it. She organized a reading of the Declaration of Independence, songs, doughnuts and coffee, old-fashioned strawberry shortcake,” Taub said. “Then Nina Harding said she would make 250 strawberry shortcakes.”

Taub said the entire community came together under the leadership of Nichols, Harding and other movers and shakers in town.   

“The Antrim Historical Society picked the strawberries at Tenney’s, and they donated them, and Nina made all the shortcakes, complete with fresh whipped cream,” Taub recalled. “The Lions clubs said they would do a chicken barbecue, and all different community organizations helped out – the Scouts, the churches. Everyone pitched in.” 

The centennial event  was such a success that Taub and other volunteers wanted to do something to keep the spirit of celebration going.

“Our committee got together after centennial was over and we shared joy of what we had accomplished, and gave ourselves a pat on the back. Then we had some funds left over, so we said, ‘What about a summer concert series?’” Taub said. 

While most towns in the region now have summer concerts, in 1994, they were not as common. 

“Jaffrey and Milford had summer concerts back then, and Walpole and Keene had them, but that was about it, so we said, ‘Why not do this in Antrim?’” Taub said. 

The new concert and event series, which Taub dubbed Antrim in the Evening, was an instant success.

“We had huge crowds; it was so much fun. We had a few hundred people at each show – people out picnicking, kids running all over, kids on the playground,” Taub said. “We’ve never had to go to the town for money. It’s been a lot of fundraising over the years.”

Concerts and events take place in the bandstand at Memorial Park, on the mill pond. 

“Izzy Nichols always said, ‘It’s not a gazebo; it’s a bandstand!’ I always try to be respectful of that,” Taub said. 

The original Antrim village bandstand,  built around 1894,  stood for about 30 years at the site of what is now the T-Bird Mini Mart. 

Taub said finding musicians to play in the concerts “is never a problem.” Some of the most-popular some acts included the 39th Army Band, formerly located in Manchester and now based in Pembroke. 

“They didn’t fit in the bandstand, but they were fabulous and everyone loved it,” Taub said. 

The lineup in the early years also included children’s performances, such as the New England Marionette Theater, the clown and juggler Trickster Fox and Caravan, a children’s show from UNH.  

Taub found many of the musicians through Peterborough’s Folkway Restaurant, which closed in 1995.

“We tried to get all types of music, and we tried to feature as much local music as possible,” Taub said.

Other popular bands included the Temple Town Band, the Amherst Town Band and the Compaq Big Band.

After about 10 years of organizing Antrim in the Evening and “lots of fundraising,” Taub handed the job off to other volunteers, and the Antrim Recreation Department took over the series 15 years ago. 

Taub credits Recreation Department Director Celeste Lunetta with keeping the concert series top-notch. 

“Celeste has done so much for this town; it is absolutely incredible what she has built here,” Taub said. “I still help with getting some of the acts, but she really does it all.”

The 30th Antrim in the Evening event and concert series starts on July 9 with a family presentation by Wildlife Encounters.  The first musical act, Dublin-based “Blame It On Sally” with April Claggett and Rhine Singleton, will be July 16. All shows start at 6 p.m. For information, contact the Antrim Recreation Department at 603-588-3121 or antrimrecdir@tds.net.