We all celebrate New Year’s Eve, but not all celebrations are created equal. Some of us like to join a crowd of 15,000 for family-friendly First Night celebration that includes puppets, magic shows, and ice sculptures. Others don’t feel the night has been well spent unless they find themselves wearing only one shoe and in search of eats at 4 a.m. With that in mind, here’s The Wire’s round-up of New Year’s Eve events on the Seacoast.

Think a WiiU might fix all your problems? It’ll be safe, you can play it together, and maybe it will heal this digital rift that’s growing in your house. Does this sound familiar? Let’s talk.

When I talk to other parents of small children, they often talk about videogames as something that just happened to their families, and to their children. Like: one day, they were happily playing together as a family unit, taking hikes or making pizza together; the next, little Johnny and baby Janie find the Nintendo DS, or the iPhone, or the old GameBoy that was hidden in the attic, and suddenly they’re noses-deep in the simulated, stimulating addiction of a videogame world.

Despite modest improvements in the economy, demand at local food pantries is higher than ever this holiday season.

The New Hampshire Food Bank, which distributes provisions to more than 400 food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, day care centers and senior citizen homes, provided more than 21,000 turkeys with trimmings for Thanksgiving this year. That’s a significant increase over the last several years of deep recession, said director of development Nancy Mellitt. “We did 7.8 million pounds of food last year in 2011, and we are tracking to do 9 million (in 2012),” she said. According to Mellitt, there are currently 143,000 men, women and children in New Hampshire who are considered “food insecure,” meaning they do not know where their next meal will come from. That’s one in nine people in the state.

N.H. Bishop Gene Robinson makes a faith-based case for gay marriage in his new book, which arrives as Maine and the rest of the nation make strides toward equality. One of the pioneers behind the gay marriage movement, Robinson hopes making a pitch based around Christian values will help persuade even members of the religious right that supporting gay marriage does not violate the tenets of their creed.

Four centuries of fishing chronicled in “The Mortal Sea” offer a new perspective on the North Atlantic

While warning signs have existed in every generation, the crisis of today, Jeffrey Bolster writes, is unique for the reams of evidence that document the living ocean’s deep predicament and the implications for the rest of our planet. “The speed with which this crisis got the attention of ecologists, fisheries managers, and conservationists is head-turning,” he says. Bolster hopes a historical approach—one that measures conservation successes of today against the unfathomable abundance of centuries past—can help put the crisis in perspective.

In a tough rental market, local groups are envisioning ways to boost affordable housing options on the Seacoast.

Between rising costs and increased competition, it is more difficult than ever for many families to find an affordable place to live. “New Hampshire has traditionally been a place that has a shortage of rental housing,” said Dean Christon, executive director of the N.H. Housing Finance Authority. “We actually see vacancy rates going down, meaning the market is tightening. People looking for someplace to rent, particularly affordable rental units, are really at a disadvantage pretty much across the state.”

The pending relocation of The Barley Pub to a bigger, more prominent site is the latest development in Dover’s expanding nightlife.

A gradual exodus of artists and musicians out of Portsmouth and into Dover has caused a tectonic shift in the Seacoast scene. While Portsmouth is still widely viewed as New Hampshire’s cultural leader, boasting a diverse array of fine-dining restaurants, stages and art galleries, the bulk of the region’s younger artists live, work, hang out and perform primarily in neighboring communities.

a look at the first round of legislative requests filed by New Hampshire’s state representatives for 2013

State representatives have submitted their first round of bill requests for 2013, and it looks like another year of divisive politics at the State House in Concord. From income taxes to collective bargaining, abortion to firearms, the proposed legislation takes up a broad range of controversial issues in New Hampshire.

Beware: The Seacoast has a powerful and somewhat disturbing appetite for Halloween debauchery, and this year will be no exception. It’s a time of ghastly jack-o’-lanterns, horrific haunted houses, raucous costume parties, terrifying parades and processions, and so much more. And since there is no such thing as too much of a good thing, The Wire has created this calendar to help you make the most of the season. We hope you have a blast shambling, plotting, smashing and rocking your way through the most twisted month of the year.

On most days, there is parking to be found near downtown Portsmouth. Even free parking. You just have to know where to look. And, at peak times, you might have to be willing to walk five or 10 minutes to reach your destination. The same can be said of downtown Dover. And yet, as both cities anticipate an economic recovery that will increase demand for prime parking, they are considering major expansions to their parking infrastructure.

Activist Maude Barlow talks global water rights as she returns to the site of Save Our Groundwater’s fight against corporate bottling.

Some researchers have predicted that, by the year 2030, demand for water will outstrip supply by 40 percent. Already, in Detroit, thousands of families have had their water cut off because they can’t pay their bills. Many rural communities across North America lack access to water sanitization services. “These struggles are going on everywhere, because we are a planet running out of clean water,” Barlow said. “It’s a very, very serious situation we’re fighting.”

When Portsmouth conducted its last survey of the economic impact of the arts in 2007, the business climate was much more favorable. That survey found that local arts and culture generated about $38 million in economic activity. After five years of economic doldrums, arts advocates weren’t sure what to expect from the Arts and Economic Prosperity Survey IV. “It was a little bit of a nail biter,” said Nancy Pearson, president of the Art-Speak Board of Directors. “The last time we did this, the economy was really booming, so we weren’t sure what was going to happen.”

a voter's guide to the six Democratic and Republican candidates who want to be New Hampshire's next governor

Democrat John Lynch has handily maintained control of the governor’s seat in Concord ever since defeating Republican Craig Benson in 2004. He repeatedly won reelection by a landslide, and has endured as one of the Granite State’s most popular governors of all time. But Lynch is not running for reelection in 2012, and that makes this year’s gubernatorial primaries the most intriguing state races in nearly a decade. There are three Republicans and three Democrats vying for their party’s nomination on Tuesday, Sept. 11. The two winners will face off in November in what promises to be a very close contest.

Alt-country band Say ZuZu played its final run of shows at The Stone Church in Newmarket in February 2003. It was the end of a saga the band members could faintly have imagined more than 15 years earlier, when they picked up guitars and strummed their very first song. They didn’t know it then, but with those first few chords they were embarking on a musical journey that would bring them across the United States and around Europe. And, when they weren’t traveling, they always returned to the bustling Seacoast music scene of the ’90s, where numerous other energetic young bands were pursuing their own dreams. They would take risks, experience incredible highs and demoralizing lows, and have the time of their lives.

A Smuttynose poster on ‘True Blood,’ a local lighthouse in ‘Hope Springs’ and Bailey bags in ‘Premium Rush’ are among the latest Seacoast references on TV and film.

Attentive viewers of TV’s “True Blood” may have spotted a familiar sight in the new episode that aired on Sunday, Aug. 5. A Smuttynose Star Island Single poster was visible on the wall in the background of one scene, clearly showing its red-headed mermaid mascot holding up a glass of frothy brew by the seashore.

With droughts plaguing the nation, state and regional planners are pondering how to keep food on our plates in an insecure future

Our nation is in the midst of the most widespread and devastating drought it has experienced in 70 years. So far in 2012, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated some 1,369 counties across 31 states as disaster areas.

Clear cutting—for both environmental and recreational purposes—marks the latest change to the ever-evolving landscape of Mount Agamenticus

Gazing at the skyline, residents of southern Maine may have noticed something different about the view in recent months: Mount Agamenticus has gotten a haircut. In February, eight acres of Mount A were clear cut to make room for new shrubland. The change was stark—one day, the mountaintop was covered with 50-foot trees; the next day, it was bare.

Today, feminism has the voice of the internet, and leadership as diverse as the populism of our era. Addressing economic pressure on working women and families, as well as increased political pressure on individuals, this “third wave” is finding its way into business, politics, and pop culture, and reinvigorating grassroots organizations like  the newly launched New Hampshire Women’s Initiative.

As President Obama pushes his plan to end tax cuts for the wealthy, New Hampshire candidates for governor ponder ‘the pledge.’ But tax policy is a lot more complicated than the rhetoric suggests

Should the nation’s wealthiest citizens pay more in taxes? Should New Hampshire consider a broad-based sales or income tax? Can we reduce the burden on property taxes without jeopardizing education?

Historic tall ships are on their way to town for the 14th annual Sail Portsmouth event

Whether boldly voyaging to unexplored shores or anxiously awaiting a call to war, tall ships have long been an iconic symbol in American history. They have also made their mark on the Seacoast. In honor of the historic tall ships that are distinctive to the region’s maritime history, Portsmouth will welcome a pair of notable vessels in the 14th annual Sail Portsmouth event, hosted by the Piscataqua Maritime Commission.

Freighters, submarines, tugboats, gundalows, cruise ships, fishing boats and sailing vessels of all shapes and sizes have been part of Portsmouth’s heritage for centuries, and they’re still evolving on the waterfront today.

Preserving Seacoast barns, enduring symbols of local heritage

In a way, barns provide fossil evidence of New England’s farming heritage. We may drive past several of them on our way home from work without even noticing, and yet it’s hard to imagine the Seacoast without them. They provide a sense of place and a connection to our past as few other local landmarks do.

With a new beer garden and several sidewalk cafés now open in downtown Portsmouth, there are more options than ever to enjoy a drink outside

The sun was shining on the late afternoon of Friday, June 22, and temperatures hovered in the mid 80s. The nice weather inspired Portsmouth residents Jack and Kelly Ornelle to sit at the sidewalk café at Popovers on the Square, where they sipped drinks during a casual business meeting with George Carlisle.

“It made sense given the nice weather to do that outside,” Jack Ornelle said. “Why not enjoy a drink outside on a beautiful day?”

Flowering gardens are at the heart of summer on the Seacoast. Public gardens and June tours will take you there.

From the Cressida rose that smells like frankincense and myrrh and licorice, to the sunset rose that takes on the colors of the nearby beach sky, there are hundreds of rose varieties at Fuller Gardens in North Hampton. Jamie Calen, the garden’s director, says each type has its virtues, but he doesn’t set out to grow unusual plants. His goal is to get people to pay attention to even the most common flower.

Writers and authors team up to create myths of the Lilac City and bring them to life in downtown Rochester.

How is a myth born? It starts with us telling each other stories to explain how things came to be. Borrowing from that creative spirit, the Rochester community, led by Art Espirit, has set out to establish a mythological narrative that illustrates the Lilac City’s unique identity. Area writers and artists teamed up to create 12 locally based myths with accompanying art installations dispersed around downtown. Those installations were unveiled to the public on Saturday, June 2, and will remain on display through Nov. 3.

Portsmouth’s Moffatt-Ladd House and the Seacoast’s many other historic houses connect the community to 400 years of local living. When visiting here or any of the other historic houses across the Seacoast, including the homes of Historic New England, The Museums of Old York, Strawbery Banke Museum, or the William Damm Garrison at the Woodman Institute Museum, visitors quickly discover that the people who lived in these houses loved their games and technology, enjoyed the pleasures of local food, books and music, and paraded their showy renovations much as we do today—just at a slightly slower pace.

According to Child and Family Services, between 600 and 900 New Hampshire children will find themselves in need of foster homes this year. They will range in age from newborns to teenagers, come from diverse backgrounds and have a variety of medical and emotional needs. But they’ll all need support from a caring family.

The brand new Piscataqua gundalow offers a glimpse of history, a look at the present, and foresight for the future of the watershed.

Once used to transport cargo up and down the Piscataqua River, the traditional gundalow is taking on a new purpose this year as a floating classroom. The newly built gundalow Piscataqua, named for the river on which it floats, will make its first public launch on Memorial Day weekend. The boat is available for school groups, public tours and private charters, carrying people rather than cargo.

Made primarily of wood, setting foot on the Piscataqua is like stepping into the past. The replica gundalow has a wide, flat deck and a large sail, with places to sit for passengers who don’t want to stand or lean over the relatively thin rails. The steering mechanism is completely visible and, leaning over the front of the boat, it’s possible to see the rudder move as the wheel is turned. The cabin is small and can be reached only by going down a steep staircase, and though the wood still smells new, it’s clear that the gundalow was carefully built to reflect the long history of its structure and design.

At a time when movie enthusiasts have become increasingly jaded by the stale contrivances of Hollywood, this summer might just prove invigorating. There are legitimate reasons to be excited about the summer film lineup, and not just because of superhero blockbusters like “The Avengers,” “The Amazing Spider-Man” and “The Dark Knight Rises.” Good or bad, Hollywood has at least given us reason to hope. So why not suspend our disbelief, indulge our imaginations and trust that the silver screen just might have some good stories to show us this summer. Here are some of the season’s highlights (and lowlights), compiled by The Wire film staff.

Ed. Note:  May 5 is Climate Impacts Day, with events around the Seacoast

While scientists and policymakers debate ways to minimize the effects of climate change, local communities are preparing for the inevitable.

Some people recoil when they hear the term “climate change.” Although the scientific community widely agrees it’s happening, policymakers still bicker over whether it’s caused by human activity or natural phenomena. It’s a divisive political hot button that many community leaders would rather not discuss. But here’s the thing: regardless of why it’s happening, the impacts of climate change are already manifesting. It’s not a question of when we’ll start to see the consequences; we’re seeing them right now.

“Under the Isles of Shoals,” a new book and exhibit opening at the Discover Portsmouth Center, retells America’s story through archeology.

Popular history cites the anchoring of the Pilgrims in 1620 as the start of this new nation. The problem is some of the other histories had not been written, until now. Dennis Robinson’s new book speaks for the first fishermen who landed nearby around the same time, or sooner, and who were perceived by the overdressed, self-righteous colonists as “crude, drunken, brawling, lawless, godless and uneducated,” he writes. Evidence of their presence on the islands, along with the “giant cod” they pursued, changes the story of how New England was founded.

High-energy musician and composer David Amram returns to Portsmouth for Jazzmouth 2012 and a celebration of the beat founder’s 80th decade

When musician David Amram met writer Jack Kerouac in 1956, they bonded over a fusion of poetry and music, often jamming together to combine Amram’s jazz with Kerouac’s poetry. When a friend suggested Amram and Kerouac perform together before live audiences, a new platform for live poetry gained a foothold in America. “There’s no end to saying how his contribution has influenced us,” says Larry Simon, Jazzmouth founder and guitarist. “He’s kind of like the guru who presides over the whole thing."

Headliners Merle Haggard and Roseanne Cash highlight the multi-generational talent performing in the Portsmouth Singer Songwriter Festival.

Merle Haggard has lived the kind of life most other musicians—be they country, rock or hip-hop—only pretend to have lived. When he sang the words, “I turned 21 in prison,” on his 1968 hit “Mama Tried,” he wasn’t kidding. Haggard celebrated his 21st birthday behind bars at San Quentin State Prison in 1958. In a recent interview with The Wire, Haggard said all the material on his nearly 50 studio albums stems directly from his own experiences.

a look at recent arrests of illegal immigrants and bills targeting them in the N.H. Legislature

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has the resources to deport up to 400,000 illegal aliens per year, according to spokesman Ross Feinstein. In fiscal year 2011, the agency set a new all-time record with 396,000 deportations. ICE is aiming for high numbers again in the current fiscal year, and a number of bills introduced this year by New Hampshire lawmakers target all undocumented residents, even those who came as children and have been living here peacefully for their whole lives. The House has already passed two bills aimed at verifying people’s immigration status before extending welfare services or in-state tuition rates for prospective college students.

Let’s face it—with the EPA ordering Great Bay communities to update their treatment plants, it’s time to talk about sewage.

Remember the days when people urinated and defecated in chamber pots that were periodically emptied out the window, their foul contents splashing into the street? No, of course you don’t—not unless you’re from medieval London.

Dover’s city-wide visioning sessions run with the theory that planning a community’s future should start with the citizens.

Dover is the Granite State’s oldest continuous settlement. But though the Garrison City will turn 400 in 2023, city planners are encouraging residents to get creative. They recently launched “Dover 2023—Building our Tomorrow,” a community-wide project aimed at engaging residents in the process of shaping Dover’s destiny. Similar initiatives have taken place in recent years in cities like Portsmouth and Rochester. Municipal planners have become increasingly receptive to organized public feedback. “The approach toward planning is evolving nationally as well as right here in the Granite State,” says Robin LeBlanc of Plan NH.

A year has past since Dave Kellam and Clay Groves pledged themselves to a quest to catch and eat every kind of freshwater fish in New Hampshire. Every other week, readers of The Wire have followed the duo’s adventures as they crisscrossed the state in search of fish and fame. The Quest was born in the minds of these two men and nurtured with half-baked ideas and good intentions. It was a year of self-made dreams and most excellent adventures. A fitting wrap-up, therefore, is a fanciful awards ceremony scripted by these two legends in their own minds. And so, without further ado, we present the 2012 Pescademy Awards.

Wire readers have spoken—now continue reading, and see what you just had to see, hear, taste and experience in 2011. It’s a bit rambling—we opted out of the traditional ballot format, because we wanted to hear straight from you. We invited you to submit your answers, unfiltered. We’ve sorted through them to find when there was a clear favorite; when there wasn’t, we included as many of your answers as possible to capture the flavor of our readers’ feelings. This is a Readers’ Poll, not a “Best Of.” You won’t see any plaques or decals announcing the winners. This is just for us—all of us—and we hope you enjoy reading what you have to say.

As the Seacoast celebrates Portsmouth Beer Week, brewers and state officials consider ways to expand the local beer industry.

The success of Kate the Great exemplifies the richness of the Seacoast’s craft beer movement, which has been growing steadily for several years. Local brewers see room for more expansion in the future, but some say regulations stand in their way. That’s why state liquor officials and lawmakers are working to modify the rules to enable continued growth in the local craft beer industry.

Now a decade old, the Free State Project is one of several social movements across the nation seeking to ignite change.

Amid the growing number of new economic and political movements cropping up all over the United States in recent years, the Free State Project claims to have been working for more than a decade to motivate Libertarian-minded individuals to migrate to a central location and “create a freer, better society through the electoral process and cultural change.” That location, as chosen in 2003 by Free State Project member votes, is New Hampshire. According to the Free State Project, the movement’s 1,000th member recently relocated to New Hampshire, and approximately 11,600 persons have signed a statement of intention to move to New Hampshire within five years of the group gathering 20,000 signatures. But is this movement subverting the values and traditions of the state that it claims to admire?

The Republican primary candidates have cleared out of New Hampshire, but Barack Obama’s reelection campaign is just heating up.

A few dozen Democrats sat on folding chairs spread across the floor of a spacious room within a former factory building on Brewery Lane in Portsmouth. It was the evening of Jan. 24, and blue 2012 flyers surrounded a large projection screen where a timer ticked down the minutes to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address. As guests waited for the annual address to begin, field organizer Bay Scoggin took questions from the crowd and encouraged them to take part in grassroots campaign efforts in New Hampshire. “We in this room need to be the people that push our message forward,” Scoggin said. “Get involved. Come volunteer in the campaign. Come meet with me. We have a lot of fun in this office. We do a lot of amazing work. Any questions that you have, we are constantly answering those questions.”

As locals gear up for the 2012 RPM Challenge and the screening of a new Portsmouth music documentary, musicians reflect on the history of our diverse and storied local scene.

"With the Sunday open mike at The Stone Church in Newmarket, Monday at The Rosa in Portsmouth, and Tuesday at The Press Room, usually with free beer for the musicians, there was a lot of socializing among the local artists. The town was not big enough to support a blues bar and a folk bar, so we all drank together. It’s the only place in the country I have ever seen where artists as diverse as Larry Garland (jazz), Joe Queer (punk), Tom Hall (Celtic), Frank Corso (blues) and I (folk) could be found leaning on the same bar and hanging out." - Harvey Reid

"Alex started playing a low, ominous drum beat as I read from the tract in an overly dramatic voice. Then Bex, done up in working lady garb, lit a bunch of candles illuminating Paul, who was dressed as a priest. Bex ripped open Paul’s shirt, poured candle wax on his chest and then started whipping him as she pulled her own top off. It definitely went further than we’d talked about." - Guy Capecelatro III

"Do you want to join five bands in one week? Do you want them all to play different genres? Do you want them all to have gigs that people go to? Then you should move to the Seacoast." - Nick Phaneuf