Short Film “Canceled” Shares Important Message: “Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should” - Disability Belongs

When filmmakers Chris and Stef Guerrero highlighted cultural appropriation in their new film “Canceled,” they succeeded in creating a short horror and comedy that shows the consequences of one’s actions.
Directed and written by Disability Belongs™ Entertainment Lab alum Chris Guerrero and co-produced by Chris and Stef Guerrero, “Canceled” features a social media influencer who refuses to acknowledge her cultural appropriation of the Mexican holiday of Dia De Los Muertos and is then haunted by sp...

The Benefits and Impact of Inclusive Marketing - Disability Belongs

Companies are constantly trying to reach their target audience through emails, text messages, TV commercials, social media posts, and targeted ads that pop up on our screens. As a society, we are flooded with marketing messages, but what sets inclusive marketing apart?
Inclusive marketing ensures that a brand’s products and services apply to or benefit all people, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, religion, ability, sexuality, or social class. It begins with recognizing the need to understa...

How States Can Make Voting More Accessible - Disability Belongs

When most people think about going to the polls to vote, they aren’t thinking about accessibility. But for the 61 million Americans with disabilities, accessibility is always on their minds.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires state and local governments and elected officials to ensure that people with disabilities have a full and equal opportunity to vote in all elections. However, a study by the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) during and after the 2022 elections found that...

Disabled Musician Celestine Tate Harrington Proved Disabled Parents Can Care for Their Children - Disability Belongs

When you give birth to your child, the possibility of them being taken away is not something that is typically considered, but parents with disabilities have a higher risk of that chance. About 20% of the children in the American foster care system have parents who have some type of disability. In 1975, a mother’s worst nightmare came true; Celestine Tate Harrington, who was diagnosed with Arthrogryposis Congenita, had her beautiful baby girl taken from her because the Philadelphia Department of...

The Horror Short POSSUM is “the change you wish to see” - Disability Belongs

The short film POSSUM by Sophie Sagan-Gutherz, directed and co-written by Daisy Rosato, is a satirical horror about five young adults at an artist retreat. Going into this film, I had no idea what to expect, but I found it to be a creative and unique visualization of how people figure out their true beliefs and the impact this process can have on the people around them.
The five characters—Hadley, Blaze, Annabella, Pinecone, and Tilly—play a game at the beginning of the movie called “Werewolf.”...

Erica’s Garden is Blooming!

EPPING, NH – Choosing what you want to do for a career at a young age can be overwhelming for some. When asked what interested her during her high school days, Erica Levengood had some idea of what she wanted. Coming from a family of nurses, being in the medical field was an obvious choice for Levengood, but she wanted to do something a little different from the rest of her family. While writing a paper for the honors society, she did some digging into the differences between Physical Therapy an

A Chat with Song Sisters

Talking with people about their life and work is something that I am very familiar with as a recent journalism graduate, but I have never met two people as incredibly genuine as Stefanie Guzikowski and Elissa Margolin of River Sister. Having met through the music scene five years ago, Elissa and Stefanie have built a name for themselves on the Seacoast.

Tell us a bit about yourselves, how you met, and what inspires your music.

Stefanie: She [Elissa] inspires me. She’s my song sister, we like

ADA van opens up world for disabled woman

PORTSMOUTH — “I’ve been enjoying myself; I can go outside of where I live, I don’t have to stay put,” said Michelle Schladenhauffen, a Portsmouth High School alumni who received a long-awaited ADA compliant van three weeks ago. “It’s opened up my world.”

On Thursday, Aug.15 from 6 to 9 p.m., Mojo’s BBQ and Tavern will host Schladenhauffen’s second fundraiser. Schladenhauffen’s sister lent her the remaining amount of money to get her van, which they currently share. Schladenhauffen’s goal is to

Portsmouth ready for National Night Out

Emergency and city personnel to connect with neighborhoods

PORTSMOUTH — National Night Out is coming to 20 Portsmouth neighborhoods Tuesday, Aug. 6, from to 8 p.m.

Portsmouth Regional Hospital’s Injury Prevention Program is teaming up with the Portsmouth police and fire departments to bring riding and pedestrian safety to the children and families of the Seacoast. Police and fire personnel will be in the neighborhoods, handing out 100 redeemable tickets for ice cream from Kilwin’s and 100 tick

Kittery police, fire gear up for third annual National Night Out

KITTERY, Maine — The Kittery Police Department is gearing up for its third annual National Night Out on Tuesday, Aug. 6.

National Night Out will be held at the Kittery Community Center from 6 to 8 p.m. with personnel from Kittery police, fire and emergency response, as well as the York County Command, Special Response Team and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Police and Fire. Residents are encouraged to come out and get to know first responders beyond the uniform and badge, and meet members of their c

York Days celebration starts Friday

Week kicks off with Summer Family Film Night on Long Sands

York Days, a fun-filled week that has been a part of the York community for more than 40 years, returns Friday, July 26, through Sunday, Aug. 4.

The week kicks-off with the Summer Family Film Night at 8 p.m. Friday on Long Sands Beach, behind the bathhouse, with a showing of "Smallfoot," a movie about a yeti that discovers an urban legend — humans.

Local author Jody Clark will be at the Nubble Lighthouse gift shop Saturday signing boo

Country on the Coast returns to Hampton Beach

HAMPTON — The second Country on the Coast music festival returns this weekend with five days of country music culminating with Nashville superstar William Michael Morgan.

The festival kicks off Sunday and goes until Thursday, July 11 when Morgan will perform on the Seashell Stage from 8 to 9:30 p.m. Morgan's debut single, “I Met a Girl,” has more than 22 million streams on Spotify and its music video has more than 17 million views on YouTube.

Nightly music performances are slated throughout th

NH ranked #1 in child well-being

According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation KIDS COUNT Data Book, released June 17, New Hampshire was ranked number one in child well-being.

There are 16 indicators that determine and evaluate how well children can and will thrive in each state. The indicator categories are under four domains: economic well-being, health, education and family and community. While New Hampshire is the top state in the country for children to thrive, according to the study, there is still room for improvement.

“N

PHS student to make 250-mile ride for MDA

PORTSMOUTH — Luca Costea, a rising junior at Portsmouth High School, will be tackling a 250-mile, three-day bicycle ride from Canaan, Vermont, to Portsmouth this weekend.

The Trans New Hampshire Bike Ride supports the Muscular Dystrophy Association, an organization that helps support people and families with muscular dystrophy, helps with research for cures and treatments and raises awareness for MD.

The ride was started about 32 years ago with firefighters from Salem riding from the Canadian

Seacoast Cancer Center celebrates survivors

Annual event treats former and current patients with food, music and fun each June

DOVER – “This is a celebration of people who have survived cancer or current patients, too, because they survive every day,” said Dineen Begley, a member of the Celebration Planning Committee that helped put together the party.

On Wednesday evening, June 12, Wentworth-Douglass Hospital's Seacoast Cancer Center held its annual Cancer Survivors Day in the Garrison Auditorium at the Dover campus. The first Sunday o

‘Stuff Stella’ drive to be held during Kittery Block Party

KITTERY, Maine — Haven Homes and Lifestyle will hold a “Stuff Stella” event at the ninth annual Kittery Block Party in the Foreside Saturday, June 15.

Stella is a vintage 1966 Globetrotter Airstream travel trailer purchased in 2016 from a Boy Scout troop in Mount Monadnock. The trailer is named after the wife of Wally Byram, founder and pioneer of the Airstream.

“Stuff Stella” encourages people to donate money or non-perishable items and stuff them inside the Airstream. The items will be donat

Exeter documentary producer remembers Toni Morrison

“I was a stranger in a village, the only one of my kind. Toni Morrison’s books became my shelter,” said Sandra Guzmán, a local journalist, documentarian and author in an opinion piece she wrote for NBC News following the passing of the Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison. The literary giant died Monday in New York City at age 88.

Earlier this year, Guzmán, who lives in Exeter, produced a documentary on the late author that premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival and is being screen

Finding belonging with Belle

Almost every little girl’s dream is to be a princess when they grow up. For Hopkinton, Massachusetts native Taylor Karin, that dream is not a fantasy but reality.

At a very young age, Karin fell in love with Disney’s "Beauty and The Beast" and Princess Belle. Every summer, the Prescott Park Arts Festival puts on a musical for the whole family to enjoy in Portsmouth's Prescott Park and this year that musical just happens to be "Beauty and The Beast" starring Karin.

When playing an iconic role l

Red Cross in NH, Maine in need of blood donations

The American Red Cross is looking for blood donations in New Hampshire and Maine after facing a major blood emergency following the week of the Fourth of July. Due to people participating in holiday activities and traveling, the average number of blood donations per week saw a significant drop, resulting in 17,000 fewer blood and platelet donations than a typical week.

According to Mary Brant, the media correspondent for the American Red Cross, summer is one of the most difficult times of the y

Dance studio a dream for 2 teens

Ballet to Broadway to hold first recital in Farmington

MILTON — For teenagers Beth Ellis and Benji Robinchaud, their dreams became reality sooner than most. On Sept. 4 of last year, Ellis and Robinchaud opened the doors of their new studio, Ballet to Broadway Dance, while being home-schooled through high school.

"When I was about 13, I decided I wanted to be a dance teacher and not a competitive dancer," said Ellis. "I was a student teacher for many years and I absolutely loved it. Benji and I

AVATAR process aims to improve joint replacement recovery

PORTSMOUTH - Ten years ago, Dr. Thomas V. King created a whole new approach to total joint replacement surgery, one that helped patients heal and return home faster.

The AVATAR (Alignment of Vital Assets To Accelerate Recovery) Program helps patients plan and prepare everything that needs to be done before the surgery, which improves the speed and quality of the outcome of the joint replacement surgery. The goal of AVATAR is to have patients go home the same day they have surgery. The majority