UpdatedThu, May 20, 2021 at 9:37 pm ET
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Certain political groups will be banned from Concord's Market Days Festival in 2021. (Tony Schinella/Patch)
CONCORD, NH — As the Market Days Festival begins to ramp up for August, after a pause in 2020 due to coronavirus, a controversy has arisen after some political organizations have seen their requests for booths rejected this year.
Back in January, the Intown Concord board of directors, not knowing how many booths they would be able to rent for the three-day event, slated for Aug. 19, Aug. 20, and Aug. 21, voted to disallow political organizations. The thinking at the time, according to Julie Bushaw, the org's board president, who also works at Merrimack County Savings Bank, was the festival should be about downtown, its businesses, its restaurants, and shops, as well as local artists and crafters.