Canterbury Shaker Village’s Traditional Craft Days

Step into the sounds and sights of yesterday at the 2nd annual Traditional Craft Days at Canterbury Shaker Village, on June 29 and 30. Bring the family and visit with craftspeople, listen to live music, enjoy delicious food and even try your hand at lacemaking, felting, weaving, rug hooking or letterpress printing.

Over two dozen fine artisans and craftspeople will be sharing their skills over this fun weekend designed for all ages. Featured craft demonstrations include basket making, blacksmithing, leatherworking, jewelry making, woodblock printing, letterpress printing, spinning, woodworking, sewing, rug hooking, weaving, rug braiding, traditional boat building, broom making, and oval box making.

The event is open from 10 am to 4 pm each day and admission is $12 for adults, $6 for children, and free for children under 5. Members of the Village receive half price tickets. Tickets cover admission for both days. An additional $10 will be required to take the Village’s guided tour, A Canterbury Tale. 

For more information and to purchase tickets for this event, please visit: www.shakers.org.

Live music, sponsored by the New Hampshire Council on the Arts, starts at 11 am on Saturday with Badger’s Drift bringing past favorites and fresh material in the tradition of the troubadour. At 2 pm, Doug Hazard and the Sandwich Rangers step in with a New Hampshire blend of music and song writing. Visitors on Sunday will be entertained by different musicians starting at 11 am with Ragtime Jack Radcliffe with Andria Kim Stramecki, who offer traditional country blues. At 2 pm, Entangled Strings, Liz Kantz’ six-piece big band, will perform well-loved Americana music.

Food will be provided by Betty’s Kitchen, along with the Village’s own Café, located in the Creamery, which is stocked with delicious locally-made sandwiches, soups, quiches, coffee, drinks, and pastries.

A series of short, 30-minute programs will be offered throughout the weekend, covering topics such as the Village’s current furniture exhibit, the woodwork in the Dwelling House, the sisters’ textile industry, Shaker architecture, and a special, behind-the-scenes look at the second floor of the North Shop.

Garry Kalajian will demonstrate blacksmithing, local furniture maker Tom McLaughlin will demonstrate veneering techniques, and fellow NH Furniture Master Roger Myers will showcase his woodworking. Master basket maker Barbara Francis will return, along with leather worker, Diane Louise Paul. Other participants include Sanborn Mills Farm and the New Hampshire Spinners & Dyers Guild, as well as Canterbury Shaker Village’s own demonstrators located within the various historic buildings on the property.

A special woodblock engraving created by R. P. Hale will be for sale celebrating the 50th anniversary of the museum. Hale also will be demonstrating period letterpress printing and wood engraving. Additional 50th anniversary events include a book signing on Saturday from 2-4 pm in the Carriage House with the author of the Village’s new publication, In Union: the People, Places, and Stories of Canterbury Shaker Village, and a dedication of the newly bricked patio at the Horse Barn on Sunday at noon with special free refreshments for all.

The event is sponsored by the Mount Washington Cog Railway, celebrating 150 years; Cog staff will bring “Peppersass,” the first ever mountain climbing steam engine, to the event. Additional sponsorship is generously provided by Sullivan Creative. Event planning and organizing was done by Canterbury resident, Dave Emerson, who runs Old Ways Traditions and was a founder of Wood Days, which inspired this event.

The museum is a member of the NH Heritage Museum Trail, which connects the public with culturally rich heritage institutions in New Hampshire. For more information, visit nhmuseumtrail.org.  

Canterbury Shaker Village is open Tuesdays through Sundays, 10 am to 4 pm, and seven days a week beginning on Labor Day through October 27. The Village is open weekends in November and holds a popular Christmas at Canterbury event the first two Saturdays in December. Groups of 20 or more receive discount admission if booked in advance.

 Canterbury Shaker Village is located at 288 Shaker Road in Canterbury, New Hampshire, just off Route 106 south of Laconia and north of Concord, NH.