The New Hampshire State Commission on Aging (NHCOA) has released its 2022-2023 Annual Report, offering key insights into policy and legislative efforts that aim to enhance the quality of life for New Hampshire’s aging population, according to a press release. Formed in 2019, the 26-member Commission, comprising state legislators, agency representatives and gubernatorial appointees, advises on aging-related policy and planning. The report, reflecting New Hampshire’s status as the second-oldest state in the U.S., focuses on systemic thinking and innovation to support an aging population. “People are living longer, healthier lives and our report provides key insights on numerous policy and legislative efforts over the past year, as well as future recommendations that we believe can continue to improve and enhance the quality of life for all who live in the Granite State,” Susan Ruka, NHCOA Chair, said in the release. The public is invited to review the report online at nhcoa.nh.gov or request a printed copy via email to nhcoa@nh.gov. The Commission’s meetings, including the next one, on Nov. 20 at the New Hampshire Hospital Association in Concord, are open to the public, with remote participation options available.
Historic spots
The New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources recently announced the addition of four notable properties to the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places, each reflecting important aspects of community life, according to a press release. The Haynes Library in Alexandria Village, dating back to 1894, stands out with its brick exterior and North Carolina pine woodwork. The North Road Schoolhouse / District No. 4 School, a one-room schoolhouse built in 1853-54 in Danbury, now functions as a museum. The Henniker Community Center, originally built in 1834 by the First Baptist Society and known as “the Brick Church,” showcases Gothic Revival features and has been owned by the town since 2002. Lastly, Old New London Village, established in 1962, is an open-air museum that recreates a rural New Hampshire village from the mid-19th century. These additions highlight New Hampshire’s commitment to preserving its historic structures, each telling a unique story of the state’s past. Nominations for the State Register require thorough historical documentation, but listing does not restrict property owners.
Voting news
On Nov. 3, the Hillsborough South Superior Court in Concord granted a motion by the State to dismiss a lawsuit challenging a new voting law, SB 418. According to a press release, the case, 603 Forward, et al. v. David M. Scanlan, et al., was brought by several individual and organizational plaintiffs. SB 418 mandates that voters registering for the first time in New Hampshire on Election Day without adequate proof of identity must vote by “affidavit ballot.” The plaintiffs claimed this law violated various provisions of the New Hampshire Constitution. However, the court ruled that the individual plaintiffs, already registered voters in New Hampshire, lacked standing as they are not subject to the affidavit ballot requirements of SB 418 and did not have taxpayer standing. Additionally, the court determined that the organizational plaintiffs did not have standing based on the “diversion of resources” theory. This dismissal order is not final and may be reconsidered or appealed to the New Hampshire Supreme Court.
Kangaroos?
New Hampshire is considering a bill that would legalize the private ownership and farming of kangaroos, along with other animals like small tailed monkeys, raccoons, foxes, otters and skunks, according to a press release from the Free State Food Network. Proposed by State Rep. Tom Mannion, this initiative, complemented by Representative Michael Granger’s bill for kangaroo farming, aims to offer new opportunities for local food production and sustainable farming practices. Advocates of the bill argue that kangaroo farming requires significantly less water than cattle farming, making it more suitable for small-scale farms and less impactful on the environment. By adding kangaroos to the list of farmable animals, which already includes red deer, bison and elk, New Hampshire could boost its agricultural diversity, create new job opportunities and move closer to food independence, according to the release.
The Flying Yankee
The New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) is currently inviting proposals for the acquisition, relocation and recommended preservation of the historic Flying Yankee train, presently situated in Lincoln. Interested parties have until 3 p.m. on Jan. 3, 2024, to submit their proposals. Detailed information, including location maps, inventory forms and draft historic covenants, can be accessed online at dot.nh.gov/projects-plans-and-programs/programs/cultural-resources, under the heading “The Flying Yankee Information and Documentation.” Additionally, there will be an opportunity to inspect the Flying Yankee on Wednesday, Nov. 15, from 10 a.m. to noon in Lincoln, and its trucks and components from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in Twin Mountain on the same day. These inspections will be supervised by NHDOT staff.
Beverly Cotton from Weare was honored with the prestigious Andrus Award for Community Service by AARP New Hampshire at a celebratory luncheon at the Derryfield Country Club in Manchester. According to a press release, this award recognizes individuals over 50 who have made significant contributions to their community, embodying AARP’s vision and mission. Cotton, a dedicated volunteer, has been actively involved with AARP since 2018, contributing in various capacities including advocacy, election support and as a member of the Speakers Bureau.
The Millyard Museum in Manchester is opening an exhibition titled “Posted! A Collection of Posters from Manchester’s Past” on Nov. 16, according to a press release. Showcasing a range of historical posters, the exhibition reveals Manchester’s history through various forms of visual communication, from health notices to movie ads. Inspired by Jeff Cuddy’s rediscovered circus posters, the exhibit is free to the public and runs until March 1, 2024.
Jenna Dinndorf, a 17-year-old from Bedford, has been awarded the Girl Scout Gold Award for her project, Grieving Through Art, in collaboration with the Manchester grief assistance group, Friends of Aine. Addressing the issue of child grief, Dinndorf’s initiative uses art for expression and healing, involving the creation and exhibition of artwork by grieving children and the distribution of Coping Cards with art and grief-coping strategies to schools across New Hampshire.
Every Cowboy Junkies album delivers a fair share of emotional truths, dark reflections and melancholy, and Such Ferocious Beauty, released last June, is no exception. There are echoes of the Louvin Brothers on the spare “Hell Is Real,” with its refrain “Jesus is coming, ready or not” more a stern warning than a promise of salvation. Another stellar track, “Knives” admonishes that “hope is fear in disguise.”
What’s different about the new record is that Michael Timmins, who writes lyrics for his ethereal-voiced sister Margo to sing, tapped into the mood of his family on many songs. Tragically, it extends the tenor of their previous release Ghosts, an eight-song cycle that processed the death of their mother in 2018. Their father passed in 2020, succumbing first to dementia and finally to old age.
Drummer Peter Timmins is the third sibling in the band, but there are three others who aren’t musicians, and each was included in a decision to reveal why the songs were written. This made it both his and his family’s artistic process, Michael Timmins shared by phone recently.
“It wasn’t just my story; it was all our story,” he said. “With these songs and albums, there was something we’d all gone through together. We felt it was something that made sense for our audience and for us personally. That’s how we came to that decision.”
Timmins’ songwriting approach didn’t change.
“There’s always something personal…. The songs are not only supposed to work if you know what they’re about,” he said. “Hopefully, they evoke something in you that goes near what I’m trying to express.”
Anyone who’s experienced a loved one battling Alzheimer’s will feel the gut punch of “What I Lost,” which leads off the album. It’s written from the point of view of Timmins’ dad, as his memory erodes and he holds on to the shards of his past — piloting a plane over Quebec, listening to jazz in a nightclub, missing his wife.
“I woke up this morning, didn’t know who I was,” he cries, and Margo sings, “You ask me how I am / what am I supposed to say / when this is what I lost.”
It’s often said that when a parent dies, each child loses a different person. Thus, one wonders if Michael’s emotions were re-shaped in any of these songs when Margo sang his words back to him.
“That’s a good question,” he said, and began to describe how a typical song comes together. “It’s the ‘frog in boiling water’ process…. [First] I’m writing and it’s a very personal thing; it’s all about me. The next stage, I’m thinking in terms of structuring it for Margo. Then she begins to get involved with her vocals and the way she’s expressing the words. And the lines are coming back at me differently.”
The musical vibe of Michael and Peter Timmins and bass player Alan Anton is major mojo for every one of the band’s songs. Michael describes this crucible as nearly alchemic.
“That’s a whole other thing … by the time we’re finished, the songs are very much beyond where I may have thought they were going to be,” he said. “Or maybe they’re exactly the same, but I’ve kind of forgotten what my initial thoughts were; it’s become a Junkies song. I pay attention all along the way, but I’m very happy to let things be pushed in a direction that I wasn’t expecting.”
On another standout track, music came before words. “Flood” is an edgy song that scoffs at “all this useless talk of turning tides,” and sounds like drowning might feel.
“Alan sent me a very cool bass and piano line … that’s the core,” Michael said, adding he wrote atop that foundation, crafting lyrics and then fleshing it out with scraping, chaotic electric guitar. “Once I had the words, the themes, the ideas and the desperation of the characters, I realized I needed another element in there to express that musically.”
Since forming in the mid-’80s, Cowboy Junkies have recorded and toured constantly, with no hiatuses or lineup changes. When the world paused in early 2020, the group was able to experience down time. “In some ways, it turned out good,” Michael said. “We’re always playing because it’s very important for us to do that, and it’s what we’ve always done. But this was sort of this little forced break to get off the road.”
He spent his time writing and recording, finishing Such Ferocious Beauty, and when live music returned he found himself frequently going to see other artists when he wasn’t performing. “I gotta be more active about this,” he remembers thinking. “I gotta get out there and start going to shows again, because it’s just such a great feeling.”
A few days prior to this interview, he’d seen Nick Cave’s stripped-down solo show at Toronto’s Massey Hall. A fan since Cave’s angsty Birthday Party days, Michael discerns commonality in their career arcs. “He’s had quite a journey,” he said. “We’ve gone through various stages, and as we’ve grown older our outlook on the world is growing different. I hope that we have a similar sort of relationship with our audience.”
Two days later he took his daughter to see Gregory Alan Isakov, after hearing her try to work out the chords to one of Isakov’s songs in her bedroom. “Him and his band opened for us, probably back around 2011 or 2012 in Boulder, when, I think, he was just getting going,” he said. “So it translated down through the ages.
Inspired by the likes of fellow Canadians Neil Young and Leonard Cohen, Michael sees a kinship between himself and Isakov; he begins most of his songs from a singer-songwriter point of view. “Even though that’s not what I am,” he said, “it’s just me and my acoustic guitar. Then I go through the filter of Margo and the band, and they go in different directions, and that’s sort of what makes Cowboy Junkies.”
Cowboy Junkies When: Sunday, Nov. 5, 7 p.m. Where: Nashua Center for the Arts, 201 Main St., Nashua Tickets: $49 and up at etix.com
Featured photo: Cowboy Junkies. Photo by Heather Pollock.
Our medical system is broken is the big takeaway from Pain Hustlers, a fictional tale of pharmaceutical salespeople framed as a documentary.
Liza Drake (Emily Blunt) is an exotic dancer working the lunch shift to attempt to make enough money to cover her and her teen daughter Phoebe’s (Chloe Coleman) bills. After losing that job because she has to rush to get Phoebe out of some high school trouble, Liza calls Pete Brenner (Chris Evans), a pharmaceutical salesman who offered her a job a day earlier he was unsuccessfully trying to woo a doctor at her club. She shows up with a probably inflated resume and he inflates it further before introducing her to Dr. Jack Neel (Andy Garcia), the head of the drug company that is at the moment circling the drain. Their spray-under-the-tongue fentanyl-based pain medication can’t crack into the market currently dominated by a fentanyl lollipop. Liza gets a one-week tryout — get a doctor to prescribe the spray and she’s got a job with extremely good commissions; fail and she’s out. At the last minute of the work week Liza gets Dr. Nathan Lydell (Brian d’Arcy James) to prescribe the drug to one patient — and she gets him on the hook for more prescriptions by signing him on to the company’s speaker program, a thing she created as she pitched him. Pharmaceutical speaker programs are, as Pete explains to us, a common way to thank high-prescribing doctors wherein doctors get money for giving speeches to other doctors and the whole lavish event, with food and booze and drug reps in tight dresses, is paid for by the pharmaceutical company. Though Liza and Pete begin their program on a shoestring, they are able to get Lydell prescribing and then expand their reach to other doctors, first in Florida and then spreading nationwide. Along the way, Liza gets a series of promotions and is able to improve life dramatically for herself and Phoebe — moving from a motel to a waterfront apartment and getting Phoebe into a private school.
Of course, growing a market means that these drugs, meant for cancer patients in extreme pain, need to constantly find new customers and at higher doses, so the company starts pushing doctors to prescribe to other kinds of patients and then offering reps higher commissions on more potent versions. Though Liza desperately needs hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash to pay for a brain surgery for Phoebe not covered by their insurance, she starts to worry that they’re not just helping suffering cancer patients but addicting people.
Blunt does a good job at giving us a rounded portrait of a woman who is trying to work her way out of poverty and is neither a saint nor an amoral cutthroat about how she does that. She hungers for respectability and the security but she isn’t willing to live with going beyond the gray area of doing, as Pete says, 67 in a 65. And Blunt and Evans have a nice chemistry as co-conspirators.
Not unlike Hustlers or The Big Short, Pain Hustlers gives you a con, with its entertaining build and its inevitable fall with a bit of bounciness, but it doesn’t completely look away from the idea that it all came at the expense of people who just wanted to not be in pain and live their lives. B-
Rated R for language throughout, some sexual content, nudity and drug use, according to the MPA at filmratings.com. Directed by David Yates with a screenplay by Wells Tower (and based loosely on the New York Times magazine article by Evan Hughes), Pain Hustlers is two hours and two minutes long and distributed by Netflix, where it is streaming.
Five Nights at Freddy’s (PG-13)
The animatronic mascots at an abandoned family restaurant get murderous in Five Nights at Freddy’s, a horror movie based on a video game franchise. Which I’ve never played — to me this is just a movie with not-bad bones: animatronic mascots forgotten and slowly decaying, abandoned riff on a Charles Entertainment Cheese-like establishment, a night watchman who has just enough trauma and sleep issues that maybe he could be hallucinating.
Mike (Josh Hutcherson) is that security guy, taking an exceptionally terrible job at this obviously haunted/cursed/just sad long-closed restaurant. He will accept basically any employment to remain a viable guardian for his young sister Abby (Piper Rubio), orphaned/abandoned after the dissolution of their family due to the long-ago kidnapping of Mike’s young brother Garrett (Lucas Grant). Having blamed himself for the kidnapping for decades (Garrett went missing on a family camping trip and Mike is certain he must have seen the kidnapper), Mike uses a variety of sleep aids to push him back to the memory of that moment. So he sleeps but never rests and works the night shift while trying to care for his quiet, troubled-seeming sister — a perfect recipe for a guy who isn’t sure what to believe when the animatronics at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza start to act sentient. The movie doesn’t really pay off on either the fun or the creepiness of this setup. Instead we get a movie that can’t seem to figure out how dark it wants to be mixed in with a child custody plot and the appearance of Police Officer Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail), whose whole deal makes less sense the more we learn about her. C-
Rated PG-13 for strong violent content, bloody images and language throughout, according to the MPA on filmratings.com. Directed by Emma Tammi with a screenplay by Scott Cawthon and Seth Cuddeback & Emma Tammi, Five Nights at Freddy’s is an hour and 50 minutes long and is released by Universal Studios. It’s in theaters and streaming on Peacock.
Old Dads (R)
Bill Burr plays a version of himself as a Gen X-er raising a young son in a millennial and zoomer world in the Netflix comedy Old Dads.
Jack Kelly (Burr) has a son in preschool and another kid on the way with wife Leah (Katie Aselton). He lives in a nice suburban house in Los Angeles and has recently sold the profitable T-shirt business he owned with fellow Xers and longtime friends Mike (Bokeem Woodbine) and Connor (Bobby Cannavale). He has what appears to be a nice life and yet he is filled with a rage at the annoyances of the modern world, most of which he expresses in a “you know what’s wrong with your generation?” rant. His aggravation seems particularly acute in dealing with zoomer Aspen Bell (Miles Robbins), the new head of the T-shirt company where Jack, Mike and Connor still have to work (and behave) to cash in on their equity.
There is comedy to be mined in generational differences and raising a child as a parent in their 40s or 50s versus 20s or 30s — the difference between, for example, how an older parent would relate to a peer-aged teacher versus a younger teacher, or how older and younger parents might approach managing their kids. But the movie goes more for the low-hanging fruit of just mocking the performatively progressive upperclass Angeleno. We don’t really get a Gen X-versus-Millennials showdown or one guy’s experiences as an older parent.
It’s more just an angry audience surrogate ranting at the very online. A bigger problem for Old Dads is that all of the life-stuff Burr addresses here — raising kids as a person in middle age, overcoming general knee-jerk anger, generational differences, marriage stuff, the times in which we live — is addressed much more sharply, smartly and funnily in Burr’s own standup, a lot of which is also available on Netflix. If you want Burr’s angry-Northeasterner take on all that, done with humility and nuance and self-awareness, seek those shows out. If you’re just looking for a comedy with adults swearing and an occasional moment of sitcom-y “ha, funny,” sure, Old Dads has that. Just not as much of that second part as I would have liked. C+
Rated R for pervasive language, sexual material, nudity and brief drug use, according to the MPA on filmratings.com. Directed by Bill Burr and co-written by Bill Burr & Ben Tishler, Old Dads is an hour and 44 minutes long and distributed by Netflix, where it is currently streaming.
Expend4bles (R)
Even Jason Statham is not strong enough to carry the lifeless fourth outing of a jokey action series in Expend4bles.
It gives me no pleasure to say that, because I generally like this series and the “action stars of previous decades super-group” philosophy around which it’s built.
Here, Statham’s Lee Christmas is basically the center of the story after Barney (Sylvester Stallone), head of the CIA freelancer group The Expendables, is sidelined during a failed mission to get nuclear whatevers from Libya before bad guy Rahmat (Iko Uwais) can steal them for badder guy Ocelot, a mystery villain Barney battled in the past. Gina (Meghan Fox) takes over running the Expendables show with their CIA handler Marsh (Andy Garcia) taking a more hands-on role as they pursue Rahmat.
Lee, pushed out of the group for a nonsense reason, tries to go it alone to chase Rahmat and Ocelot, turning for some assistance to Decha (Tony Jaa). In addition to Stallone and Statham, Dolph Lundgren and Randy Couture are among the original expendables still in play. Terry Crews, Jet Li and Arnold Schwarzenegger sit this one out along with the last film’s additions, which included Wesley Snipes, Antonio Banderas and Ronda Rousey. Instead, we get Fox, Curtis Jackson (aka 50 Cent), Jacob Scipio and Levy Tran who do not have the sparkle of those OG members.
Also missing here is an overall sense of fun. We don’t get any cutesy surprise cameos a la Chuck Norris in the second movie or Harrison Ford in the third — and of course no Bruce Willis, who appeared in the first two. This kind of 1980s/1990s action star wattage was a load-bearing element of those earlier entries and its lack here leaves the movie an overall shakier structure (outside of Jaa, a star who rose in the aughts and who is a nice addition).
Strip those things away and issues that have probably always been there are more keenly felt. Such as, this isn’t the snappiest dialogue ever written and the actors speak it as though this is the first time they’ve ever seen these lines. The story doesn’t, at all, make sense and yet it’s nearly not bonkers enough.
Perhaps new to this movie is how slow everything feels. Sure, there’s punching and kicking and explosions, but it feels like we’re getting these elements delivered in more of a low-flow stream than the non-stop punch-splosion you’d want. C
Rated R for strong/bloody violence throughout, language and sexual material, according to the MPA on filmratings.com. Directed by Scott Waugh with a screenplay by Kurt Wimmer & Tad Daggerhart and Max Adams, Expend4bles is an hour and 43 minutes long and distributed by Lionsgate and is available for rent or purchase via VOD.
Strays (R)
Reggie, a good-natured rube of a small fluffy dog voiced by Will Ferrell, has the sudden realization that his owner is garbage in Strays, a live-action, extremely-R-rated dog adventure comedy.
Reggie (voice of Ferrell, doing peak Elf-ish Ferrell) thinks he’s playing a challenging game of fetch when his dirt-bag human Doug (Will Forte) drives him miles away from their home, throws a ball and then drives away. Reggie retrieves the ball and always manages to return, much to the annoyance of Doug, who never wanted a dog and only kept Reggie in the breakup with his girlfriend to be a jerk. Reggie just wants Doug to acknowledge that he, Reggie, is a good-boy dog.
But during a particularly far-afield game of fetch, Reggie realizes in telling French bulldog Bug (voice of Jamie Foxx), Hunter (voice of Randall Park) and Maggie (voice of Isla Fisher) about Doug that Doug is in fact a terrible owner. Reggie decides to hurt Doug by taking away the one thing that Doug truly cares about in life — one R-rated piece of Doug’s anatomy. Bug, a stray dog, and Hunter and Maggie, dogs with laissez faire owners, decide to travel with Reggie to find Doug and see if Reggie really will, uhm, get him where it hurts.
I had few expectations for this movie beyong hoping that it would be not too boring, maybe even mildly entertaining. And it clears that bar of extremely mild entertainment. Most of the humor is based on dog behavior — eating gross stuff, sniffing other dogs’ bums, humping things — and most of it is fine, not particularly smart but not aggressively off-putting. Pre-existing Will Ferrell-ness helps to make Reggie a character we can project personality. Occasionally the movie has a funny bit (there is a runner about an invisible fence) or a cute cameo and I found myself often thinking “ha” without actually laughing. C+
Rated R for pervasive language, like seriously, and crude and sexual content (also, really and a lot) and drug use, like this is rated R don’t let the dogs fool you, according to the MPA on filmratings.com. Directed by Josh Greenbaum with a screenplay by Dan Perrault, Strays is an hour and 33 minutes long and is distributed by Universal Studios. It is available for rent or purchase and it is streaming on Peacock.
Owners of Industry East open new restaurant on Elm Street
After opening their restaurant Industry East on Hanover Street in Manchester, Jeremy Hart and Dan Haggerty eventually decided to embark on their second business venture. On Monday, Oct. 2, the pair opened the doors to Stash Box, a restaurant and bar that puts a twist on homestyle comfort classics.
“Our No. 1 complaint at Industry East was that we didn’t have enough space,” Hart said. “Here, we have more space.”
Hart and Haggerty have both been in the food industry for more than 20 years, having worked as servers, bartenders and managers for other establishments before opening their own. Over the course of those two decades, both of them had contemplated leaving the industry but always found themselves being drawn back.
“Basically, you have to for some reason really love it, and I think it’s just providing hospitality to people and seeing them enjoy food and drinks that you created,” Haggerty said. “It was either leave or go for broke, so we decided to open a restaurant and then it worked out pretty well.”
The pair opened Industry East on Feb. 2, 2021, serving craft cocktails such as Smoke on the Water(melon) made with mezcal and Montenegro liqueur and Naval Academy made with aperol, bourbon and fresh orange juice as well as one-of-a-kind takes on staples like tacos, hot dogs and flatbreads.
“Industry East is essentially a cocktail bar that serves really good food, and Stash Box is a restaurant that has really good food with a cocktail bar inside of it,” Haggerty said. “It’s kind of like an elevated taste on regional classics from New England and around the country. … Our kitchen is a lot bigger here than it is at Industry East [so] we’re able to do a lot more … which is cool. Basically just a bigger expansive menu of homestyle cooking.”
An example of such a twist is their chicken cordon bleu. Added to the bernaise sauce is rosemary and basil and on the side is prosciutto-wrapped asparagus and shallot mashed potatoes. Appetizers include scallop crudo — sliced scallops with pineapple jalapeno salsa, mango gastrique, toasted coconut and sea salt — and scallion pancakes with kimchi, fried egg, pickled red onion, soy glaze sauce and sesame. For dessert, enjoy a peaches-and-cream tart with a homemade brown sugar shell, sugared peaches and blueberries topped with cream cheese frosting, whipped cream, powdered sugar and fresh mint, or bananas Foster, consisting of a cinnamon crunch waffles topped with sauteed bananas, brown sugar, dark rum, whipped cream, bruleed bananas and cinnamon sugar.
“We love being downtown in Manchester on Elm Street because we love all our neighbors. They’ve all been helpful and supportive the entire time we were building the project,” Haggerty said. “Downtown Manchester is an amazing restaurant and overall small-business community, and it’s a great thing to be a part of if you are willing to put in the work. … It’s been really good. Definitely a warm welcome on Elm Street.
Stash Box Where: 866 Elm St., Manchester When: Monday through Saturday, 4 to 11 p.m. 606-8109
Featured photo: Stash Box. Photo by Mya Blanchard.
Mike Howat and Fallon Andrews had been deliberating their vision for about a year before officially opening the doors to PILLAR Gallery and Projects at 205 N. State St. in Concord on Saturday, Sept. 30. The pair will showcase art across a variety of media. Their inaugural exhibition, “Flora & Fauna,” is on display now through Friday, Nov. 17.
“I think there’s a need for it in the area,” Howat said. “There’s a lot of amazing artists and art-minded people and I think [there’s] a need for a place for professional artists to show their work and for the community to have a gathering place outside of bars and restaurants.”
Andrews adds, “With the New Hampshire Institute of Art dismantling over the years and there not being a lot of hubs for artists, we wanted to be a pillar in the community.”
Andrews and Howat met a few years ago through mutual friends. With over a decade of combined experience — Andrews having worked on different events throughout the state and Howat being a working artist and an art teacher for about eight years — the duo decided to team up to curate two salon-style exhibitions, Salon 2021 and Salon 2022, at Kimball Jenkins in Concord.
“It held over 700 works of art and over 350 or so artists,” Andrews said. “With that momentum going in the community and feeling like we just wanted to be something that people still could get excited about, that’s why we wanted to collaborate and work together to open this up.”
On their opening day, they debuted their first ever exhibition, “Flora & Fauna,”with acrylic work by Lauren Welch, fabric art and stoneware by local artist Rachel Montroy and ceramics by Cierra Vigue, among others.
“We wanted it to be something that caught people’s eyes and attention and be the opposite of what people thought of when people hear the subject, [flora and fauna],” Andrews said. “Normally around these parts you see traditional landscapes and things that are pretty digestible, and we wanted to do something radically different, and that’s why ‘Flora & Fauna’ is bright and it almost looks like a little alien world inside of this small sleepy town.”
Their upcoming exhibition “As the Light Wanes”follows the theme of the changing seasons and the losing of light that comes with descending into the winter months and will be on display from Saturday, Dec. 9, through January 2024. The gallery also includes a shop where stickers and prints are for sale, and Andrews hopes to start offering coffee, tea and treats in the coming weeks.
“We’re definitely really excited to bring something else to [this] side of the neighborhood,” Andrews said. “My goal in the next few years is to extend downtown Concord and really have it reach more of those suburban areas and really connect the whole city.”
PILLAR Gallery and Projects Where: 205 N. State St., Concord Hours: Sunday and Monday, noon to 4 p.m.
Local artisans talk about making cool stuff — and how their hobbies became a business
Plus Shop for unique finds at craft fairs
By Angie Sykeny and Renee Merchant asykeny@hippopress.com
In New Hampshire, the crafting scene is a testament to the passion and persistence of its artisans. From hand-completed diamond paintings to custom maps and repurposed fabric crafts there is a broad range of creations in the craft and fine craft category. These artisans, through a blend of traditional and modern techniques, have successfully bridged the gap between personal hobbies and entrepreneurship, contributing to the state’s vibrant local markets.
Michael Lindskog of Mountain Man Handpan in Milford
See mountainmanhandpan.com.
Describe your craft and what makes it unique.
My craft is taking flat pieces of sheet metal and then turning it into a singing-sound sculpture. The instrument’s uniqueness is, in part, the exclusivity that exists around the instrument. It was invented in the year 2000 in Switzerland. I’m one of only a few hundred makers in the world and the only one in New England. The sound that the instrument brings forth is one that truly has to be experienced in person in order to fully appreciate the acoustic nature of the instrument.
Mountain Man Handpan. Courtesy photo.
How did you first discover your passion for your craft?
I’m a self-taught musician from the age of 13, and I discovered the handpan in 2007. A friend of mine sent me a video of an instrument I had never seen or heard before. It intrigued me so much that I wanted to find out more about it. Where everyone [who plays] was located at that time … was a place called handpan.org, which is an online forum. Then it took me another several years after that and a long drive before I was able to hear one in person.
Could you walk us through your creative process and share any essential materials or techniques you use when crafting?
The instrument starts as a flat piece of steel, and it’s either hydroformed, air-hammered or pressed with a stamp to create tone fields that are then tuned and balanced … to make the whole instrument a cohesive piece. As far as building goes, it took me four years and thousands of hours to figure out how to do what I do. And really, ‘keep hammering’ was the … best advice I ever have received from other builders because you can’t really relay in words what the steel … can actually teach you about how it needs to be hit. … Just keep hammering and eventually ‘a-ha’ moments come along, and you take those and move on to the next.
Could you describe the process of turning your craft from a hobby into a business?
That’s honestly still a work in progress; 2023 is Mountain Man Handpan’s first business year, and I’ve taken several steps, [like] being juried and accepted into the New Hampshire League of Craftsman and marketing locally … to create more handpan enthusiasts. … We take it one instrument at a time and try to focus more on the quality and longevity of the instrument.
What challenges have you encountered with your craft business and how do you deal with those?
The primary challenge is there are next to no people that have come before me that can teach the way, so to speak. [Creating] an instrument that’s on par with the other best makers in the world is an accomplishment that was really the first major challenge that we’ve overcome.
Nurit Niskala of NuArt Jewelry in Londonderry
See nuritniskala.com and the Bedford High School Handmade Fair on Nov. 12.
Describe your craft and what makes it unique.
My jewelry is created from recycled metal scrap. … The professional old techniques and working by hand, using recycled metal then uplifting the look with patina make the designs stand out.
How did you first discover your passion for your craft?
From a young age I learned from my dad, who is a jeweler himself, how to create metal jewelry. I was drawing and playing with metal and other material from a young age; it’s part of me.
Could you walk us through your creative process and share any essential materials or techniques you use when crafting?
I use patina to uplift the look of my jewelry … using techniques [such as] forging, forming, texturing and shaping according to my inspiration. My pieces have a contemporary tradition of craftsmanship that was passed down to me.
Could you describe the process of turning your craft from a hobby into a business?
NuArt Jewelry. Courtesy photo.
The transition from a hobby to a business requires dedication, hard work and a strategic approach. It’s essential to balance your passion for jewelry-making with effective business practices to achieve success. A few steps I went through [are] creating a business plan; opening a business account; and ensuring your jewelry pieces are of high quality and that you have a range of designs.
What challenges have you encountered with your craft business and how do you deal with those?
Marketing has been my most significant challenge. I pour my heart and soul into every piece of jewelry I create, so negativity has had a slight impact on my sense of self. … Creating a professional online presence [through] social media, a website and online marketplaces to showcase and sell your jewelry and networking … [through] craft fairs and local markets or partnering with boutiques or online retailers … is very important.
Amanda Cairns of Pure Pixie Dust in Manchester
See pure-pixie-dust.myshopify.com and the Hudson Fall Into the Holidays Craft & Vendor Fair on Nov. 4.
Describe your craft and what makes it unique.
I make fun beaded items that can be customized for almost any occasion … or theme. These items can include bookmarks, badge reels, pens, keychains, beaded wristlets and more.
How did you first discover your passion for your craft?
I am a serial crafter. I love to try new crafts and fail miserably! I am not an artist by any means, but something about the beaded items allows me to express not only myself but my clients. I love when a client gets a sassy pen that matches their energy, or a teacher gets something special to use that their kids love.
Walk us through your creative process and share any essential materials or techniques you use when crafting.
While I do think I am self-taught, I did a lot of research on where to buy materials such as silicone beads, nylon string, metal keyrings, etc. I also found joining an online community of people who do beaded items was essential to my success. You learn from each other’s failures and success. I started with a wide audience making items for everyone but slowly found my niche with keychains and pens. I like to make items with themes, matching colors and relatable sayings. I cater to my clientele by paying attention to what they like and always taking feedback as a learning opportunity.
What was the process of turning your craft from a hobby into a business?
I am a Disney Travel Agent and wanted to find something special to extend the Disney magic. I began by making Disney themed pens that I sent in my ‘You’re going to Disney’ package. I extended my craft to special keychains and before I knew it I was making bulk orders for companies, selling at vendor fairs, online and on TikTok.
What challenges have you encountered with your craft business and how do you deal with those?
I think competition would be the largest challenge I have faced so far. Vendor fair and craft markets tend to be smaller events, and it’s difficult when you have a similar company to yours selling a few booths over. I remind myself there are hundreds of restaurants in Manchester, some small and some large, but they all have different clientele. It’s their unique style that keeps them in business. I like to think my style and unique clientele does the same.
Alise Philbrick of Alise’s Pieces in Manchester
See AlisesPiecesCo on Etsy and Alises Pieces on Facebook.
Describe your craft and what makes it unique.
I focus on three types of crafts: diamond painting, puzzles and cross stitching. All are hand completed projects by me and are great for gifts. Some are personalized specifically for loved ones, while others strike toward collectors.
How did you first discover your passion for your craft?
I first began my love of puzzles and cross stitching with my grandmother when I was a child.
Walk us through your creative process and share any essential materials or techniques you use when crafting.
Alise Philbrick art. Courtesy photo.
Many people love the completed picture regardless of what method of craft. I usually hunt and search for the perfect frame to match the product. I’ve heard that most don’t have the time or can’t see it well enough to complete these items, so now anyone can have something special.
What was the process of turning your craft from a hobby into a business?
About 10 years ago working in the medical field I was helping a resident with a puzzle and saw that she glued hers, framed them and hung them up. So I began doing that with my puzzles. Fast forward to the pandemic: Nursing was brutal and my hobby was always a good way to unwind from stress. I was working on some pattern I had picked up, and a coworker of mine asked if I could make one for her to give her grandmother for Christmas, as she did not have the patience to work with the small fabric and needle and thread. That was my first sale. Later I heard about the success and happiness it brought her grandmother and gave me the idea to offer the completed works for sale. … My fiance came up with the name for the business and has pushed me out of my comfort zone and put more time in advertising and marketing and display. For Christmas he made my first set of business cards and with enough encouragement got me to get a Facebook page and an Etsy page up.
What challenges have you encountered with your craft business and how do you deal with those?
Personal anxieties and fear, and I can only work on it while I’m not working 50 hours a week, plus I also have a 4-year-old — juggling work, home and small business life. Many artisans can sustain themselves off just their small business, but I don’t think mine has gotten to that point yet, nor am I sure I will take it to the next level or what that level might be. Also [challenging is] trying to find craft fairs to join before they are at deadline and avoiding the scammers who post fake fairs.
Kelly Mitchell of The Traveled Lane in Deerfield
See thetraveledlane.com.
Describe your craft and what makes it unique.
I actually don’t love the word ‘craft’ as it tends to make people envision kids with markers and crayons and construction paper. I prefer to use the word ‘art.’ My art is travel- and literary-inspired art, often customized and printed on functional home goods. Most often I create custom maps of places that are special to my customers and then I print these maps on coasters, drinkware or ornaments. In creating my coaster packaging I also created and patented a cork tray that allows four of my coasters to be used either individually or all together in the tray as a trivet while also being functional packaging that displays the artwork.
How did you first discover your passion for your craft?
Kelly Mitchell art. Courtesy photo.
I did not go to art school but I have a bachelor’s degree in English and I have a love for antique book stores. My husband and I would spend hours early in our marriage exploring dusty bookshelves, and it was on these trips that I began to discover the beauty in vintage maps and old book pages. So when it came to decorating our home I wanted to incorporate my love of literature and the special memories and stories of our favorite travels in our home decor. … I began drawing and painting scenes from the places we loved, sometimes including favorite book quotes to express the memories and stories that were special to us. But I wanted to display this artwork in a way that could be enjoyed in my home in a useful way to remind me of the stories of where we’ve been, who we are and what we love on a daily basis.
Walk us through your creative process and share any essential materials or techniques you use when crafting.
The first step to creating custom map artwork is to try to get as much information as possible about not only the location that my customer desires but also any special landmarks, monuments, scenery, buildings or anything else that is important to my customer. Sometimes I may include a particular quote or maybe a favorite animal from the area and of course there will also be questions about colors and styles to help me better create exactly what they have envisioned. Then I will research the area for the map requested to better get a sense of anything else that might seem special to the area. Then comes the initial drawing, which is done digitally using an iPad using a drawing app and Apple Pencil. My artwork has evolved over the years as technology has evolved. This allows me to create my art quickly and without the mess and cleanup of paint, pens, paper, but it also allows me to share my art easily digitally with customers and make changes quickly and easily if they have revisions or suggestions to better match the picture in their head.
What was the process of turning your craft from a hobby into a business?
I started creating artwork for our own house as a newly married couple and a new mom and then gave them as gifts for family and friends and then eventually realized that I could probably sell it and turn my hobby into a business that would allow me to stay at home with my children when they were little. I opened an online shop and had great success with selling directly to customers online and in person at art fairs. As the years went on I expanded to selling wholesale to local businesses and eventually all over the U.S. to gift shops, boutiques, souvenir shops and art galleries. The business has grown so much that I now sell primarily wholesale business to business.
What challenges have you encountered with your craft business and how do you deal with those?
It is always a challenge to balance work and life when working from home. My business has grown alongside my children over the years and they have had to learn that mom’s studio time is work time. The other challenge that comes with growth is sometimes needing help when my two hands are not enough. If a particularly big order demands all hands on deck, I am able to actually employ my three teen boys to help with product prep, packaging, shipping, delivery and shop maintenance tasks, which allows me more time to create the artwork and still maintain my sanity.
Linda Simpson of Phoenix Creations in Hillsboro
See phoenixcreationsllc.biz and the American Legion Auxilliary Post 59 Fall Craft Fair (Nov. 4) and the Christmas Craft Fair at United Church of Penacook (Nov. 11).
Describe your craft and what makes it unique.
I make a large variety of toys, clothing, housewares and other personal and gift items. Most of the items are made primarily of repurposed and salvaged materials. I believe my craft is unique from other fabric and yarn creators because my main ‘ingredient’ is repurposed materials. I spend almost as much time locating materials to use as I do actually creating the items. The items I make are also from my own imagination more than widely accessible patterns. That’s not to say I never use commercial patterns, but I like to put my own artistic spin on the finished items.
Linda Simpson art. Courtesy photo.
How did you first discover your passion for your craft?
I learned to crochet when I was about 10 years old and started sewing at 12, when I took a home economics class. Once I learned to sew, there was no stopping me. I started making my clothes through high school and creating my own fashion designs. … I did some sewing work for some people in my spare time as a young adult. Once the kids came along, I would make things for them. This is really when I started repurposing clothing into new items — pretty much because that’s what the budget allowed back then. Fast forward to Covid and work furloughs that allowed time to really get back into crafting for fun again. People were looking for someone to make the masks and even the nurse and scrub hats. I had liked the idea that I could help during that time, so I would make masks and caps in exchange for some extra material. Then a sister-in-law asked me to make some pillowcase sundresses for two little girls she was fostering. She gave me more than enough material for what she needed.
Walk us through your creative process and share any essential materials or techniques you use when crafting.
Quite honestly, I’m not sure there is any method to my creative ‘madness.’ I tend to think about something I want to make next. I try to make many different things because I would get too bored if I only worked on one or two basic types of things. I might work on teddy bears for a couple weeks, then move on to tote bags and wallets for a while. I do have some basics that I always try to have in stock, such as teddy bears and tote bags. Generally I like to listen to what event customers mention — things they are looking for or ideas they think would be fun to make.
What was the process of turning your craft from a hobby into a business?
It really started snowballing when I mentioned to a few close friends that I was interested in starting a craft business. These friends had lots of scraps and leftover fabrics and yarns and some other items like bedsheets and pillowcases that they gladly gave me to get started. Remember, at that time [of Covid] lots of people were stuck in their homes and cleaning out their closest and storage areas. I spent a year creating all kinds of things — teddy bears, dolls, hats, aprons, pillows, dresses for kids and adults. … I didn’t have any idea what I was going to do with most of the things I was making. By the time craft fairs were starting up again, I thought I’d try a fair or two and see how it went. Originally I only intended to maybe earn some money back to support my hobby, but as time went on I realized it was time to transition from a hobby into a business. So I did. I still have my ‘real’ job, but now this hobby is my second almost full-time job too.
What challenges have you encountered with your craft business and how do you deal with those?
Lack of time and poor organization are probably the biggest challenges. I seem to always have multiple projects in process and have had to really learn to schedule time. When I was creating as a hobby, I didn’t really put any emphasis on when I would need to finish a piece of work. … Once I really started vending at fairs and events, I did have to schedule my time better. … I realized that I had to organize my materials and supplies better also. Too much time was spent trying to find things. … Figuring out what to charge for the items or services I offer continues to be a challenge. I have been told by friends, family and even customers that I am not charging enough, but I like to keep the prices lower. I’d prefer to see others enjoying the items I make than to have to store them away in buckets and boxes. And since I try to source my materials from things other people no longer want, I’ve been able to do this. Sometimes it is a challenge to find the right materials for something I have been commissioned to make.
Erin Sweeney of Lovely in the Home Press in Hancock
See erinsweeney.net.
Describe your craft and what makes it unique.
Handmade artist’s books, prints, dolls. Lots of different materials and unusual combinations make it unique.
How did you first discover your passion for your craft?
When I was in third grade, I made sculptures from a scrap wood pile at my house during a barn renovation. My dad gave me a hammer and some nails and I got busy. I thought they were so great and gave them all to my mom. I was making from that point on — cards and gifts and hand-lettered signs, paper boxes, wooden paper towel holders. Art and home economics classes in middle school are where I learned to sew. When my high school guidance counselor suggested I look into art school, I couldn’t believe it. I went to Maine College of Art and majored in sculpture, and it was a life-changing experience for me.
Walk us through your creative process and share any essential materials or techniques you use when crafting.
I’m a materials ‘attacker,’ digging in, trying new things and playing with materials as inspiration. I have lots of bits around me and then I start assembling. I don’t usually have a pre-plan, but I like to play with layers and structures and then bring them together in new combinations. I do have a lot of favorite tools, and those are always with me. I have a favorite bone folder that was made by a dear friend, favorite scissors for both paper and fabric, and I have a fantastic paper cutter that made my workshop prep so much easier.
Erin Sweeney art. Courtesy photo.
What was the process of turning your craft from a hobby into a business?
It started when I started my workshop business, teaching from my former studio in downtown Peterborough. I hadn’t been that great at selling my work, but my book arts and sculpture workshops started to do well in the years that I was there. Those successes, which led to teaching at other craft schools like Haystack and Maine Media Workshops, made me realize that I could do this more formally. I also really paid attention to what other artists and crafters were doing when I took their workshops, learning from what they were doing as well.
What challenges have you encountered with your craft business and how do you deal with those?
Accessing information around business practices, insurance needs, taxes, etc. It’s been a learning curve, but there are lots of resources available — seek them out. I hadn’t taken any business courses in college, but in grad school we talked a lot about living as an artist and business person and figured out business plans, grant writing, keeping really good records and being a part of your community. There have been a lot of people in my area who offer advice and their experience for me to learn from, and it’s been really helpful. My focus now is to try to find some new venues to sell my work. I recently moved my studio to Hancock and was confronted by just how much stuff I have and have made. Time to move it on!
Craft & artisan fairs
It’s craft fair season! Find craft and holiday fairs most weekends now through mid-December-ish. Here are some of the fairs on the schedule. If you know of a craft fair, let us know at adiaz@hippopress.com.
• Fall Craft Fair agt the American Legion Auxilliary Post 59 (538 W. Main St. in Hillsborough) will take place Saturday, Nov. 4, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• The 23rd Annual Merrimack KofC Craft Fair is on Friday, Nov. 3, from 5 to 8 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 4, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Mastricola Upper Elementary School (26 Baboosic Lake Road, Merrimack). The fair will host more than 40 crafters showcasing a diverse array of handmade crafts. Admission to the event is free. Visit olmnh.org/kofc.
• The Tilton Silver Bells Craft Fair is on Saturday, Nov. 4, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 5, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Tanger Outlets (120 Laconia Road, Tilton). The fair will host more than 90 arts and crafts exhibitors showcasing a wide variety of items including chainsaw wood carvings, cedar wood furniture, hand-painted glassware, maple syrups, pottery, leather jewelry, gourmet foods, children’s toys, and much more. Attendees can also enjoy demonstrations, face painting and a selection of gourmet foods. The event is set to proceed rain or shine with free admission. Visit joycescraftshows.com/silver-bells-craft-fair-at-tanger-2023.
• The Shop Til You Drop Craft Fair Fundraiser is on Saturday, Nov. 4, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the James W. Foley Memorial Community Center (150 Wakefield St., Rochester). This event is hosted by the Granite State Choral Society, a community-based non-auditioned singing group. Attendees can browse a range of items from local crafters and vendors, including jewelry, artwork, knit/crochet items, soaps, ornaments, essential oils, jams, cosmetics, sweet treats and more. Admission is free, with no tickets required. Visit gschoral.org.
• The Hampstead Craft Fair is on Saturday, Nov. 4, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Hampstead Middle School (School Street, Hampstead). The fair will feature nearly 80 crafters and artists presenting and selling their creations. Attendees can also expect children’s activities and food options. Visit hampsteadmothersclub.org/34th-annual-craft-fair.
• The Raymond Fall Craft Fair is on Saturday, Nov. 4, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Raymond High School Cafeteria and Gymnasium (45 Harriman Hill Road, Raymond). More than 50 vendors will be present offering items such as jewelry, artwork, bath and beauty products, candles, ceramics, pottery, woodworking, clothing and more. Additionally, attendees can explore a range of crafts including crochet, embroidery, knitting, needlecraft and quilts as well as dolls, miniatures, furniture, housewares, paper goods, photography, vintage items, toys, books and accessories. Admission and parking are both free. Visit facebook.com/troop101craftfair.
• The Northwood Holiday Craft Fair is on Saturday, Nov. 4, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Gerrish Gym at Coe-Brown Northwood Academy (907 First NH Turnpike, Northwood). The fair will host an array of crafters and artisans selling a variety of wares. Visit coebrown.org/craft-fair.
• The Goffstown Fall Craft Fair is on Saturday, Nov. 4, and Sunday, Nov. 5, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day at the Mountain View Middle School (41 Lauren Lane, Goffstown). Attendees will find a variety of crafters and vendors selling their wares. A food truck will be on site. Admission is $3, with children under 12 entering for free. Visit e-clubhouse.org/sites/goffstown.
• The Girl Scout Craft Fair is on Saturday, Nov. 4, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Bedford Presbyterian Church (4 Church Road, Bedford). Explore a range of crafts and support the local Girl Scouts.
• Star Events Fall Into the Holidays Craft & Vendor Fair will take place Saturday, Nov. 4, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Hudson Memorial School. See facebook.com/stareventsnh.
• The Craftworkers’ Guild in Bedford (5 Meetinghouse Road in Bedford, the building at the bottom of the library parking lot; thecraftworkersguild.org) will open a Veterans Day Weekend pop-up shop Friday, Nov. 10, through Sunday, Nov. 12, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily as well as online.
• The St. Ignatius Spirit of Christmas Fair will be held on Friday, Nov. 10, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 11, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish Holy Trinity Church (404 High St. in Somersworth) featuring sales by artisans, a penny sale, raffles, jewelry, a cookie carousel, baked goods, Christmas decorations and more, according to the church bulletin available via stignatius-stmary.org.
• The Pleasant View Retirement Community (270 Pleasant St. in Concord) will hold an indoor craft fair on Saturday, Nov. 11, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. featuring baked goods, handmade items and more, according to a Facebook post
• The Bow Snowman Fair is on Saturday, Nov. 11, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Bow Mills United Methodist Church (505 South St., Bow) featuring crafts and handmade goods as well as food.Visit bowmillsumc.org.
• St. Paul’s United Methodist Church (335 Smyth Road in Manchester) will hold a craft fair on Saturday, Nov. 11, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. with crafts, a cookie walk, a bake sale, a children’s table and more, according to a press release.
• The Gilford Fall Craft Fair is on Saturday, Nov. 11, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at The Gilford Youth Center (19 Potter Hill Road, Gilford). The event will feature more than 50 vendors. Concessions will be available. Admission is free. Visit gilfordyouthcenter.com/lr-fall-craft-fair.
• Memorial High School (1 Crusader Way in Manchester) will hold a craft fair Saturday, Nov. 11, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., according to posts by participants.
• The United Church of Penacook (21 Merrimack St.) will hold its Christmas Craft Fair Saturday, Nov. 11, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. See ucpnh.org.
• The Meredith Holiday Craft Fair is on Saturday, Nov. 11, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church (300 Route 25, Meredith). Visitors can explore a wide range of unique crafts and one-of-a-kind homemade gifts. Visit stcharlesnh.org/events/craft-fair.
• Pure Springs Church in Raymond and the RayFre Senior Center (64 Main St. in Raymond) will hold a Christmas Craft Fair on Saturday, Nov. 11, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the center.
• The Seacoast Artisans Holiday Fine Arts and Crafts Show will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 11, at Great Bay Community College at the Pease Trade Port in Portsmouth. Admission costs $6 (kids 14 and under get in for free). See seacoastartisansshows.com.
• Saint Kathryn Parish (4 Dracut Road in Hudson; stkathryns.org) will hold its annual Christmas Bazaar and Penny Sale on Saturday, Nov. 11, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 12, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The fair will include raffles, bake sale, crafts, a scavenger hunt and photos with Santa, according to the website.
• The Bedford Handmade Fair is on Sunday, Nov. 12, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Bedford High School (47B Nashua Road, Bedford). The event will host local artists and artisans selling one-of-a-kind products and unique holiday gifts. Admission is free. Visit sites.google.com/bedfordnhk12.net/bedfordhandmade.
• Thorton’s Ferry School (134 Camp Sargent Road in Merrimack; 889-1577) will hold its 41st Holiday Craft Fair with more than 80 crafters and vendors on Saturday, Nov. 18, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. with a raffle room and silent auction, concession cafe, bake sale and photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., according to pttf-events.com
• Lil Iguana (liliguanausa.org/craft-fair) will hold its annual craft fair at Nashua High School North (8 Titan Way) on Saturday, Nov. 18, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is free and the event features more than 100 crafters, vendors and area businesses as well as raffles, according to the website.
• The 12th annual Meredith Community Holiday Craft Fair is on Saturday, Nov. 18, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Meredith Community Center (One Circle Drive, Meredith). The event will showcase more than 30 vendors with crafts as well as a bake sale, slow cooker luncheon items for sale, raffles and more. Visit meredithnh.org/parks-recreation/pages/2023-craft-fair.
• Deerfield’s Holiday Craft Fair will take place Saturday, Nov. 18, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Deerfield Community Church (15 Church St.), according to deerchurch.org.
• The Hampton Holly Berry Fair is on Saturday, Nov. 18, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Trinity Episcopal Church (200 High St., Hampton). Visit trinityhampton.org.
• St. Patrick Church (34 Amherst St. in Milford) will hold a craft fair Saturday, Nov. 18, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. In addition to crafts, the event will include a silent auction, a raffle, a bake sale and food concessions, according to saintpatrickmilfordnh.org.
• The First Parish Church (47 E. Derry Road in Derry; 434-0628) will hold its annual Sugar Plum Fair Saturday, Nov. 18, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., according to fpc-ucc.org. The day will include live music, lunch, a white elephant sale, raffles and a cookie walk, according to a church Facebook post.
• The 44th annual Bow PTO Craft Fair is on Saturday, Nov. 18, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 19, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Bow High School (55 Falcon Way, Bow). The event will host more than 150 artists displaying and selling their unique handmade artwork and crafts. Admission is $5. Visit bowpto.org/craft-fair.
• The Hampstead Christmas Fair is on Saturday, Nov. 18, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at PhanZone Sports Center (142 Route 111, Hampstead). The event will feature more than 100 vendors selling a variety of items. Visit facebook.com/stareventsnh.
• The Great New England Holiday Arts and Crafts Show is on Saturday, Nov. 18, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 19, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Rim Sports Complex (311 Winnacunnet Road, Hampton). Shop more than 125 local specialty food vendors, craftsmen and artisans showcasing their handmade products. The event will also feature holiday music, door prizes, demos, food samples, food trucks and holiday cocktails. Visit gnecraftartisanshows.com/seacoast-holiday-hampton.
• The Portsmouth Holiday Arts Tour will take place at seven Portsmouth studios featuring 15 artists on Saturday, Nov. 18, and Sunday, Nov. 19, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Find the map at portsmouthartstour.com.
• The Salem Holiday Psychic and Craft Fair is on Sunday, Nov. 19, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Derry-Salem Elks No. 2226 (39 Shadow Lake Road, Salem). The event will feature more than 30 vendors, including readers, crafters and artists. Discover unique hand-crafted gifts, psychic readings, healing, aura photography and more. Visit facebook.com/CAYAHealing.
• The Peterborough Holiday Craft Fair is on Sunday, Nov. 19, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Conval High School Gym (184 Hancock Road, Peterborough). Visit cvhs.convalsd.net.
• The Craftworkers’ Guild in Bedford (5 Meetinghouse Road in Bedford, the building at the bottom of the library parking lot; thecraftworkersguild.org) will open its annual Holiday Fair Shop Friday, Nov. 24, through Wednesday, Dec. 22, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily as well as online.
• The Exeter Holiday Parade Committee will present a craft fair on Saturday, Nov. 25, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Exeter Town Hall, both floors, according to the organizer’s Facebook post. See exeternhholidayparade.com.
• The Nashua Holiday Stroll Craft Fair is on Saturday, Nov. 25, from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Gym Entrance on Main Street across from City Hall (29 Spring St., Nashua). Visit downtownnashua.org/holidaystroll.
• The Milford Holiday Craft Fair, benefiting veterans, is on Sunday, Nov. 26, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Milford VFW (1 VFW Way, Milford). Santa and the Grinch will be available for free pictures. The fair will host numerous crafters and vendors. Admission is free. Visit facebook.com/nevendorevents.
• The Contoocook Artisans Holiday Fair will take place Friday, Dec. 1, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 2, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 3, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the American Legion Post No. 81 (E.R. Montgomery Event Center, 169 Bound Tree Road in Contoocook). Contact contoocookartisansnh@gmail.com.
• High Mowing School (77 Pine Hill Drive, Wilton) holds its annual Pine Hill holiday fair with an artisan market for adults on Friday, Dec. 1, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. and family festivities on Saturday, Dec. 2, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visit pinehill.org.
• The Winter Giftopolis by the Concord Arts Market will be on Friday, Dec. 1, from 5 to 11 p.m. during Intown Concord’s Midnight Merriment, at the Atrium at 7 Eagle Square. See concordartsmarket.net.
• The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Milford (20 Elm St. in Milford; uucm.org) will hold a holiday fair on Saturday, Dec. 2, from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. featuring handcrafted items, a bake shop and more, according to uucm.org/community/holiday-fair-2023.
• Arlington Street United Methodist Church (63 Arlington St., Nashua; asumc.org, 882-4663) holds its Holly Town Fair Saturday, Dec. 2, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. featuring vendors with handmade items, crafts, candies, baked goods and a cookie walk and lunches from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., according to the website.
• The Amherst Lions Club holds its Craft Fair Saturday, Dec. 2, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Amherst Middle School (14 Cross Road), according to e-clubhouse.org/sites/amherstnh.
• The Somersworth Festival Association will host a Holiday Craft Fair on Saturday, Dec. 2, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Somersworth High School (11 Memorial Drive in Somersworth) according to nhfestivals.org.
• The 34th annual Christmas in Strafford, an event featuring 29 locations and more than 50 artists and craftspeople, runs Saturday, Dec. 2, and Sunday, Dec. 3, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days; see the map at christmasinstrafford.com.
• The Unitarian Universalist Church of Manchester (669 Union St. in Manchester; uumanchester.org) will hold its annual Holiday Gift Faire on Saturday, Dec. 2, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Star Events Holiday Craft & Vendor Fair will take place Saturday, Dec. 2, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Tabernacle Baptist Church (Route 102 on the Hudson/Litchfield line). Seefacebook.com/stareventsnh.
• The Concord Arts Market is hosting its annual Holiday Arts Market on Saturday, Dec. 2, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Kimball Jenkins School of Art (266 N. Main St.). See concordartsmarket.net
• Caya Reiki & Healing (caya-healing.square.site) will hold a Gingerbread Craft Market & Psychic Fair on Saturday, Dec. 2, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Derry-Salem Elks Lodge (39 Shadow Lake Road in Salem) featuring more than 30 vendors and artisans, according to the website.
• New England Vendor Events will host a Nashua Holiday Craft Fair on Saturday, Dec. 2, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Hunt Memorial Library in Nashua, according to a post at facebook.com/nevendorevents.
• The Grinnell School PTA will hold a Holiday Craft Fair at Grinnell Elementary School (6 Grinnell Road in Derry) on Saturday, Dec. 2, from noon to 4 p.m., according to a PTA facebook post.
• The Bishop Brady Craft Fair will take place Saturday, Dec. 9, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Bishop Brady High School (25 Columbus Ave. in Concord). See bishopbrady.edu.
• Head to the DoubleTree Hilton (2 Somerset Plaza, Nashua) for the Holly Jolly Craft Fair on Saturday, Dec. 9, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be more than 75 artisans there selling their holiday wares. Visit joycescraftshows.com.
• The New Hampshire Audubon’s Holiday Craft Fair will take place on Saturday, Dec. 9, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the NH Audubon McLane Center (84 Silk Farm Road in Concord; nhaudubon.org).
• The Very Merry Holiday Gift Festival will take place Saturday, Dec. 9, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 10, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown Hotel (700 Elm St. in Manchester), according to verymerryfestival.com. Admission to the event, a revamping of the Made in New England Expo, costs $7 ($6 for 65+ and kids 14 and under get in free).
• Caya Reiki & Healing (caya-healing.square.site) will hold a Winter Wonderland Craft Market & Psychic Fair on Saturday, Dec. 9, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Hooksett American Legion Post 37 (5 Riverside St. in Hooksett), according to the website.
• The Wrong Brain Holidaze Bizaare (facebook.com/wrongbrain) will take place Saturday, Dec. 9, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at North Country Hard Cider (38 Littleworth Road in Dover). Admission costs $1, according to the Facebook post.
• New England Vendor Events will host a Hudson Holiday Craft Fair on Saturday, Dec. 9, from noon to 5 p.m., according to a post at facebook.com/nevendorevents.
• The Nashua Holiday Craft & Vendor Festival Fair will be held Saturday, Dec. 16, from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Eagles Wing BingoHall at 10 Spruce St. in Nashua, according to the Bazaar Craft Fairs Facebook post.
• New England Vendor Events will host a Manchester Holiday Craft Fair on Saturday, Dec. 16, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Club Canadian (128 S. Main St. in Manchester) featuring pictures with Santa and the Grinch, according to a post at facebook.com/nevendorevents.
