• Crafts online: The Craftworkers’ Guild’s first-ever Virtual Harvest Fair is going on now through Oct. 12. The Guild has suspended its in-person events in Bedford until further notice and is inviting people to shop online. The virtual fair features work by more than 30 artisans and craftspeople, including seasonal decor, photography, fine art and prints, cards, gourmet treats, woodworking, fiber and fabric, sewn and knitted specialties, stained and fused glass art, mixed media and jewelry. “As the oldest craft-related organization in New Hampshire, it has been a challenge to take our historic shop online for the first time,” Carol Davis, president of the Craftworkers’ Guild, said in a press release. “We are excited to be able to share our new virtual shop with our friends and fans.” Items purchased at the virtual shop will be available for curbside pickup in Bedford daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., for the duration of the event. Visit craftworkersguild.org.
• Music in the gardens: Symphony New Hampshire will perform an outdoor concert featuring its String Quartets on Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Beaver Brook Association’s Maple Hill Gardens (117 Ridge Road, Hollis). The gardens will open at 4 p.m., and the music will begin at 5 p.m. Tickets cost $15 per person, $25 per couple and $5 for children age 12 and under. Seats are limited. Purchase tickets online in advance at beaverbrook.org.
• Call for artist members: The New Hampshire Art Association’s fall jurying for new members will take place on Sunday, Oct. 25, and Monday, Oct. 26. The oldest statewide artist association in the state, NHAA provides many opportunities for New England artists to exhibit and sell their artwork throughout the year. Prospective members will drop off four original works of art in the same medium that “reflect the artist’s voice and are representative of their body of work,” according to the NHAA website. A jury of established NHAA artist members with backgrounds in a variety of media will review and judge the work. The jury looks for “maturity of artistic concept, mastery of the medium, composition, consistency of artistic concept and presentation,” the website said. Fill out an application, available on the website, and mail it, along with $25 for the application fee, to New Hampshire Art Association, 136 State St., Portsmouth, NH 03801, by Thursday, Oct. 22. Instructions for the drop-off will be emailed to you. Visit nhartassociation.org or call 431-4230.
• Pandemic poetry reading: Gibson’s Bookstore presents a virtual reading event for COVID Spring: Granite State Pandemic Poems on Thursday, Oct. 8, at 7 p.m. on Zoom, featuring 12 of the book’s poets. The poetry anthology, edited by New Hampshire Poet Laureate Alexandria Peary and published by Hobblebush Books, features original poems submitted by 54 New Hampshire writers. The poems “provide a thirty-day snapshot of what life was like in the Granite State in April of 2020” and explore topics like Covid-related “job loss, loneliness and love, masks, social distancing, surreal visitors, uncertainty, graduations deferred, grief, neighborly and less-than-neighborly acts, observing the beginning of the pandemic and making projections about the future, recalibrating or confirming what it means to be human, to be a resident of this region,” Peary said in the anthology’s introduction. Visit newhampshirepoetlaureate.blogspot.com to register and receive an email with the link to the Zoom event. The book can be purchased at Gibson’s and other local bookstores, Hobblebush Books (hobblebush.com), Small Press Distribution (spdbooks.org) and Amazon, and the publisher will donate $2 from every copy sold to the New Hampshire Food Bank to support New Hampshire residents impacted by the pandemic.