News & Notes from the Village July 2018

CANTERBURY SHAKER VILLAGE

Thank you! We passed our NH Gives goal thanks to 89 donors who came together to contribute a total of $11,050. With another pledged gift of $2500, the full amount needed to fund the repair and repainting of the exterior of the Syrup Shop has now been raised.

We are overwhelmed by the caring and generosity that was demonstrated during this 24-hour statewide campaign that raised more than $414,000 for 256 nonprofits and engaged nearly 4,000 donors. What’s more, Canterbury Shaker Village was among the Top Five organizations in total giving and was awarded a $500 bonus for our efforts.

Painting of the Syrup Shop is expected to begin by the end of the summer. We hope that you will visit the Syrup Shop the next time you are at the Village to learn more about its rich history and see its transformation.

VISIT THE VILLAGE FOR ARTS WEEK, JULY 17-21Arts Weeks signals the beginning of our new Artist in Residence program. Five adjudicated artists - Ray Ciemny, Toni Jo Coppa, Abba Cudney, Alison Palizzolo, and Teresa Taylor - will live at the Village for the week, collaborating on site-specific installations. In addition to the artists’ presence during the week, a number of special programs have been scheduled for specific days.

On Tuesday at 1pm, join us for a tour with Mill Brook Gallery’s Pam Tarbell, Corporator Bill Stelling of Kelley Stelling Contemporary in Manchester, and a discussion with our artists in residence. Throughout Arts Week, eight contemporary outdoor sculptures - carefully curated by Pam - will be displayed throughout the Village grounds for visitors to experience.

On Wednesday, enjoy our free family day with a Fairy Ballet from Ballet Misha at 2pm, along with crafts, face painting, and tractor hayrides around the Village in the afternoon. (No general admission fee, but guided tours at 11am and 2pm will cost $10/person.)

On Thursday, experience our buildings in a new way. Dancers - Joan Talarico Brodsky, Lorraine Chapman of LCTC, Alyssa Desruisseaux of Ballet Misha, and Amanda Whitworth of Tributary Dance - will perform during the tours at 11am and 2pm, drawing inspiration from four generations of Shaker sisters.

On Friday, Pontine Theatre will be performing “New England Utopia: Transcendental Communities” at 2pm in the Dwelling House Chapel. Later in the evening, The Bang Group, LCTC, and the Canterbury Singers will hold a free open rehearsal of “The Zealous Laborers, Act II” in the Meeting House.

Arts Week culminates on Saturday with a series of daytime performances by Symphony NH, Aerial Dance by Go Ninja, and Advice to the Player’s teen Shakespeare company. An evening ticketed performance of “The Zealous Laborers Act II,” introduced by New Hampshire’s new Commissioner of Natural and Cultural Resources, Sarah Stewart, will conclude Arts Week. Tickets to the performance also include a wine and cheese reception and an opportunity to meet choreographers David Parker of New York and Lorraine Chapman of Boston who will speak briefly about crafting the dance. “The Zealous Laborers, Act II” is an innovative collaboration between dance companies, The Bang Group and LCTC, and will be accompanied for the first time with the live music of the Canterbury Singers.

We hope to see you during this exciting and engaging week at the Village! Check out a detailed schedule of the entire week here.

ON THE CALENDARMushroom WalkJuly 8, 10am-noon

Join Clinical Herbalist and Wild Forager Sara Woods Kender for a gentle jaunt through the forests and fields of Canterbury Shaker Village in search of medicinal and edible mushrooms. Sara brings her knowledge and foraging skills to the Village to share the healing ability of the fungus amongus! Purchase tickets.

The Woodright’s ApprenticeJuly 14 or 28, 9am-4pm

This workshop, great for a parent (or grandparent) and child, begins with learning to identify the trees commonly used by woodwrights; discusses how those trees were turned into lumber; examines the properties of different wood and the safe use of some basic hand tools. The workshop concludes with each team assembling and finishing a stool using no glue or metal fasteners! Purchase tickets for July 14 or July 28.

Needle Felted TerrariumJuly 14, 10am-4pm

Join us to learn some beginner needle felting techniques and create felted flora for a unique terrarium! No experience is necessary and materials are provided including a felting tool kit you can take home with you and a glass terrarium. Purchase tickets.

Legacy of the Land: Trees of Shaker VillageJuly 25, 2-4pm

The Shakers relied heavily on trees for their source of fuel, materials for buildings and furniture, maple syrup production and so much more. Learning about trees was so important that Elder Henry Blinn planted an arboretum behind the schoolhouse so that the children would learn to identify native tree species and study how different trees were used. Join naturalist Ruth Smith to learn to identify many of the trees that grow among the buildings within Shaker Village and discover some of their important stories and uses. If time and interest allow, further exploration into the woods may be included. Walking will generally be on level ground around the center Village. No prior knowledge or experience is necessary.

FREE with general admission (or membership). Contact Nicole to sign up.

Moon Rise Garden PartyJuly 25, 5:30-7:30pm

Take a garden tour with the Concord Food Co-op’s organic gardener, Andy Messenger, and learn about the special partnership between the Village and the Co-op. Try some of the Co-op’s specialties and enjoy a free wine and beer tasting while a nearly-full moon rises in the east over the ponds and gardens. Please reserve your free ticket.

This event is for members of Canterbury Shaker Village and the Concord Food Co-op. Join today to take advantage of this and other great Members-only benefits!

Shaker Oval Box No. 3August 4, 9am-4:30pm

An authentic Shaker woodworking shop is a terrific location to create the quintessential Shaker oval box. Learn to carve, bend and assemble a No.3 Oval Box (cherry) from master box maker Barbara Beeler. You will leave your class with a completed box. All tools and materials will be provided. Purchase tickets.

AROUND THE VILLAGECheck out the outdoor sculpture installed throughout the Village grounds as we lead up to Arts Week! We have been fortunate to work with Pam Tarbell of Mill Brook Gallery, who has carefully selected eight pieces. All of the sculptures are for sale and a portion of the proceeds will benefit Canterbury Shaker Village.

John Lacz - “Playful”

Nancy Reilly - “Ball Gown”

Antoinette Prien Schultze - “Cries and Whispers”

This month’s photos are from Traditional Craft Days. Photographs © Michael Sterling. Please do not reproduce without permission.

ON THE CALENDAR (CONT.) STAFF SPOTLIGHT:Nicole Laurin is busy year-round in her role as Special Events and Adult Programs Manager for the Village. Nicole organizes large-scale events, including signature events like Christmas at Canterbury and the Artisan Festival, a full program of year-round workshops, and special members-only programs.

Nicole returned to her home state of New Hampshire after earning degrees at Syracuse University and the University of Westminster,

London, and two years at the Denver Art Museum. Since joining the Village at the end of 2016, Nicole has brought new life to beloved Village events and worked with Trustees and staff to organize new programming. Our upcoming Arts Week, developed in collaboration with Trustee Joan Brodsky and Corporator Bill Stelling, is an example of the Village’s efforts to attract new audiences with events that speak to different aspects of the Shaker legacy.

If you take a look at our workshops for this season, you will see that Nicole has assembled an impressive range of offerings, including nature walks, contemporary cooking classes, and fiber arts workshops, along with our traditional workshops centered on Shaker trades like broom making and chair taping. We are fortunate to have Nicole’s energy, organizational skills, and enthusiasm for sharing all that the Village has to offer.

Learn to Tape a Shaker ChairAugust 5 or 18, 9am-5pm

Have you ever wondered how the Shakers wove those elegant chair seats without any ends showing? You’ll learn to prepare the chair frame, calculate the quantity of tape required, plan a weaving pattern & tape the seat. If you don’t have a chair you want to tape, you might be interested in Shaker Chair in a Box. Purchase tickets for August 5 or August 18.

IT TAKES A VILLAGEOur Simply Shaker Summer Celebration attracted a record number of attendees this year! Guests at this year’s annual fund-raising event were treated to a beautiful summer evening at the Village complete with reception and silent auction, dinner, and live auction. Through their generosity, nearly $60,000 was raised to support on-going operations and to fully fund the landscaping of the courtyard at the Horse Barn.

Thank you to the hard-working auction committee of Ann Camann (chair), Kathleen Belko, Susan Bennett, Kelly Bryant, Sarah Hayes, Bob Lord, Becky Lougee, Joan Noga-Pazdon, Juliana Phillips, Maggie Stier, and Carolyn Tolles. We also extend our thanks to everyone who purchased tickets, donated items for the auction, or bid and purchased items in the auction. Thank you to the event sponsors Elektrisola and Northeast Delta Dental, with additional support from Ledyard National Bank, Carol & Steve Bush of Maxfield Real Estate, Grove Street Fiduciary, and CGI Business Solutions.

Feasting from the Cookbook: Seasoned With GraceAugust 7, 6pm

Seasoned with Grace was written by Canterbury Eldress Bertha Lindsay. Join chef Liz Barbour, owner of “The Creative Feast,” for this deliciously interactive cooking demonstration workshop. Liz will begin with a discussion about Shaker cooking tradition and share her experiences with a variety of recipes featured in Seasoned with Grace. Following the discussion Liz will demonstrate 2 recipes from the cookbook and share the tasty ins and outs of each. Generous samples will be available for all. Purchase tickets.

Free DayAugust 4, 10am-4pm

Admission to the Village is complimentary on this one day, our way of saying “thank you” to our local friends and surrounding community. Enjoy a tour, explore our self-guided exhibit buildings, walk our nature trails, or bring a picnic to eat on lawn. In addition to our regular tours, we’ll also have a few special additions to our schedule, including a program designed for families with children and some in-depth examinations of Shaker life for knowledgeable visitors. Don’t forget, it’s your support as members and donors that makes our preservation of the Shaker legacy possible!

NATURAL RESOURCE STEWARDS COURSEThe Natural Resources Stewards Program offers a comprehensive education and volunteer support network for people who want to learn, explore and share the nature of New Hampshire. In addition to the hands-on learning tools and skills gained through the course, you get to know and work with natural resource professionals from around the state. The course begins September 7, 2018 and runs each Friday through December 7, 2018. Register for the fall 2018 course (held in Portsmouth) here.

We are also pleased to announce that the 2019 Stewards Program will be held at Canterbury Shaker Village!

The NRS Program is a collaboration between UNH Cooperative Extension, the NH Division of Forests and Lands, NH Fish and Game, The US Forest Service, the NH Assoc. of Conservation Districts, USDA NRCS, and Great Bay Community College.

WHAT THEY LEFT BEHINDThe Canterbury Shakers of the twentieth century were, in some ways, surprisingly cosmopolitan. Not only did they leave the Village, but their adventures took them to places across New England. As summer arrives in full force, we start to think longing of a quiet afternoon at the beach - a sentiment shared by the Canterbury Shakers.

The Canterbury Shakers went on many summer outings to local beaches - including Hampton and Rye beaches in New Hampshire and York beach in Maine. Sometimes their visits were connected to the sisters’ sales trips to sell fancywork and Shaker-made items to the affluent Worldly audience that frequented summer resort communities. Other times, a trip to the beach was arranged to help tired sisters recharge from their busy schedule of work responsibilities.

The historic photos taken by the Canterbury Shakers that we have in our museum collections give a very personal view of interactions between Shakers and non-Shakers in the early twentieth century. Today, we can appreciate the Shakers’ leisure activities and perhaps draw connections between the Shakers’ vacations and images from our own contemporary family albums.

Our mission is to preserve the 200-year legacy of the Canterbury Shakersand provide a place for learning, reflection and renewal of the human spirit.288 Shaker Road • Canterbury, NH 03224 • 603-783-9511 • www.shakers.org

EAST HOUSEThanks to generous donations from many members of the Village community, the refurnishing of the East House is almost complete. We do need a few more items to be ready to welcome our artists in residence the week of July 16. Please e-mail Susan Bennett if you can donate any of the following items: gently used twin mattresses and box springs; double bed frame; fans; lamps; towels; end tables; and a small Keurig coffee maker.

Sister Lucy Hunt with her biological sister, Leonora Hunt Cronin. In the twentieth century, most Shakers continued to have contact with their biological family members after joining the community. Outings and visits, such as this trip to the seashore, allowed the Hunt siblings to

remain involved in each other’s lives, even though Leonora Hunt Cronin had chosen to leave the Canterbury Shaker community.

By the early twentieth century, Shaker and Worldly fashion had completely diverged. The light-colored dresses and bonnets of the Shaker sisters stand in sharp contrast to the dark skirts and hats worn by the non-Shaker women. Perhaps surprisingly, the attire of the Shaker sisters

actually seems preferable to Worldly clothing for a hot day at the beach!