An event I look forward to every summer is the League of New Hampshire Craftman’s annual fair held in Sunapee, New Hampshire. At the foothills of Sunapee’s ski mountain, a number of huge white tents are set up and within is every form of fine art, craft, and beautiful skilled art work you can imagine: Photography, painting, etching, ceramics, pottery, knitting, felting, weaving, jewelry, wood crafts, rock sculpture, and more!
Every summer growing up, my mom would take my sister and I to the Sunapee Craft’s Fair. We were each allowed to pick out one little thing to buy; a tiny carved and painted wooden goose, a stained glass sun-catcher, a pewter stegosaurus, a small raku pot in the “seconds” bin for 20 dollars. I still treasure these things. I’m thankful my mom introduced us to artisan made crafts at such young ages! Though I don’t get up to crafts fair every single year anymore, I still hold such a place of fondness for this fair in my heart. From here forward I will try not to miss it (I even drove up by myself just for the afternoon last August!). There are new things to see every summer! Many of the artisans put on live demonstrations. I personally loved watching Richard Foye’s raku pottery demonstration this past year. The colors he gets on his finished pots are so beautiful!
I’ve also always admired the carved wooden spoons. Two years ago, I finally got one! I am sad to say I cannot remember this artist’s name, but he was kind enough to show me the tools he uses to carve spoons and recommended ones for home carving. Another fun thing to do is take a ride up and down the chair lift to see the beautiful mountain view! You can buy tickets to do this in the lodge. I’ve only done that a couple times, but it is a stunning view – just don’t do it if you’re afraid of heights 🙂
There is a sculpture garden, fairy houses, a trout pond, a children’s tent, lots of yummy food. Really, something for everyone. The dates for this year’s Fair listed on the League of New Hampshire Craftsman’s Website are:
August 3rd to August 11th 2019 from 10 AM to 5 PM daily
As a random aside, I discovered a sweet little farm shop on the way home from the Fair last year ~ the Sweet Beet Market at 11 West Main Street in Bradford, NH. It’s a nice place to stop for a snack for the road or to get your week’s produce. I just thought it was super cute. A perk of driving home on back roads! You never know what you will discover.
As if there wasn’t enough to look forward to this summer 🙂
Callista Dreaming 