WORKSHOP TENT
The festival’s second stage is in the Workshop Tent, where festival goers learn and often participate in traditions that can be demonstrated, learned, and enjoyed. New this year is a fencing demonstration with the Seacoast Fencing Club; an accordion presentation with veteran musician Sylvia Miskoe and her young apprentice Doug Brunson; and a sushi demonstration by Newmarket resident Samsong Tokuno, who works at the Japanese Sakura restaurant in Portsmouth.
Other featured workshop tent offerings include Newmarket’s own Laotian dancers; the Fiddling Thomsons, Ryan and son Brennish; a Chinese Yo-Yo workshop, the Extreme Air Jump Ropers, the Children’s Indian Folk Dancers; African Drumming Workshop, a Bollywod Dance Workshop,  and a Bagpipe Workshop.

WATERFRONT STAGE & STROLLING MUSIC
 The festival’s busy waterfront venue includes a Waterfront Stage featuring more great performers. New this year is a Local Artist Showcase spotlighting a rich mix of Seacoast talent, including Peg Chaffee and Cheryl Sager, Clayton Willoughby, Sylvan Roots. Ernest Whaley and Tom Hanlon, The Sidewalk Boys, Erin Robersaw, Sugar Shack Grass, and more! The festival’s Strolling Music can be heard on the festival trolley and along Main Street and features several new performers: New England Sound Quartet, the Mad Bavarian Brass Band, and the Webster Bagpipers.

ARTISAN TENT & CHILDREN’S TENT
This year’s Artisan Tent, funded in part by the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, includes artisans who love sharing their passion for the past: blacksmith Garry Kalajian, cooper Ron Raiselis, shaker Box Maker Michael French, wildfowl Carver Fred Dolan, windsor chair maker Peter Scheffer, and 18th-century printer R.P. Hale, who will be creating the sixth in a series of prints of historic buildings. Adjacent to the Artisan Tent, the festival Children’s Tent features try-it-yourself traditions for all ages: Chinese brush painting, crafts with yarn, pottery, printing, magnet fun, spinning, wood turning and woodworking, and a host of traditional tools for kids to try. Lamprey Health Care will also offer a Teddy Bear Clinic. A highlight of this year’s Children’s Tent is the 1000 Cranes Origami Project, a community art project that will create a beautiful gift with a message of healing and support for Bella Tucker, a young New Hampshire girl who is learning to move forward with her life after a quadruple amputation.


ACTIVITIES
The festival is packed with activities in each of its three venues (the main festival venue, the waterfront venue and downtown venue). Some require a small fee. The waterfront will feature the return of the Gundalow, which will be anchored throughout the festival weekend. Built in 1982, the Captain Edward H. Adams is a reproduction of an1880s gundalow. Try the sweeps, take the helm, use the old tools, explore below deck, and learn the lore of the great flat-bottomed vessels that once sailed the waters of the Piscataqua Region. The captain will set the sail hourly on the half hour, weather permitting. EMS will be on hand again this year with dozens of kayaks for short paddles on the Lamprey River. Short scenic boat rides will be offered by the Newmarket Conservation Commission. Other activities include fencing, juggling, and jump roping workshops; a classic Studebaker car exhibit; a model train display; a bungee bounce and climbing wall; farm animals; a bouncy house and roaming railroad for kids; historic tours; and more.

GREAT FOOD & CRAFT VENDORS
The festival features great community meals throughout the weekend: the Friday night Soup and Chowder Fest, the Saturday night Project Graduation Best Dessert of the Seacoast Bake-Off , the Sunday Extreme Air Brunch, and the Sunday night Community Church Harvest Supper. (These meals are fundraising events. Tickets are available on site, on a first-come, first-served basis, and all proceeds support local organizations. The festival also features dozens of high-quality vendors selling fine arts, crafts, gifts, and a smorgasobard of edible goodies.

HOURS AND ADMISSION
Hours: Friday, September 24, 5:30 pm  – 8 pm; Saturday, September 25, 10 am  – 9 pm; Sunday, September 26, 10 am  – 7 pm. Admission: It’s the best deal you’ll find anywhere: $7 for a weekend full of music and dance, arts and culture, history and community spirit (excluding meals and select activities); children under 12 are free.

LOCATION
The festival has three venues:

I) The Main Venue is located next to the Newmarket Library at the corner of Main Street (Route 108) and Elm St. The Main Tent, Workshop Tent, Artisan Tent, Children’s Tent, Craft Vendors, Book Sale (Library), and Roaming Railroad are located here.

II) The Waterfront Venue is located at the end of Water Street in Schanda Park and along the Lamprey River. The waterfront stage, kayaking, scenic boat tours, climbing wall and bungee bounce, juggling workshop, fencing workshop, jump rope workshop, Travelin’ Barnyard, and Classic Studebaker Cars are all located here.

III) The Downtown Venue includes several activities and locations: Model Trains (American Legion), Community Art Exhibit (Ampers& Studio), Harvest Supper (Community Church), Sidewalk Artists (Main Street), Veterans Exhibit (Bandstand), Newmarket Engine House, and the Stone School Museum.

Handicap Access: The festival site is handicap-accessible except for the second floor of the Stone School Museum, parts of the mill building, and the trolley.

PARKING & TROLLEY
Parking is available at the festival site, with overflow parking at the Newmarket Junior/Senior High School (213 S. Main St.). Please note: The Newmarket Main Street Corp. accepts no responsibility for illegally parked vehicles, which may be towed at the owner’s expense. A free festival trolley runs continuously on Saturday (9:30 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.) and Sunday (9:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m.) among all the festival venues and the parking areas.

SPONSORS
Produced by the Newmarket Main Street Corporation, the Heritage Festival is made possible thanks to the generous support of our sponsors: STARS: New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, New Hampshire State Council on the Arts. LEADERS: TD Bank, Town of Newmarket. PARNTERS: EMS, Gundalow Company, Loco Sports, Maple Suites, Liberty Mutual, Newmarket Business Association, Proulx, PSNH, Seacoast Energy Alternatives, 98.7FM The Bay 102.1FM The Shark. Thanks also to our manySupporters, Friends and Community Partners. 

Rooted in the diversity of Newmarket’s past and present, the mission of the Newmarket Heritage Festival is to bring people together for an enriching celebration of the arts, culture, history, and community spirit. The festival is produced by the Newmarket Main Street Corporation (NMSC), a nonprofit group dedicated to strengthening and revitalizing the historic and cultural characteristics of the community and to preserving the legacy of Newmarket for future generations.