Dulcimer Maker
Allan Batchelder

Blacksmith
Garry Kalajian

Cooper
Ron Raiselis

18th-Century Printer
R.P. Hale

Wildfowl Carver
Fred Dolan

Newmarket Mills
Original woodcut by R.P. Hale
Created for the Heritage Festival, 2009

For artisans who demonstrate their skills at the Heritage Festival, the past is very much present, and there’s nothing they like better than sharing their passion for tradition with festival-goers.

Artisans: The 2011 festival is no longer accepting applications for artisans. Interested in applying for the 2012 festival? Contact us at newmarketfest@yahoo.com.

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BLACKSMITH
Garry Kalajian operates Ararat Forge in Bradford, N.H., where he produces functional pieces based on both historic and original designs. The common denominator is the nearly exclusive use of traditional tools and techniques. more

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COOPER
Craftsmen who make wooden barrels are called “coopers,” a word probably derived from the Latin word for vat, cupa. In New England, coopers arrived with the first English settlers in the 1620s, and their craft was essential to commerce and daily life. The fishing industry used barrels for shipping pickled and dried fish. Farmers used them for storing grains, butter, and cider. Merchants used them for hardware and dried goods. The whaling industry used barrels to store tools, provisions, and, of course, whale oil. Ron Raiselis, a cooper at Strawbery Banke Musuem in Portsmouth, makes his living demonstrating the traditional art of barrel making. more

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DULCIMER MAKER
Allan Batchelder builds dulcimers, beautiful stringed instruments treasured for their delicate sound. From the Graeco-Roman for “sweet song,” the dulcimer is related to the harp and the piano. Allan makes two types of dulcimers: the trapezoid-shaped hammered dulcimer brought to Colonial America from Europe and played with felt-covered hammers, and the hourglass-shaped Appalachian dulcimer from the mountains of the southern United States. more

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18th-C. PRINTER
Wearing period costume, R. P. Hale demonstrates wood engraving and letterpress printing. On his 18th-century printing press, he creates original engravings of some of Newmarket’s historic buildings. Shown below: Newmarket Mills, original woodcut created by R.P. Hale for  the 2009 festival. more

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WILDFOWL CARVER
Fred Dolan grew up next door to a bird carver. During stints in construction, school teaching and family business, Fred pursued his own passion for carving, eventually turning his hobby into a full-time profession in 1989. Fred was among the New Hampshire craftspeople featured at the 1999 Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, DC. more