2026 Spring Shaker Forum

April 17 – 19, 2026

Join us for an engaging weekend devoted to Shaker history and culture. The 2026 Spring Shaker Forum includes presentations by Shaker scholars, special activities, lodging and meals in the Great Stone Dwelling, and networking with colleagues and friends.

We are honored to announce that Brother Arnold Hadd of the Sabbathday Lake Shaker community will be the keynote speaker at this year’s forum.  His subject will be Mother Ann Lee.  He will reflect on the centrality of her vision and teachings for Shakers past, present and future.  Brother Arnold will speak at 7 pm on Friday, April 17, 2026.

On Saturday evening, April 18th New York choreographer Reggie Wilson will discuss the impact of sacred movement traditions on his work. He is nationally and internationally recognized for creating dances that draw on the varied histories and spiritual practices of Africa and its diaspora. His piece, POWER reflects both African American and Shaker sacred dance, and was inspired, in part, by the Philadelphia Shaker community led by Sister Rebecca Jackson. 

Other presenters include:

Jerry Brewington – “Beautiful Objects – 100 Years of Shaker Museum Exhibits”

Fran Kramer – “Discovering Groveland and Sodus, New York Shaker Villages”

Dr. Carol Medlicott – “Seeking Clarity on the Houstons of the Shaker West”

Stephen Paterwic – “The Old Didn’t Need It, the Young Didn’t Heed It; Who Took the Inspired Messages of the New Era to Heart”

Ned Quist – “The Harvard Shakers and Their Cultural Landscape”

Ann Sayers – “Where Did They Go? Where, How , and Why ex-Shakers Found Their Way Forward After Departing from Their Believer Friends”

Becky Soules – “Too Much Kentuckians – The Dissolution of Pleasant Hill, 1910 – 1923”

Dr. Douglas Winiarski – “Introducing Mother Ann Lee”

The full schedule of events and programs will be forwarded to registered participants.

Please register for the 2026 Spring Shaker Forum by April 13, 2026.

To register print the attached 2026 Shaker Forum Registration and mail it to:

Enfield Shaker Museum

447 NH Rte 4A

Enfield, NH 03748 

or return it by email to:

education@shakermuseum.org 

To register by phone, call 603-632-4346   Monday – Friday 10 am – 5 pm.