July 2020
Members’ Talk: Comfort Underfoot
In celebration of Members’ Week join cultural historian Shirley Wajda for a Members-only talk about rugs, floor cloths, and carpets. How did the Shakers make and use the decorative and useful textiles that cushion and hush humans’ steps? We will explore examples from the Museum’s collection. Due to social distancing…
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Members’ Tour: Shapes of a Shaker Village
In celebration of Members’ Week join us for an exclusive Members-only outdoor Shapes of a Shaker Village tour. Led by Education Coordinator Kyle Sandler this guided walk will focus on how the Enfield Shakers developed their built environment from 1793 to 1923 to best serve the unique needs of a…
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Members’ Tour: What’s New at the Museum?
The winter months allow us to work on spaces that are occupied by museum programs and events for much of the season, and this year’s extended closure has given us even more time to complete some exciting restoration projects. Join Curator Michael O'Connor to learn about on-going projects throughout the…
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Shaker Chair Seat Weaving
In all the Shaker communities, fabric tape was preferred over rush or wood splint. It is longer lasting and is simple to weave. Any chair seat with rails on all four sides can be woven with tape. Choose from our wide variety of chair tape colors. Please bring scissors and…
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Tuesday Tour: Historic Preservation Tour
1:00 pm Note: Due to the limited number of spaces available because of social distancing guidance, advance registration is required. Please register online below or call the Museum at (603) 632-4346. Historic Preservation is an essential part of the work of Enfield Shaker Museum. This special tour will focus on…
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Museum Guided Tours: Week of July 16-19
11:00 am, 1:00 pm, and 3:00 pm Join one of our dedicated Museum interpreters for a guided tour of the Great Stone Dwelling and Museum grounds. Due to social distancing requirements, tours are open to nine participants by advance registration only. Members please enter the coupon code on your membership…
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Berries from the Garden: Jam Making Workshop
Come spend time with friends and neighbors and go home with decadent, sparkling jam! Use plump, organic berries from the Museum’s gardens to make jars full of preserves. We will talk about acid/pectic mixtures, commercial pectins, and natural pectins. Learn the secrets of creating jam, preserves, jelly, and conserves. We…
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Thursday Things: Chairs
3:00 pm Note: Due to the limited number of spaces available because of social distancing guidance, advance registration is required. Please register online below or call the Museum at (603) 632-4346. Every thing has a history! How were Chairs made in the 19th century? How did they symbolize status and wealth? …
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Beginner and Intermediate Oval Box Making
Friday, 6:00 - 10:00 pm and Saturday, 8:30 am - 4:00 pm Learn to create your own cherry Shaker oval boxes with Eric Pintar of the Home Shop. The Home Shop under the leadership of John Wilson, has been teaching the craft of Shaker oval box making for more than…
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Wood Finishing Basics
You can achieve good wood finishing results with very few tools and materials. Gary Wood will share some tricks-of-the-trade he has discovered in his 40+ years as a furniture conservator. Learn about the most commonly used finishes including varnish, shellac, and oil. With special attention to surface preparation, conservation of…
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Tuesday Tour: A Hervey Elkins’ Tour of the Enfield Shaker Site
Hervey Elkins’ Fifteen Years in the Senior Order of the Shakers (1853) remains one of the most important sources of what life was like for the Enfield Shakers in the mid-19th century. This tour will focus on his descriptions of various aspects of life in the community including the decor of…
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Knife Making for Beginners
Friday - Sunday, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm Have you ever wanted to learn how to make your own knife? Join metalsmith and artist Skip Cady for an introductory workshop on the art of knifemaking. Participants will learn a variety of metalsmithing skills including design, rough cutting, heat treating, and…
Find out more »August 2020
Outdoor Exploration Camp for Ages 9-13
9:00 am - 4:00 pm Under the guidance of local science teachers, students will get to explore the environment of the Upper Valley through the lens of environmental studies. Locations on and off the grounds of Enfield Shaker Museum will allow participants to explore a wide array of sciences including…
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Garden Stroll
11:00 am Join Museum Herbalist emerita Happy Griffiths on a Shaker Herb Garden Stroll. Enjoy the herbs at their seasonal best, bring your own questions about growing and harvesting herbs. Cost: Included with Museum admission.
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Thursday Things: Portraits
3:00 pm Every thing has a history! Portraits are visual biographies in paint, pastel, on paper, and by camera. Once the privilege of nobility, portraits tell us a lot about individualism, social roles, relationships and power, clothing, and everyday life. Cultural historian Shirley Wajda explores portraiture in American and Shaker…
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Tuesday Tour: Eldresses and Trustees: The Legacy of Women Leaders in the Enfield Community
1:00 pm In commemoration of the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment granting women the right to vote, this tour will focus on the role women played in Enfield. Did the Shakers truly believe in equality of the sexes? If so, how did they interpret this belief in the context of…
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Pickles!
Have you ever wanted to learn about pickling? Join Museum Garden Coordinator Diana Kimball-Anderson for a workshop on the basics of pickles. Participants will use herbs and vegetables from the Museum gardens to create traditional favorites. Everyone will take home jars of freshly made pickles and recipes to use at…
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Medicinal Herb Gardening
Museum herbalist emerita Happy Griffiths shares her expertise on the medicinal properties of herbs. Begin with a walk through the Museum’s herb garden and then discuss 10 herbs in depth. Learn to prepare herbs for their medicinal benefit: teas, tinctures, poultices and oils. Finally, you will make an herbal salve…
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Thursday Things: Table
3:00 pm Every thing has a history! Take a seat at the proverbial Table as cultural historian Shirley Wajda discusses the construction, uses, and social and cultural meanings of this useful and versatile furniture form. Explore how Americans learned to behave around tables and view the Museum’s spectacular original dining…
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2020 Shaker Forum
Join the Museum for an engaging annual weekend devoted to Shaker History and Culture. There will be presentations by Shaker scholars, special activities, lodging and meals in the Great Stone Dwelling, and networking with colleagues and friends. For a full list of our price and packages, please click below: 2020_Spring…
Find out more »September 2020
Wednesday Walk: Wild and Heirloom Apples
1:00 pm Today, a handful of apples are grown in large quantities, but in the 19th-c. hundreds of heirloom varietals were grown. Join us as we explore the Shaker woods looking for wild and heirloom Apples. We will discuss the history of this popular fruit and the varieties grown by…
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Tuesday Tour: Enfield Shaker Architecture
1:00 pm The Shakers are widely known for their architecture. The large dwelling houses, meeting houses, workshops, and barns they built are synonymous with Shaker design and represent the principles of communal living. Discuss the history, influences, and designs of Shaker buildings through the lens of the Enfield community. Please…
Find out more »Preservation Timber Framing
Friday, 12:00-5:00 pm and Saturday, 9:00 am-5:00 pm Join local timber framer Tim Baker for the beginning of a multi-year project to build a reproduction Shaker garden shed from start to finish. Learn timber framing fundamentals while you try your hand at building layout, cutting mortise-and-tenon joints and carving wooden…
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Shaker Harvest Festival
Fun for the whole family! Children can press their own cider, make a fairy house, or search for pennies in a haystack. Tour the village in a horse drawn wagon, enjoy live traditional music, try your hand at spinning, rug hooking, ice cream making, butter churning and other traditional skills. …
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Thursday Things: Needlecraft
3:00 pm Every thing has a history! Sewing. Knitting. Mending. How did making clothing define American women’s lives in the 19th century? What were the basic tools used in a woman’s sewing bag, table, or desk? Join cultural historian Shirley Wajda as she stitches together the history of Needlecraft. We…
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Turkey Wing Whisk Broom
The Enfield Shakers produced as many as 24,000 brooms per year by hand. Join our resident broom squire Larry Antonuk for an introductory class on whisk brooms. Learn the basics while producing a mini whisk broom, then move on to the more challenging turkey wing whisk broom.
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Tuesday Tour: Enfield Church Family Barns
1:00 pm Join us for a tour of the remaining Enfield Shaker Church Family Barns. Start in the 1854 Cow Barn with a discussion of this barn as a classic example of the traditional Shaker great barn, in fact it is the only extant wooden Shaker great barn. Then head…
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Thursday Things: The New England Kitchen
3:00 pm The smell of cooking, one historian wrote could evoke a whole civilization. The New England Kitchen with its open hearth, iron pots, and cranes, was a place of creation and conviviality, of smells both pleasant and putrid. As cooking stoves replaced hearths in the 19th century, the term…
Find out more »Furniture Restoration
Gary Wood has been professionally restoring furniture for more than 40 years and has a wealth of knowledge to share, in this workshop you will practice re-gluing, basic repairs, and replacements needed before finishing. Explore techniques of color matching and refinishing. Learn about the materials and techniques used throughout history,…
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