53rd Annual New Hampshire Antiques Show

If you love antiques, you don’t want to miss the 53^rd Annual New Hampshire Antiques Show. This antiques show is sponsored by New Hampshire Antiques Dealers Association (NHADA), managed by a dedicated team of volunteers and is considered “the best show of its kind in New England” by Maine Antique Digest. 

Exhibitors offer a wide range of antique furniture and accessories at the New Hampshire Antiques Show, such as clocks, folk art, textiles, glassware and more! Each exhibitor is a NHADA member, adhering to the highest standards of the antiques business, celebrating the long tradition of excellence in quality of merchandise, and committed to engaging with show customers to promote knowledge and good will. 

Dates/Times:

Thursday, August 12, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Friday, August 13, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Saturday, August 14, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. 

Location: 

The Center of New Hampshire Radisson Hotel 

 700 Elm Street, Manchester, New Hampshire 

Admission: Thursday, August 12: $15  

Friday, August 13 and Saturday, August 14: $10             

Free Admission to anyone under 30 with proper ID. Free return visits to the show after initial admission. 

For more information, call 603-625-1000 or visit the New Hampshire Antiques Dealers Association site. 

Photo credit: Djsuph.com.

A DIfferent Kind of Architecture

Summer has arrived  and that means the return of the Sand Sculpting Competition to Hampton Beach, New Hampshire!  Started 10 years ago when local Master Sculptor Greg Grady,  www. GregGrady.com , was commissioned by the U.S. Mint to create a sand replica of the newly released NH quarter for the Hampton Beach Children’s Festival, the competition is now the largest in the Northeast and an invitation-only event.  Competitors come from all over the world to compete for cash prizes and the opportunity to move on to the World Championships.

Sand and water are the only materials allowed in the competition and each contestant is given 10 tons of sand.  Compressing the sand and water by pounding it into forms helps keep it together.  The height of the pieces is achieved by packing sand into wooden or plastic forms, carving the sculpture from the top down and removing each form one at a time.  The event is timed and each of the competitors, working alone, is allowed 21 hours over three days to complete their project.  After the sculpture is completed, it is sprayed with a bio-degradable mixture of glue and water to keep it from blowing away before the judging.

This year’s event, running from June 19 – 30,  features 14 world class Master Sand Sculptors who work together on a 200 ton sponsor sculpture before beginning the Master Solo Competition on June 25th. Follow progress of the sculptors with the live beach camera at www.hamptonbeach.org and weigh in for your favorite piece on Saturday, June 26th from 1-4 pm during voting for the  People’s Choice Award.

Regeneration Park Comes To Town

Portsmouth, New Hampshire will soon have its first Zero Energy Building (ZEB), Regeneration Park, a commercial building whose goal is to consume zero net energy and emit zero net carbon.  This ambitious project has been conceived by Andrew Kellar, founder and owner of Simply Green Biofuels, and when completed, will be an eco-friendly home to like-minded businesses.

Working with Andrew Kellar on the project is Shannon Alther, AIA, principal with TMS Architects, who is excited about the opportunity presented by the project to turn a tired old car dealership into a 21st century multi-use building that will exceed today’s environmental standards.

Even the name of the building, Regeneration Park, grew out of a commitment to reuse as much material from the building as possible.  The contractor on the job estimates that approximately 90% of the material by volume has been recycled or reused.  Most of the activity has been taking place inside the building at the moment as the goal is to have it move-in ready by September, but eventually the front facade will be transformed with tilting windows, solar panels and landscaped grounds befitting the ecological goals of the project.