The Newmarket town crier, Mike Ploski dressed in an 18th-century burgundy felt-garb, complete with a tri-corner hat, rings an iron bell three times.  “Hear ye. Hear ye,” he announces loudly to catch the attention of festival goers. In a nexus of past and present, he proclaims that the cars in the Post Office lot across the street will be towed if left there any longer.

Welcome to the eighth annual Newmarket Heritage Festival. Every third weekend in September, the town comes alive with a celebration of history, natural heritage, and international and local culture. The three-day event takes place at the doorsteps of the town’s symbolic mills, in the heart of the historic district.

Passing beneath the awning that designates the opening to the festival, visitors see rows of tents, set up against the threatening rain clouds above. The three main tents house a stage, a children’s arts and craft center, and a smaller stage for demonstrations and workshops. From the smaller stage comes the steady banging of drums, kept in check by regular shouting from the crowd.

The drummers of the Black Bear Moon Rhythm Ensemble sit in a crowded circle with festival visitors, every member of the circle holding a native African djembe or dunun drum between their knees. Young and old watch in interest as the members of Black Bear Ensemble and visitors play music from a continent away.

Director of the Black Bear Ensemble, Dave Kobrenski, who has been studying African music for eight years now, leads the drummers in beat. “This last note is what we affectionately call the “wump”… though that’s not a technical term,” he explains to the audience before beginning to drum. He slaps the drum three times with his right hand and three times with his left. The crowd follows in unison.

Vendors outside the set of main tents have begun cooking for the lunch crowd. From beneath the smaller tents comes the smell of Italian sausages, hot dogs, and burgers. Assistant Scoutmaster Sean Riley and the Boy Scouts of Newmarket Troop 200 have started grilling hotdogs and heating chili. This is their fourth fundraising appearance here, an event that typically provides money for troop supplies and outings. This year the Scouts are raising funds for a different cost, by donating 25 percent of what they earn to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. “I was worried with the rain that we wouldn’t sell anything,” says Rilley, though as the clouds began to burn off so did his concerns.

A short walk to the Lamprey River brings visitors to the artisan section of the festival. Under a tent, basket maker Robert Gelinas, beekeeper Dick Dionne, cooper Ron Raiselis, wildfowl carver Fred Dolan and potter Tim Christensen-Kirby ply their trade.

Dick Dionne of Hudson has been in the beekeeping business for 15 years. Samples of his work, including wax candles and honeycomb, stand on a display table next to a see-through container of bees. He explains that bee-keeping isn’t a moneymaking business, but he enjoys the work. “Is it a profitable business? No,” says Dionne. “You need a couple hundred hives to make a living doing this.”
Sitting at a potter’s wheel, Tim Christensen-Kirby, owner of the Muddy Bird Pottery in Milton, spins a vase into formation. Christensen-Kirby has been creating pottery for seven years and has been a demonstrator at the fair since its inception. His clay-stained hands smooth the edges of the vase with each rotation. “Kids really enjoy watching this,” Christensen-Kirby says, motioning to the clay. “They like watching the clay spin and the way it grows.”

In the basement of the Newmarket Community Church, other artisans have set up displays with everything from origami to wood engraving.  

R. P. Hale of Concord works at a printing press, which he says is “only” 150 years old. “I’ve had a lot of practice,” says Hale as he stencils “Newmarket Library” on a card. “I’m a sixth generation calligrapher. And a third generation wood engraver and printer.” His light-blue vest, white undershirt and britches look like they could have been stolen straight from Benjamin Franklin’s closest. “I make them myself,” Hale answers when inquired about his clothing. Perhaps better suited for the 18th century than the 21st, he also plays harpsichord, preferring Mexican and Hispanic Baroque pieces over Bach. He points to a printing he made of a Shakespearean sonnet (xxviii) using typeset. “It took me an hour to set that. That makes me appreciate word processors.”

The contra dance band, Old New England, sets up on stage under the main tent. A stage crew clears the dance floor so that Newmarket school children can perform the dances they learned earlier this week. Co-chair of the Newmarket Heritage Festival Suki Casanave is among the stage crewmembers. She’s impressed with the turnout, regardless of the weather, in her fourth year of co-coordinating the event. The festival typically takes the Newmarket Heritage Committee 10 months to put together and involves hundreds and hundreds of volunteer hours. Then the vendors, demonstrators, artisans, historical figures and visitors arrive, filling a space two blocks long and two centuries old.