MANCHESTER, NH – The New Hampshire Preservation Alliance will hold its Old House and Barn Expo, a two-day, one-location event for the first time since it was canceled in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year’s expo is Saturday, March 16, and Sunday, March 17, at Saint Anselm College.
The March 2020 expo was postponed, and then canceled, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the years since, NH Preservation held On the Road events, but not a full two-day expo.
“The Preservation Alliance loves offering this event as a special opportunity for attendees to gather practical information, new referrals and a dose of inspiration in one place,” said Jennifer Goodwin, executive director. She said that anyone from long-time old house owners, first-time homebuyers, or people who just love traditional crafts or old barns will enjoy the event, which includes exhibitors, hands-on demonstrations and hourly talks.
“The event is part of our ongoing efforts to help increase investment in historic places, enhance understanding of preservation’s strategies and benefits, and efforts to strengthen the preservation movement,” Goodwin said.
Talks include “Notre Dame de Paris: The Journey to Rebuild the Spire,” with Jackson DuBois, Timber Framers Guild, and two by Elizabeth and Ethan Finkelstein, founders of the Discover+ TV show “Cheap Old Houses.”
Other talk topics include woodworking, landscaping, insulation and air sealing, old barns, stone foundation repair, putting a new kitchen in an old home, energy efficiency, easements, insurance issues, and more.
Attendees can schedule a one-hour session with an “old house doctor” to get advice on an upcoming project.
There will also be a family-friendly expo scavenger hunt, as well as opportunities to observe and try building crafts.
The expo will also feature a campus tour highlighting the architectural and adaptive reuse of Saint Anselm’s Chapel Art Center and The Gregory J. Grappone Humanities Institute, and another of the Saint Anselm Abbey Church.
For schedule details, ticket and registration information, visit NH Preservation Alliance. The alliance also welcomes volunteers for the event. Volunteers get free admission to the expo.
The expo is one of many events the NH Preservation Alliance hosts throughout the year. Others are field services for property owners and community leaders, policy work to expand the preservation “toolbox,” and other educational offerings like workshops and its Seven to Save list.
