Calendar of Classes & Events
Chase’s Mill serves as a workshop for hands-on learning and a community gathering space. Every year from mid-June through September, we offer woodworking and craft workshops, lectures of local interest, hikes, and family-friendly events.
Browse our schedule below to learn more and sign up—or jump directly to one of the following topics:
Financial Assistance
Workshops & Classes
Lectures & Presentations
Social Events, Walks, & Field Trips
Community Woodworking Shop Events
Safety Policies
Calendar of Events (monthly view)
All Upcoming Events (list view)
Financial Assistance
Discounts and fee waivers are available for all classes and workshops at Chase's Mill. You will find instructions and details when you register for a class.
If you have questions or have trouble with the registration form, please contact us.
Lectures & Presentations
From historical talks to participatory storytelling events and story slams
All our lectures and presentations are done for the 2025 season. Check back next spring for more!
Safety Policies
Please be sure to review our safety policies, as well as our visitor/participant releases. All woodshop or craft class participants will be required to adhere to these polices and to sign a release form prior to participation in those activities.
Calendar
Classes and events take place each year from mid-June through September. Scroll through the calendar to view upcoming events, or view a list of all upcoming events below the calendar.
All Upcoming Events
Poetry Circle
With: Patience Stoddard
Event Fee: By donation
Event Size: 50 / Family friendly
Bring a favorite poem or two to share. Could be original or a long-time favorite. We will meet in the community room. Cookies and tea provided.
Patience Stoddard is a mostly-retired Unitarian Universalist minister and a lover of poetry. Over the years she has led gatherings of poetry sharing in services and other venues.
A Trip to the Community Garden at Orchard Hill
With: Ann Acheson
Trip Fee: by donation
Trip Size: 10 / all ages
Don your gardening gear! For this field trip we will be visiting the community garden at Orchard Hill. This garden is tended by 15+ local families who come together once a week to grow fall storage crops.
We will be in the garden from 10 to noon getting our hands in the soil, learning about cover crops, and having any questions answered that might arise. At noon we will stop and have lunch together, at which time we will hear the origin story and intentions of fostering a community of wellness through this garden expression.
We will meet at the Center at Orchard Hill, 114 Old Settlers Rd, Alstead. Lunch is provided.
Ann Acheson not only fosters community at Chase's Mill as a MHHA board steward, she also participates in tending the community garden at Orchard Hill.
Book Swap at the Library
With: Alyson Montgomery and Kathy Torrey
Adults only
Come gather with community members at the Shedd-Porter Memorial Library in Alstead for a fun evening to talk about our favorite books, share recommendations, and celebrate reading! We will also swap books, so bring a few to trade, if you like! Enjoy the beautiful library, the company of fellow book lovers, and a chance to refresh your collection. Please take home unclaimed books.
Alyson Montgomery, as the Director of Shedd-Porter, can't wait to welcome the Chase's Mill community to the library! She looks forward to sharing her love of books and reading with you!
Kathy Torrey is a library trustee and a co-chair of the Mill Programs Team. Books and community gatherings are lifelong interests of hers.
Field Trip to Alstead Historical Society
With: Ann Acheson
Trip Fee: donations may be made at the Alstead Historical Society
Trip Size: 10 / all ages
Step back in time with us as we visit the Alstead Historical Museum. The Alstead Historical Society operates out of a restored 19th-century church. The museum houses a wide range of exhibits, including collections of furniture, textiles, tools, and other everyday objects from the town's past. The upper floor is set up to replicate life in Alstead in the 18th and 19th centuries which gives you a sense of how folks lived in this community.
There is direct access to the second floor for those with the inablility to climb stairs.
We will meet at 9:30 am at the museum in Alstead Village. The address is 16 Pleasant Street. Parking is available on Bragg Lane.
Ann Acheson enjoys going on field trips! She currently serves on the Mill Hollow Heritage Association's Board of Trustees.
A Nature Walk with Michael Nerrie at Distant Hill
With: Michael Nerrie
Walk Fee: By donation
Walk Size: 15 / all ages
Join Michael for a guided exploration of Distant Hill Nature Trail as he shares his knowlegde and passion for this peice of land that he and his partner have been in relationship with for many years. The walk is about a mile on smooth, gently sloped gravel trails, that are suitable for wheelchairs or strollers.No special footwear or gear is required.
We will meet and park at the Distant Hill Nature Trail pavilion at 66 March Hill Road, Alstead, NH.
Michael Nerrie is the designer, builder, and resident naturalist at Distant Hill Gardens and Nature Trail, a non-profit environmental and horticultural learning center he started in 2019, located on a 155-acre property in Walpole and Alstead, NH.
Watershed Walkabout
With: Jeff Schadler
Walk Fee: By donation/ registration encouraged
Walk Size: 12-14 / Appropriate for children 8+ with accompanying adult
Following a whole tree harvest in 1998, Jeff has owned and worked on rehabilitating this 270 acre parcel. It comprises a majority of the second largest watershed that feeds Lake Warren. The terrain stretches from hilltop to wetland and includes an active beaver pond, numerous wetlands, glacial features, stone walls, views of Lake Warren/Green Mountains and an emergent forest. This walk will afford participants an opportunity to enjoy the many facets of a New England forest.
This is a 2-3 mile hike that is moderate to strenuous. There are elevation gains. Hiking shoes are suggested. Park and meet at 77 Peachblow Road in East Alstead. Insect repellent is a good idea. Water is optional.
Jeff Schadler has worked as a land manager, carpenter, and landscaper. He and his wife Koo have owned property and resided in Alstead for 26 years.
Solstice Singing Circle
With: Patience Stoddard and Kathy Torrey
Event Fee: by donation
Family friendly
Gather at the Mill to share songs and sing together. We'll have a number of song books and simple songs and rounds to share. If you can, bring along a song to teach, and/or an instrument. Cookies and teas provided.
Kathy Torrey is a singer and musician has spent much of her life learning and teaching traditional songs for all ages.
Patience Stoddard is a lifelong member of choirs and a retired minister who will bring some sacred songs to share.
Social Events, Walks, & Field Trips
Join others to explore history and nature, share songs and poetry, and visit nearby sites like the library and the historical society.