Meet the family powering NH’s craft fair scene

New Hampshire is home to some incredible craft fairs—but did you know one family is behind more than 20 of them? Since 1989, Castleberry Fairs & Festivals has been organizing events that celebrate handmade artistry and small businesses.

Ashley Mullen’s family has deep roots in the world of crafts. Her father, a stained glass artist, picked up the hobby again in 2020 and now sells handmade nightlights on Etsy and at indoor shows. Ashley herself started making and selling kettle corn—known as Cauldron Corn—back in 2015.

We caught up with Ashley to learn more about how her family turned their passion for handmade into a thriving series of craft festivals. Here’s our Q&A.

Granite Post: How did your family get involved in organizing these, and why did you want to start them?

Ashley Mullen: Before there was Castleberry Fairs, there was Castleberry Glass. My parents, Chris and Terry Mullen, were stained glass artisans. After attending too many poorly run events with little to no promotion, they believed they could do it better—and they did. That same drive continues today, as we work hard to make every event a success for both our artisans and our shoppers. We have a deep appreciation for the handmade tradition and are passionate about supporting a community of creative small businesses.

Granite Post: Did you start off with this many craft festivals? Or have they grown over the years?

Ashley Mullen: Our first fair was in 1989 at Alton Bay—I was about two years old! I spent summers there growing up, handing out welcome letters to our exhibitors and helping however I could. We lived in Farmington at the time, then Rochester, and now we’re based in Pembroke.

Over the years, we’ve tried many locations, always learning what works best for our exhibitors and our visitors. Alton Bay holds a special place in our hearts, and we continued hosting shows there until 2022. We loved the setting and the community, but the cost of maintaining a high-quality event there became too much to pass on to our exhibitors. Since we’ve never accepted corporate sponsors or outside advertising, we had to make the difficult decision to step away from Alton Bay.

Today, we host 21 events across New Hampshire, Massachussetts, and Vermont. All of our outdoor events are free to attend and feature a variety of handmade works. Many also include demonstrating artisans, live music, specialty foods, and a festive atmosphere that makes them a destination for families and weekend travelers alike.

Granite Post: It seems like there’s a lot that goes into planning these. What’s that process like?

Ashley Mullen: No kidding! As Morgan Housel says, “Every job looks easy when you’re not the one doing it.” There’s a lot more involved than just renting a venue and assigning spaces. From obtaining permits to coordinating logistics, updating the website, and contracting portable toilets and electricians—it’s a full production.

We build parking lots for some locations, work closely with fire departments for safety, and we even have an in-house sign shop in the basement! We’re licensed promoters and take advertising seriously, using a mix of print, digital media, and community outreach to make sure our exhibitors have great turnout.

We also offer complimentary coffee and snacks during setup—a small tradition we’ve kept since

1989 as a way to say thank you to our exhibitors. Every location is different, and so are its needs, but we do this full-time and take a lot of pride in it.

Granite Post: Around how many vendors are at each event?

Ashley Mullen: As my mother would say—we don’t have vendors, we have artisans.

Craft festivals at the Hampton Falls Town Common typically host around 75 exhibitors, while the Mill Falls Marketplace in Meredith has closer to 100 booths. Our largest event has about 250 exhibitors over Thanksgiving weekend in Wilmington, Massachusetts. We’re very transparent about who you’ll find at each event—we list exhibitors on our website for every show.

We also created our online directory in 2020 as a way to support our artisans when in-person events were on pause. We’ve never allowed sales reps, imports, or corporate sponsors—just handcrafted, small-batch artistry. Our mission is to create welcoming spaces where people can meet the makers and celebrate handmade.