Pelham Old Home Day 2025

Is Coming to Town

Saturday September 13th 2025

About Our Old Home Day!

Pelham's Old Home Day is a gracious response to the request of the Governor of the state of New Hampshire in 1899 who asked for a statewide celebration of Old Home Days. The first Old Home Day was celebrated in Pelham on August 18, 1906. August was the best time because the farming communities were between harvests. Farmers were not known for having summer vacations. Pelham was championing its place on the new Electric Railroad System between the points of Lowell, Massachusetts and Canobie Lake/Salem, New Hampshire. Wednesday was an excellent day for this event! Businesses closed in Lowell for the afternoon and their day in the country benefited the people of Pelham. The first celebration in 1906 reunited the Greeley Singers. A souvenir book with ads and pictures was available. It was a time of speeches and a dinner at the Pilgrim Hall sponsored by the ladies of the Congregational Church. Several years later a parade and sporting events were added to the venue. The Lowell Symphonic Orchestra would come to play in the evening at 6 p.m. Mrs. Bigelow, choir director at First Congregational, was instrumental in bringing the Lowell Symphony to Pelham.

Some people still fondly recall those summer celebrations. People had a good time just visiting. By 1931, Old Home Day was sponsored by the Pelham First Congregational Church. This fundraiser helped to meet church expenses. The Ladies Aid Society would make aprons and pot holders which would sell for a few pennies each. May Smith was known for buying enough aprons to keep herself for a year. A doll carriage parade, baby shows, fashion shows, plus talent and dance became a part of the program. A bake table provided cuisine fresh from the oven. Tug of wars and baseball games would not only provide entertainment but also be wonderful means of endearment and encouragement.

Vendors

Vendor Information

Time: 9:00 am until 4:30 pm

A very popular event at Old Home Day is the Crafter and Vendor Fair. Each year we attract over 90 crafters and organizations from right here in our Southern NH community.

Crafters provide a wide variety of beautifully crafted items, from handmade baskets, pottery, quilts, knitted items, photographs, custom jewelry, wooden cutting boards, signs, and custom cornhole boards, handmade candles and lotions, wreaths and décor and more! You will find delicious home-baked goods, candy, popcorn, cake-pops and ice cream!

Home shopping vendors round out the participants by providing items from Scentsy, LuLaRoe, Tastefully Simple and others. Local businesses offering health services and information are happy to provide you with information.

Non-profit community and civic organizations will also be present in our Community Corner to discuss services they have available. Join us, come visit the crafters and businesses to learn about the products and opportunities they have available.

Interested in participating in the Craft and Vendor Fair?

Applications are now being accepted from individuals interested in participating as a crafter or vendor in the 2025 Pelham Old Home Day Celebration. Spots are filled on a first come first serve basis. Please make your reservation as soon as possible. We sold out of spaces in 2023 and 2024!

**Non-profit organizations are welcome to join us in our Community Corner.

REMINDER:
We do not provide tables, tarps, chairs or tents.
No electrical hookups are available
Tents must be secured without the use of stakes

Attention: Applicants with Branded Merchandise

Please e-mail marieohd@gmail.com if you have a branded product such as LuLaRoe, Tastefully Simple, Arbonne, Usborne etc.
We only allow one vendor who sells branded merchandise to sell at the event.

Reservation form for 2025

You must complete payment in order for the application to be accepted.

Mail your reservation form with payment to:

First Congregational Church, UCC

Old Home Day Reservations

3 Main Street

Pelham, NH 03076

First Congregational Church of Pelham Office 603-635-7025 uccpelham@gmail.com

For vendor space reservation questions, email Marie marieohd@gmail.com

Vendor Space Fees:

Standard Crafter Space $125

Prime Crafter Space $150

Standard Business Space $150

Prime Business Space $175

Non-profit Standard Space $50

Non-profit Prime Space $85 - SOLD OUT!

Thank you all so very much for your support!

Contact

All The Fun In One Old Home Day!

Activities

2025 Schedule of Events

7:00 - 9:00 - Breakfast of pancakes and sausage will be served in the Church Fellowship Hall

9:00 - Opening Prayer

Congregational Church Choir singing the National Anthem

Crafts & Goods vendor booths open

White Elephant yard sale opens

9:15 - Kevin Preval Band

Victor Spaulding Memorial Auction begins

Penny Sale raffle opens

9:30 - Food trucks open

Kids’ games open

10:00 - 5K Road Race & Walk

10:30 - O’Halloran Step Dancers performance

11:00 - Hudson American Legion Band performance

Touch-A-Trucks line-up opens

12:00 - Dance Concepts

1:00 - New Liberty Jazz Band

2:30 - Grand Parade ~ Floats, Bands, Classic Cars, Horses, and more

3:00 - Everlasting Characters

3:15 - Windham Community Band

4:00 - Penny Sale raffle winners drawn and announced

5:00 - Quilt Raffle winners drawn and announced

Crafts & Goods vendors close

Food trucks close

Breakfast
A full breakfast of pancakes (plain or blueberry), bacon, or sausage (no eggs) and coffee or orange juice will be served in the Church Fellowship Hall from 7-10 a.m.

Adults $8.00 - Children 8 & under $5.00

The Craft Fair
Dozens of craft and vendor booths in the churchyard.

The Victor Spaulding Memorial Auction
Something old, Something new, Something here is right for you. Bargains abound all day at the Old Home Day Auction. Credit Cards Accepted.

We do not accept checks.

The Old Home Day 5K Race & Walk
A five kilometer road race and a 2.5 mile fun walk through beautiful Pelham, NH. Proceeds benefit the Sean K. Paradis (SKP) Memorial Scholarship Fund

Road Race Registration

The White Elephant Sale
More bargains than you can shake a stick at. Hey! How much for that stick? Unsold items are donated to charitable organizations including the Lowell Wish Project, and The Epilepsy Foundation New England Donation Center after Old Home Day.

The Penny Sale
Winners drawn at 4pm.

Come and buy raffle tickets and place your bets on over beautifully created gift baskets.

The Grand Parade
Community and school groups, teams, scouts, cheerleaders, music groups, horses, politicians, classic cars, tractors, and church groups. The parade begins at the Pelham Elementary School, follows Marsh Road toward the Village Green and ends on Main Street passing in front of the First Congregational Church.

The Old Home Day Quilt Raffles

2025 Vendors

Coming Soon!

Auction

If you have nice items that would command good prices at our auction, please contact us at ohdpelhamnh@gmail.com or call (603) 635-7025. We might be able to arrange pickup.

Begins about 9:30 am.

The Victor Spaulding Memorial Auction is so named to honor our past auctioneer, a treasured friend whose life with us was cut short just two months after Pelham Old Home Day in 1996. Many people of Pelham remember Victor as an active and prominent member of our community as well as the “Old Home Day Auctioneer”.

You won’t just find a little of everything, you’ll find a lot of everything and something for everyone. Expensive and cheap; big and small; old and new; treasures and trinkets; you name it, you’re likely to see it at the Old Home Day Auction. Yes we’ve even auctioned off the kitchen sink. We suggest you bring a big empty truck for all the “stuff” you’ll want to bring home.

Do you have anything you’ve been wanting to get rid of, like that stuff cluttering up the basement, or how about that old bike in the shed, or those golf clubs you retired after that dreadful round you played in 1982? Remember years ago when you could actually park your car in the garage? Me either, but Old Home Day can help! We are looking for good stuff that you don’t want or don’t need anymore that you are willing to donate to the auction. This is a tax deductible charitable contribution folks so make it a win-win situation. Help us support the missions of the Church and help yourself with a tax deduction, and other more heartfelt rewards of course. May the spirit of giving flourish forever.

We do not accept TVs, exercise equipment, broken appliances, computers, or monitors, hazardous materials, entertainment centers or worn upholstered furniture.

We accept cash or credit cards, no checks

Kids Events

New This Year!

Inflatable Obstacle Courses

Face Painting

Pony Rides

Petting Zoo

Quilt Raffle

Food Trucks

2025 Food Vendors Coming Soon!

Come join the parade!

Community and school groups, teams, scouts, cheerleaders, music groups, horses, politicians, classic cars, tractors, and church groups are all welcome.

Please don't just show up!

Email parade chairman Tom Seniow tomseniow42@gmail.com , and he will send you complete information about the parade.

We'd love to have you! Thank you.

Road Closures & Parking

Parking available at St. Patrick's Church & Lyons Park/Sherburne Hall
Handicapped Accessible Parking Available Meetinghouse Way

2024 Sponsors

Diamond Sponsor
Woody's Automotive

Platinum Sponsors
Enterprise Bank
Pappathon Insurance
Manny's Roofing
Herb and Martha Currier Music Foundation
RGA Tire & Towing
Bits & Pieces Quilt Shoppe
Titus Plomartis

Gold Sponsor
Grand Rental

Silver Sponsor
Pelham VFW
Pelham Funeral Home
LaFrance Septic Service

Bronze Sponsors
LulaRoe
Breault Law
St Patrick Church
Council on Aging
Pelham Healthcare
Pelham Police Relief