As libertarians affiliated with the Free State Project gather at an annual conference in Concord this weekend, the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center finds itself as the epicenter of a controversy about an event scheduled on the premises.
The private “Free State Saturday” party at the Discovery Center is separate from the three-day New Hampshire Liberty Forum 2026 taking place at the nearby Grappone Center. Melissa Edwards, executive director of the Discovery Center, fielded questions from people curious about why a nonprofit dedicated to science education would host a group that supports little-to-no funding for public schools.
She told the Monitor that the nonprofit does not endorse the political views of any groups that privately rent its facility.
“These values of this organization don’t represent us. This is not who we are,” she said.
The nonprofit had agreed to rent their facility to “a group that presented itself as a civic organization.”
“Upon further review, it became clear that the nature and purpose of the event were not what we understood them to be at the time of booking,” Edwards said in a statement last week. “While we strive to rent only to groups whose activities align with our educational mission and community values, we are legally bound by an executed rental agreement and cannot cancel the event.”
The nonprofit hosts hundreds of bookings a year with many different organizations. Staff reviewed the inquiry for the March 7 event as they would for any other event, according to Edwards.
“It was very clearly asked, ‘Is this a political group?’ And they said, ‘No, it’s just a social gathering.’ And so we basically just went forward with that being the expectation that it’s just going to be a social gathering and nothing political,” she said.
The proceeds that the Discovery Center receives from the event will be donated, Edwards said, although she did not specify to which organization.
The NH Free State Project is hosting the larger Liberty Forum from Thursday through Sunday, featuring panels on libertarian ideology, including the concept of creating a society with little or no government action. Executive Director Eric Brakey clarified that his organization is not organizing the event at the Discovery Center.
“I think they were thinking, you know, so many people who are proponents of liberty are coming to New Hampshire for this event. It seems like they were trying to put on a side event where they could to invite people out to as well, but it’s not something that our organization, the Free State Project, has any connection to,” he said.
A group called Free State Party submitted the rental application, Edwards said. On the form, the group stated that their intention was to hold a private event “purely a social event for conference attendees. No political advocacy of any kind,” according to Edwards.
Well-known Free Stater Jeremy Kauffman promoted the event last week on the social media platform X.
The Monitor reached out to Kauffman, who said he would answer written questions. The Monitor asked him to participate in a phone interview, which he declined.
He offered the following statement instead: “Monitor journalists are dishonest propagandists who waste their time trying to trick boomers into opposing liberty in the Free State of New Hampshire. We encourage left-wing journalists to leave for the socialist pastures of nearby states, and Monitor readers to instead embrace the open exchange of ideas on X.”
Unable to break the contract for Saturday’s event, Edwards said the Discovery Center has pledged to refine its rental contracts in the future to avoid situations like this going forward.
“We appreciate the support and understanding of our community and remain dedicated to providing a welcoming, educational and respectful space for all,” Edwards shared in her community statement.