EAST POULTNEY DAY CELEBRATES 250 YEARS OF ENDURING AND RENEWING TRADITIONS

East Poultney Day, a celebration of Poultney’s rich history, is the premier event of the Poultney Historical Society. Always held on the second Saturday in August, this year’s fair will be on August 13, 2011 from 9 AM to 4 PM on the East Poultney Green.

East Poultney Day this year celebrates the 250^th anniversary of Poultney’s founding in 1761, and it’s going to be a birthday bash.

With the theme “Enduring and Renewing Traditions,” events will center on a sense of place. What are our Vermont roots, and what was it like to live here 200 years ago? Greg Sharrow, Director of Education and Folklorist at the Vermont Folklife Center will speak on “A Sense of Place: Vermont’s Agricultural Heritage.”

A panel of retired farmers and young agricultural entrepreneurs will look at the similarities and differences in farming over time, and will discuss the issues involved in sustainability.

Expanding on this theme, a story reading hour will enlighten young and old with the recollections of those real Vermonters whose roots go back for many generations.

The event includes a full day of activities on the green in East Poultney for the entire family to enjoy. For a schedule of events click here. Throughout the day, 50 juried vendors sell crafts and folk arts, antiques and collectibles, maple syrup, jams, herbal soaps, vintage linen, handmade pottery and jewelry.

Demonstrations of traditional crafts will featurewoodcarving, rug hooking, gun-smithing, spinning and weaving, as well as slate splitting and carving.Visitors often enjoy living history experiences in the 1791 Union Academy, Vermont’s second oldest school building. A children’s tent provides arts and crafts, games from yesteryear and perhaps even an old fashioned spelling bee.

Food is available all day long, provided by the Poultney Snowmobile Club and the East Poultney Store. And new this year are the Vermont Bean Crafters.

Join Meredith Roberts Rehbach at 10:00 AM for “A Taste of Welsh,” an introduction and celebration of the Welsh language. The Welsh originally came to Poultney to work in the slate quarries, and their traditions and heritage grew as families settled into what is now known as the Slate Valley. The language of their homeland was echoed strongly for many years in homes, churches, and public events where the Welsh-language was showcased in song and poetry.

The East Poultney Green is one of Vermont’s real treasures. It has a rich collection of historic homes and buildings clustered around its striking 1805 Baptist Church. Due to the efforts of the Historical Society, several of the buildings have been saved and restored and are now museums.

As a focus of East Poultney Day, which dates back to 1935, the Historical Society offers an open house in each of these three fascinating museums:

• The 1791 restored Union Academy schoolhouse, the second oldest in Vermont, displays its quill pens, slate boards, and antique desks, just as it looked 150 years ago..

• The 19^th century Melodeon Factory (which made small reed organs) houses much of the Society’s collection of period clothing, antique wagons, household utensils, and of course, melodeons. DVD screenings of the new video “Poultney Main Street’s Historical Tour” will take place every hour at this location.

• An 1896 Victorian schoolhouse houses the rest of the historic collection. The display “Out of Storage: The Bridal Gowns and Fancy Dresses from the Poultney Historical Society Collection” reveals the loveliest dresses in the textile collection.

No celebration is complete without music and dance. Throughout the day, musical performances by local musicians will include a concert by Natalia Czar on the Celtic harp and the American folk tunes provided by Spruce Knob Uprising. The combined Poultney and Granville Town Bands will perform a concert to complete the day’s festivities.

At 3:00 PM, the annual raffle will award the dozens of items donated by local businesses and artists, and will feature three grand prizes: an original oil painting by Marilyn Parker, an art print by Peter Huntoon and a photograph by Alan Nyiri.

For more information contact 802-287-5252.