The SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL – or HARTFORD’S 250TH BIRTHDAY in 2011
On July 4th 1761 Gov. Benning Wentworth signed a charter for the Town of Hartford. Following a precedent set by our ancestors, we are planning a BIG BIRTHDAY PARTY to celebrate our 250 years of history!
We hope to have events in most months of the year AND, at the end of it all, create a MEMORY BOOK with photos from each of the celebrations, which will be for sale.
The [somewhat tentative] schedule to date is:
Jan 1 – 1st First Friday/12 Night – Kick-off in White River Jct sponsored by David Ford of the Main Street Museum
Feb 4 or 5 – The great Wreck of 1887 – celebrating our Railroad Heritage [TBA]
Feb 28 + Mar 8 – Special Flag Ceremonies and Proclamation at town Meetings
Mar [tba] – Maple Sugar Festival in Jericho
Apr – Ice Out Contest – Deweys Pond
May 30 – Memorial day special events at Center of Town and West Hartford
June 18 – Balloon Festival with Historical Reenactments in Quechee
June 25 – Alumni Parade with a focus on our past celebrations in WRJct
July 4th – Birthday Party and Fireworks in Wilder
July/Aug [tba] – celebration of our Agricultural Past and tours of the Theron Boyd House in Quechee
August 8 – Old Home Day/Field Day in Hartford Village
Sept 10 – Glory Days of the RR with Street Dance in WRJct
Oct 29 ? – Gory Daze Halloween Parade in WRJct
REGIONAL EVENTS
There are several towns what were chartered in 1761, the 12 Middle Grant towns will be holding a few Joint Events:
A - An all-towns Valley Quest with special passport
B – August 18/19? Concert in Plainfield
C – In the autumn a Special Exhibit at AVA Galley featuring Native Americans
D – [TBA] A Series of talks by Jere Daniels on the chartering of each town
For more details on these contact either Pat Stark or Laura Dintino at Vital Communities.
Note – the Valley News also has a web site for all town events.