Town celebrating America’s 250th anniversary Saturday
Submitted by the town of East Haddam
Residents and visitors are invited to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary during East Haddam’s signature day-long Semiquincentennial Celebration from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free, and all are welcome to attend. You’re welcome to come dressed as your favorite revolutionary hero/heroine or wear red, white, and blue.
This memorable event begins at the Historic First Church Meeting House, 499 Town St. or Route 151, with live music performed by the Moodus Drum & Fife Corps and the First Company Governor’s Foot Guard Band.
Attendees will take part in a public reading of the Declaration of Independence, a community scroll signing, patriotic presentations, exhibits, and activities for all ages. A bake sale and ice-cold bottled water sale will be hosted by the First Church of Christ, Congregational. Additional food and beverages will be available throughout the day from five popular food vendors near the Grange Hall: Emily’s, King Shawarma & Falafel, Momma’s Ice Cream, Oz-N-Bones, and Yankee Cider.
Visitors are strongly encouraged to arrive by 9:30 a.m. to park free (includes handicap parking) at the Municipal Office Building Complex, 1 Plains Rd. in Moodus. Free shuttle buses (including a handicap bus) will transport attendees to the celebration site throughout the day. Overflow parking will be available at the East Haddam Elementary School with shuttle service. Shuttle service for all parking lots will operate from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
If necessary, people with disabilities can be dropped off at the First Church between 9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. Otherwise, please park at the designated off-site parking lots and use the handicap bus. Only trained service dogs will be permitted at this event.
The reenactment event will take place inside the Meeting House starting at 10:30 a.m. East Haddam First Selectman Todd H. Gelston will welcome attendees and read the town proclamation. Dr. Karl P. Stofko, East Haddam’s Municipal Historian, will present a brief history of the Declaration of Independence. Steve Pozzato, Lay Minister of First Church of Christ, Congregational, will then read the Declaration of Independence, followed by patriotic music and a community scroll signing outside.
Featured patriotic concerts will be performed first by the historic First Company Governor’s Foot Guard Band and then later in the afternoon by the renowned Moodus Drum & Fife Corps.
The Moodus Drum & Fife Corps, founded in 1821 in Moodus, is America’s oldest continuously active drum corps. The corps is nationally recognized for preserving the authentic rudimental drumming style, instrumentation, and military tempos of the early 19th -century American militia.
The First Company Governor’s Foot Guard Band is the musical component of the First Company Governor’s Foot Guard, which was organized in Hartford in 1771 and remains the oldest continuously serving military organization in the United States.
Throughout the day, visitors may explore historical exhibits, themed tents, and community displays sponsored by organizations such as the American Legion, VFW, Cemetery Troopers, East Haddam Historical Society & Museum, East Haddam Land Trust, Indigenous Wangunk People Exhibit, Republican and Democratic town committees, and other participating community organizations.
Beginning at 12:15 p.m., historic activities for children ages 5–12-years-old (caregiver supervision required) will take place at the Grange Hall. At George Washington’s Spy School, children will learn about colonial espionage while creating invisible ink messages and secret patriotic communications. At Benjamin Franklin’s Print Shop & Post Office, children can block-print their initials or names on envelopes, decorate them with colonial-inspired designs, address them as colonial mail, and seal them using safe, no-flame methods.
Continuous screenings of episodes from the educational series Liberty’s Kids will also be available. At the adjacent Old Town Hall, attendees can become part of history through a full-scale recreation of Philadelphia’s Independence Hall Assembly Room.
At 3 p.m., the Historic Revolutionary Cemetery Tour will begin at the cemetery entrance on Town Street. Dr. Karl P. Stofko will lead visitors through the gravesites of East Haddam’s Revolutionary War soldiers and members of the Town Committee.
At 4 p.m. in the Grange Hall, Kandie Carle, Producing Artistic Director of the East Haddam Stage Company, will present “The Drama of Nathan Hale in Movies and on Stage.”
This event is sponsored by the Town of East Haddam’s USA 250 Celebrations Committee. Anyone with questions or an interest in volunteering for this historic event is encouraged to contact the First Selectman’s Office at 860-873-5021 or admin@easthaddam.org by July 9. Additional information is available on the Town website at www.easthaddam.org.
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