By Lauren Dorsey, Staff Writer
Fourth of July celebrations in our area next week will include everything from community breakfasts and tag sales to live music and parades. Local Independence Day enthusiasts can also enjoy the holiday’s most quintessential spectacle — fireworks — on three consecutive nights from Wednesday to Friday.
Woodstock
July 4th celebrations in Woodstock will begin at Billings Farm & Museum with its annual 4th on the Farm event. The festivities will include a historic “base ball” game, complete with rules and costumes from the 1860s. The museum will line the fields with wood shavings to recreate historic baselines, use canvas bags filled with straw to form the bases, and all the players will play barehanded. “Our team actually dresses up in 1860s baseball uniforms,” said Billings’ marketing manager Nori Pepe. “Visitors of all ages can join or we have bleachers set up along the perimeter for people to watch.” The game will be the Old Timers vs. the Invincibles
The farm will also have horse-drawn wagon rides, live music, and a variety of crafts.
In addition, the day will feature a second competition, a 19th-century vernacular spelling bee for kids and adults. “It’s such a fun event,” said Pepe. “I was there for the adult spelling bee last year and we had a couple bleachers set up. It was this absolutely packed, really popular thing.”
Then, on Friday, July 5th, Woodstock will host a fireworks display at the Woodstock Union High School. “They’ll have fireworks, live music, and the alumni association is going to be barbecuing some food,” said Eric Duffy, the Woodstock Municipal Manager.
The Thomas Austin band will be playing from 6:15- 9:15 p.m., and the fireworks will go off at dusk. At 8 p.m., the American Legion and Boy Scout Troop 220 will host a flag ceremony. The WUHS Alumni Association will be on hand with concessions, including burgers, hot dogs, cotton candy, and popcorn. Proceeds will benefit the alumni scholarship program.
The Woodstock Fire Department will bring a firetruck or two for a touch-the-truck event, and there will be a variety of small games for kids to play. “It’s always wonderful when you see a family showing up with the kids and they’re excited to be at the firework show and to run around the field having fun,” said Duffy. “I think it’s a great event.”
West Windsor
Brownsville will begin its Independence Day celebrations on Wednesday, July 3, at Mt. Ascutney. Starting at 6 p.m., participants can grab dinner at a variety of local food vendors, including the Moonlighters, Wicked Awesome BBQ, AJ’s Fried Dough, and Lazy Cow Ice Cream, all while listening to a live performance by the FireHouse Dixieland Band. The town’s annual fireworks display will kick off at dusk.
In past years, residents and visitors alike have tailgated the Ascutney Outdoors parking lot during the event. “It’s a really gorgeous spot for the celebration,” said Mark Isenberg, chair of the Independence Day Celebration Committee. “If the weather’s nice, it’s a euphoric event. It’s uplifting and something that makes you proud to live in a little town and celebrate the Fourth, just a rewarding experience for all of us.”
The festivities will continue on July 4, beginning with a pancake breakfast at the Brownsville Community Church, which will start at 8:30 a.m.
Over at the Town Hall, craft and food vendors will set up a small market from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and next door, the Friends of the Mary L. Blood Library will be running the group’s annual book sale.
At 10:30 a.m. everyone, from beginners to experts, are invited to participate in a country dance at the Tribute Park Pavilion before the Gala parade begins at 1:30 p.m. “The parade goes down the Brownsville Hartland road, probably a quarter of a mile,” said Isenberg. “We have floats, goats, horses, dogs, and kids on bikes. We have the Shriners clowns, old tractors, convertibles, various community groups, and local politicians.”
Hartland
The Town of Hartland will be celebrating Independence Day with its annual Old Home Day on July 4, an all-day celebration that includes a tractor pull, live music and a parade, all culminating in an evening firework display. “It’s gotten a lot of publicity in recent years, such that it’s much more than a local Hartland gathering anymore; it’s multi-community. People come from everywhere,” said Hartland Selectboard member Phil Hobbie.
Old Home Day begins at 8 a.m. with a tractor pull, which is where a variety of antique tractors compete to pull sleds loaded with concrete blocks. After prizes are announced and ribbons distributed, the tractors will regroup to join the town-wide parade at 10 a.m. The parade will start at the Hartland Fire Station and proceed down Route 12 to the Three Corners intersection, led by the American Legion. It will feature vintage cars, floats, and several fire trucks.
Afterward, a smattering of vendors will open up shop behind the Hartland Recreation Center. The event will be accompanied by several live performances, including a concert by the Hartland Community Band at 11 a.m. and another by the Gerry Grimo Band at noon. “It’s usually a lot of fun,” said Hobbie. “The vendors after the parade are where you really see community members that you haven’t seen for a while or end up sitting down with a lemonade to catch up with an old friend.” The town will also fire up the community pizza oven throughout the afternoon.
Festivities pick up again at 7 p.m. with live music by Carlos Ocasio and the Frydadies at the Hartland Rec Center before the final event of the evening, a fireworks display that will light up the sky at 9 p.m.
Plymouth Notch
The Calvin Coolidge Historic Site will be celebrating the Fourth of July and President Coolidge’s 152nd birthday with a variety of activities, including a public reading of the Declaration of Independence, a wreath-laying ceremony at the Cooldige gravesite led by the Vermont National Guard, and the last rounds of the Coolidge Cup National Speech and Debate Tournament.
Barnard
On Saturday, July 6, Barnard Firemen will be hosting the town’s annual flea market and chicken barbeque at the Barnard Town Hall. The doors to the tag sale will open at 10 a.m. and chicken will go on sale at 11 a.m. until it sells out.
In advance of the celebration, the fire station will be accepting donations of used household items, furniture, and sporting goods on July 2 at 7 p.m. Visitors can also purchase raffle tickets and t-shirts during the event.