The town’s Heritage Day will be held on Saturday, October 23 from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (rain date: Sunday, October 24) at three local historical landmarks and will feature members of The Fifth Connecticut Regiment and the 15th Regiment of Foot, two organizations dedicated to keeping the Spirit of ’76 alive.
The events and activities are being planned by the town’s 2020 Bicentennial Committee and are coordinated by Karen Boccadoro, a Darien resident who is a member of the Fifth’s board.
The festivities kick off at 10:30 am at the Museum of Darien, 45 Old Kings Highway North, where members of the Fifth Ct Regiment, dressed in period costume, will conduct colonial cooking and artisan demonstrations. Children’s Musket Drills will be held at 10:45 and 11:30 am. Free refreshments provided by Palmer’s Market.
At 12:45 p.m., the crowd will be invited to stroll up the road to The First Congregational Church of Darien, 14 Brookside Road, where a play recounting the 1781 Raid of Middlesex Meetinghouse will be performed by members of the 15th Regiment of Foot and local volunteer actors. The reenactment will take place outside of the church on the front steps.
At 2:30 p.m., the day will continue to unfold at The Mather Homestead, 19 Stephen Mather Road, where the 1781 raid on the Mather Farm will be reenacted. This drama will recount the moments when silver pieces were discovered by Tory raiders in the well of the Homestead.
The day will be capped by a military drill, cannon firing and an exciting demonstration of a skirmish between British and Colonial troops in the fields adjacent to the Homestead.
More information please visit the town’s website at www.darienct.gov or for questions email: info.darien2020@gmail.com.
