This Saturday, the Harpswell Heritage Land Trust and Harpswell Historical Society are joining forces to revive Harpswell Day — a celebration of the community’s roots and traditions.

“It’s a reinvigoration of a historic event. Somewhere in the 1940s it started — there was a Harpswell Day,” said Julia McLeod, outreach coordinator of HHLT. “And it was all focused on the town’s heritage and history. People would bring artifacts to the historical society and they would have a luncheon.”

While that annual event died off decades ago, HHLT and HHS are bringing it back this Saturday. While Harpswell Day won’t be the exact same event it was in the mid-20th century, it is still heavily focused on the town’s heritage and history.

“The idea is to teach people about and get people involved in these hands-on skills and handicrafts that people used to do so much — things like woodworking tools, weaving, rug hooking and spinning,” said McLeod. “We want to give people an opportunity to learn about these skills and try them out for themselves.”

The day’s events will be centered on a number of volunteer operated stations that will demonstrate traditional handcraft and subsistence skills that many in the community used daily in the past, but few know about anymore. Cider pressing, weaving, making floor cloths, and turning butter are just a few of the many activities that Harpswell residents will be able to try this Saturday.

Beyond the stations, there will be live music, tours of the graveyard, poetry readings and food. Attendees will also have the opportunity to go on an architectural tour of the area to learn about the unique architectural developments displayed in Harpswell Center’s historic buildings. Two Coves Farm will be bringing sheep into the town’s centuries-old stone cattle pound for visitors to see, and families can listen to stories in a fishing schooner stern located in the museum.

Perhaps one of the most exciting parts of Harpswell Day will be the opportunity for residents to go inside a restored one-room schoolhouse. The schoolhouse will have a reenactor schoolmarm, and visitors will be able to experience what schooling was like in the past.

After months of planning, Harpswell Day will be celebrated for the first time in decades this Saturday, with events in Harpswell Center held at Centennial Hall, the Harpswell Historical Society Museum, the Meeting House and some of the surrounding area. The event will go from noon to 4 p.m.

nstrout@timesrecord.com

• EVENTS, from noon to 4 p.m., in Harpswell Center held at Centennial Hall, the Harpswell Historical Society Museum, the Meeting House and the surrounding area.

The Times Record Sustaining Sponsor
We believe a community must be informed to thrive. bowdoin.edu