WOODSTOCK — The town will continue its bicentennial celebration Saturday, June 20, with a parade, artifacts display, flower contest and fireworks.
Preparations for the 200th birthday party are some of “the biggest things the town has ever done,” Town Manager Vern Maxfield said.
“It was a real challenge to get this thing up and running, but as it gets closer, it seems to be coming together very well,” Maxfield said.
The town was incorporated on Feb. 7, 1815.
On Feb. 7, a bicentennial celebration was held at the Fire Station, with some residents dressed in period clothing as an abbreviated version of the minutes from the first town meeting were read.
On Saturday, the parade kicks off at 11 a.m. with more than 20 floats. The Woodstock School, Whitman Memorial Library, Board of Selectmen, Patriot Renewables LLC, Democratic and Republican Town Committees, the Mahoosuc Community Band and antique and collectible cars are among those that will be represented.
“The bicentennial has been in the paper a lot, so almost everyone who is involved with the parade came to me and asked if they could make a float,” Maxfield said. “It’s been very rewarding.”
Immediately after the parade, a gathering will be held on the lawn of the Whitman Memorial Library, where Rick Bennett, chairman of the Maine Republican Party, will greet residents and share greetings from Gov. Paul LePage.
Resident Beth Emerson will read the Woodstock Poem, and the Woodstock Song will be sung by musical group Blossom from the Bryant Pond Baptist Church.
Maxfield said retired fire Chief Geff Inman, his wife, Heidi, and her sister, Belinda Hagar, used metal detectors in Stephens Mills, the area where the town was founded and “found a lot of neat stuff.”
“They’re going to have some of the artifacts they found on display throughout the day, and at 1 p.m., they’ll have a PowerPoint presentation on the artifacts,” he said.
A bicentennial flower contest will be held in front of the Whitman Memorial Library. The flower pots will be judged on the best use of red, white and blue artistic arrangement and the craziest combination of flowers. The flower pots should be light enough to carry and have a clear identification tag with the owner’s name and phone number.
Bicentennial T-shirts are on sale at the Town Office and at Breau’s Too.
The schedule of events includes:
* 8:30 to 11 a.m.: Jefferson Chapter 89, Order of the Eastern Star, selling The Lake Store doughnuts, coffee and bottled water at the Masonic Hall.
* 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Stephens Mills area artifacts display.
* 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Open house and tour of the Grange Hall.
* 10 a.m.: Several events in the vicinity of the Whitman Memorial Library, including a Daughters of Union Veterans display, children’s games, a homemade pie sale, a bounce house by Lil’ Leapin’ Lizard of Bethel and announcement of flower contest and quilt raffle winners.
* Noon to 2 p.m.: Dunk tank with the Woodstock firefighters on the lawn next to the Bryant Pond Baptist Church.
*12:30 p.m.: Chicken barbeque lunch by the Masonic Lodge.
* 3 p.m.: Olde Timers ball game at Whitman ball field and Grandstand, with hot dogs and soda served by the Woodstock Fire Department.
* 6 p.m.: Lolalee & Paula singing country songs at the Town Common gazebo.
* 6 to 9 p.m.: Popcorn, hot dogs, soda, water and chips available at Whitman ball field.
* 6 to 8 p.m.: Dunk tank with the Woodstock firefighters at the Whitman ball field.
* 9 p.m.: Fireworks by Atlas PyroVision Entertainment Group of Jaffrey, N.H.
Maxfield said the celebration will wrap up at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, June 21, with a special service at Bryant Pond Baptist Church.
The bicentennial celebration was organized by a committee of residents, including Jennifer Chase, Nancy Willard, Diane Dupuis, Jane Chandler and Diane York.
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