EDENTON — The town of Edenton and Chowan County plan to hold “one heck of a tea party,” in the words of one elected official, thanks to a $40,000 grant from a state initiative designed to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the nation's founding in 1776.
Local officials announced the grant from the America 250 NC initiative in a press release on Friday, saying they plan to use the funds on a multi-day celebration in October of the 250th anniversary of the Edenton Tea Party.
In addition to a parade, a keynote lecture, and living history demonstrations, the Oct. 25-26 celebration will also feature a performance by the Grammy-nominated, three-time IBMA award-winning all-female bluegrass band Silver Sadie, as well as the Williamsburg and Tryon Palace Fife and Drum Corps.
The weekend will also feature the launch of a new children’s book, “Within Our Power: The Story of the Edenton Ladies’ Tea Party,” by Sally Walker, the author of more than 60 books.
“We are thrilled to receive this grant and to contribute to the statewide effort to celebrate our nation’s history,” Edenton Mayor Hackney High said in the release. “This funding will enable us to create engaging and educational experiences for our residents and visitors, highlighting Edenton’s rich history and significance during the Revolutionary War period and beyond.”
Board of Commissioners Chairman Bob Kirby said the grant will allow the community to "throw one heck of a tea party."
"We plan to use the grant funds to educate and celebrate Edenton and Chowan County as the cradle of the colony,” he said.
The Edenton Tea Party is considered one of the earliest organized women's political actions in U.S. history. On Oct. 25, 1774, a group of 51 Edenton women, organized by Penelope Barker, signed an agreement affirming their support for the first North Carolina Provincial Congress' decision to boycott British goods.
The Congress' deputies had resolved to boycott all British tea and cloth received after Sept. 10, 1774 in response to the British Tea Act of 1773. That law, passed to bolster the financially troubled British East India Company, allowed the BEIC to directly ship its tea to Britain's North American colonies, undercutting the price of smuggled tea.
The Tea Act was widely seen by many colonial leaders in America as an effort to buy popular support for British taxes already in place that were opposed because they were imposed without American representation in the British Parliament. In what became known as the Boston Tea Party, Bostonians opposed to the act showed their displeasure by dumping BEIC tea into Boston Harbor in December 1773.
The statement signed by the 51 Edenton women became known as the Edenton Resolves, and its protest of British goods later became known as the Edenton Tea Party.
All of the grant-funded events planned in Edenton in October will be free and open to the public, the release states. A full schedule of events during the celebration will be posted at www.visitedenton.com.
North Carolina’s America 250 NC initiative is a project of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
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