EXETER — The 34th American Independence Festival returns Saturday, July 13, featuring military demonstrations, 18th-century artisans and a live reading from the original copy of the Declaration of Independence.
The festival will take place around the American Independence Museum at 1 Governors Lane from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission to the rain-or-shine event will be free for the second year in a row thanks to Service Credit Union.
Robert Levey, interim director of the museum, said the goal for this year’s festival is “to create an experience that connects that past with the present."
“What we want people to appreciate is that history happens every single day,” he said. “What happened yesterday still has meaning and is relevant today … who we are as Americans is because of what took place during the revolutionary period of America.”
As the Revolutionary War capital of New Hampshire, the copy of the Declaration of Independence arrived in Exeter 12 days after it was signed in Pennsylvania, and 22-year-old John Taylor Gilman read the document to the town.
As a result, the town celebrated Independence Day on July 16, 1776, which is why the festival is held on the Saturday closest to the 16th each year.
A live reading of the original copy of the Declaration of Independence, also known as the Dunlap Broadside, will kickstart the festival. It is one of 26 remaining copies known to exist.
Artisan Village takes over museum grounds
The museum grounds will also be transformed into a traditional artisan village, where Levey said more than a dozen artisans will demonstrate everything from shoe making, basket weaving, coopering to tinsmithing, needlework and spinning.
“One big aspect of the village this year is a concerted emphasis on delivering educational content to visitors,” he said. “When visitors leave the village, they will have learned a little bit about whatever traditional arts were demonstrated and their connection to today.”
At the village, visitors will meet traditional artisans in period attire, including a Maine-based Bill Wasson, who returns as a ropemaker demonstrating the precise twisting of fibers to make long sections of rope, and Maine resident Peter Cook will spin flax fiber, the base material for linen and one of the most common fabrics during the Revolution.
“There will also be a couple making leather shoes and a craftsman using cow horns to create common objects such as powder horns, cups, and utensils,” added Eric von Aschwege, a historic gunsmith who manages the village. “Other expert tradespeople include a wood joiner, candlemaker, basketmaker, and potter.”
At the festival, Von Aschwege will also participate in the village, as he will present on 18th-century arms in the colonies once in the morning and again in the afternoon.
Participating artisans include Chuck Walker, horner; Peter Cook, flax spinner; Peter and Linda Oakley, shoemakers; Steve Zoldak and Maureen Mills, pottery; Dan Lacroix, joyner; Judy Wasson, basket maker; Bill Wasson, ropemaker; Josh Dummit, candlemaker.
Military demonstrations, historical reenactments and more
The festival will bring back military demonstrations and first-person reenactments, a feature that was first added last year.
The reenactments feature Ona Judge Staines, an enslaved woman who escaped George Washington’s home and sought freedom in New Hampshire, and Elizabeth Freeman (also known as Mum Bett), the first enslaved woman in Massachusetts to earn her freedom in court.
One highlight of the Festival will be special exhibits, highlighted by a temporary exhibition featuring weaponry of the Revolution. “The exhibit will explore antique arms from this period, including a high-speed video of the arms firing, and the history behind a French shipment of muskets that came into Portsmouth in 1777,” said Ashley Hlebinsky.
Nationally known Arms Historian, Hlebinsky designed the exhibit.
American Independence Festival marketplace returns
This year also marks the return of the marketplace, which will take place along Water Street, for artists, craftspeople, downtown businesses or even nonprofit organizations to showcase and share information about their product and services, said Jessica Livingston, event coordinator.
Shellabella Design, known for its hand-poured soy candles, will be there as well as Princess In A Pouch, known for its pattern designs and resin arts.
Other vendors include Seacoast Artists Association, Fun Learn Grow Co., Exeter DAR, Rockingham County Democratic Committee, Heronfield Academy, Friends of the Exeter Public Library, Town of Exeter Energy Committee, Variegated Roots, Exeter Historical Society, AnnesKidsClothesline, Great Bay Charter School, The Exeter Collection and Exeter Republican Town Committee.
What other activities are planned?
Throughout the day, guests will be able to take self-guided tours around Folsom Tavern, where George Washington stopped by for breakfast after the Revolutionary War; the Ladd-Gilman House, the birthplace of Founding Father Nicholas Gilman Jr.; and Steward Park, a riverview waterfront located at the heart of downtown.
At Folsom Tavern, kids can enjoy the newly opened Foy Family Children’s Library, which features a reading nook, curated books on 18th-century life, Revolutionary-era dress-up, play kitchen, games, and more.
Livingston said there'll also be a kid's tent where they can enjoy games such as colonial duck duck goose, a craft-making station and period costumes.
Visitors will also have the opportunity to experience the museum's new educational garden, an interactive exhibit-in-the-making.
“It will provide people with an opportunity to see changes in agricultural practices and the ways in which plants were used by peoples over the centuries,” said Jennifer Carr, who designed the exhibit. “It will bring that history to life by allowing guests to touch and taste the products of the garden.”
Outside the Ladd-Gilman House, adults (ages 21-plus) can enjoy local brews at the Beer Garden.
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