“Founder’s Day” Open House at Historic Eastfield Village, September 23rd

September 13, 2017 Val

“Founder’s Day” Open House at Historic Eastfield Village, September 23^rd

Historic Eastfield Village, in East Nassau, NY, is celebrating its annual Founder’s Day Open House on Saturday, September 23 from 11:00 to 4:00 pm. This is the one day of the year that the general public is invited to come and visit the privately-owned, recreated early 19^th century village.

Guests can tour the more than 20 historic structures and their furnishings, dating from 1789 – 1840. A blacksmith, tinsmith, printer, shoemaker, timber-framers, flax workers, bakers, needle workers, and more, will be demonstrating their crafts and selling their wares. Nineteenth century entertainments including a Punch & Judy Puppet Show, a Magician, Music and Dancing will delight young and old. Eastfield’s 1830s “Militia” will demonstrate drilling and firing. And patrons can enjoy tea and treats or a hearty lunch at the Briggs Tavern.

Historic Eastfield Village is the campus for the acclaimed annual series of Early American Trades and Historic Preservation Workshops and Symposia. The Village itself is not a museum, but serves as a “laboratory” where students have the opportunity to study, handle, and utilize thousands of architectural elements, artifacts, and tools of pre-industrial America.

Both the Village and the School are the lifework of founder Donald G. Carpentier, who relocated and restored threatened historic buildings to the “east field” of his family farm in Rensselaer County; he started the workshops and symposia in 1976. Carpentier died of ALS in 2014, but his family still owns the Village and calls it home. The non-profit Historic Eastfield Foundation runs the School, and helps the family maintain the Village and keep Carpentier’s vision alive.

Admission is a suggested donation of $20 per person, free for children under 18 accompanied by an adult. Historic Eastfield Village is located at 104 Mud Pond Road, East Nassau, NY 12062. Visit www.HistoricEastfield.org to learn more. Contact [email protected] with questions.