WARWICK — Those itching to attend the annual Old Home Days festivities are in luck — they’re just around the corner and longer-lasting than ever.
While Saturday and Sunday are typically reserved for Old Home Days, for the second year in a row, a 1950s Sock Hop and Cruise Night ring in the festivities on Friday.
“We really enjoyed it last year,” said Rita McConville, a member of the Warwick Recreation Committee, which organizes the Sock Hop and Cruise Night. “A lot of people came, so we thought we’d include this as part of our weekend.”
When deciding what events the Recreation Committee should focus on this year, McConville said expanding and enhancing Old Home Days seemed like the natural answer.
Doors to the Sock Hop open at 6 p.m. Friday at the Warwick Community School, with dance lessons from Athol instructor Christine Rouleau from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
“No excuses for those two left feet!” McConville said.
Though admission is free, donations to the Recreation Committee are encouraged, and ice cream floats and popcorn will be available. Blue Shots will offer live entertainment, performing 1950s rock music “with a bluesy sound,” McConville said.
Outside at the cruise night, entry prizes will be given, as opposed to having judging, McConville said. Keeping with the 1950s theme, McConville said there will also be hula hooping, Scrabble, dominos, chess, pick-up sticks and other games for children.
On Saturday, activities center around the Town Common, bringing townspeople together for food, entertainment and socializing.
“We’re a very close-knit community,” McConville said of Old Home Days’ significance. “It’s very important for us to come out and socialize, get to know each other, get to know your neighbors, and participate in town activities.”
According to Colleen Paul, chairwoman of the Warwick Old Home Days Committee, and her father Larry Carey, the former chairman, the 10 a.m. parade from the school to the fire station might look a little different this year.
Paul explained the parade started to showcase the Fire Department’s vehicles, but she hopes more floats and cars might participate, like in Warwick’s 250th anniversary parade.
“The biggest one we had was the 250th anniversary,” Carey said. “When we go to close it down, people start coming and we get more people.”
To encourage classic car and truck owners to participate in the parade, Paul said vehicles will be allowed to park near Town Hall once the parade is over for an informal car show.
A dunk tank will also make an appearance for the first time in years, Carey said, allowing attendees to dunk volunteering town officials.
While organizers are bringing new flare to the traditional event, which Carey said has its roots in the late 1800s, tried-and-true favorites like the Fire Department’s muster, the satellite toss, the “Corregata” cardboard boat race and Metcalf Chapel’s Saturday dinner continue. Plus, with the Arts Council, the Recreation Committee, the Fire Department, the Trinitarian Congregational Church (also known as Metcalf Chapel), and the Historical Society all coming together to offer entertainment, Paul said Old Home Days truly becomes a community effort.
6:30 to 9 p.m. — 1950s Sock Hop and Cruise Night at Warwick Community School. Doors open at 6 p.m.
8 a.m. — Coffee and doughnuts in Town Hall
9 a.m. to 3 p.m. — Tag sale on the Town Common, where residents are invited to bring their own table and set up a space for free.
9 a.m. to 3 p.m. — Women’s Guild bake sale
10 a.m. — Parade begins, after lining up at Warwick Community School at 9:30 a.m.
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. — Warwick Free Public Library open
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. — Open mic. Anyone wishing to perform should call Larry Carey at 978-544-7545 or Colleen Paul at 978-544-0014.
10 a.m. to 3 p.m. — Historical Society open; afghans and T-shirts are available.
6 p.m. — Metcalf Chapel offers a dinner of pork loin, baked beans, coleslaw, cornbread, brownies, ice cream, coffee and lemonade in Town Hall. Tickets are $12 for adults, $8 for children ages 5 to 16, and children under 5 years old eat for free.
7 p.m. — The Delvena Theatre Company presents “W.C. Fields & Mae West” in Town Hall. The program is free, but donations to the Arts Council are accepted.
Non-time specific festivities include: Fire Department offers hot dogs, hamburgers, French fries and ice cream; Metcalf Chapel mission table; face painting by Wendy Warner; assorted games and raffles by the Recreation Committee; horse drawn carriage rides by the Hubbard family; dunk tank, children’s games and a bounce house.
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. — Fireman’s muster at the Fire Station
1 p.m. — Satellite toss on the Town Common
2 p.m. — Corregata cardboard boat race at the Moores Pond town beach