BUCKLAND — The fourth annual “A Summer Day on the Buckland Common” will be held Saturday, July 28, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., rain or shine. The festivities will take place on the historic Common located at the corners of Upper and Cross Streets in Buckland Center, off Route 112.
Admission and parking are free and there will be activities for all ages at the historic Mary Lyon Church and several other venues along Upper Street.
The event will feature historical tours, a concert by the Shelburne Falls Military Band, a chicken barbecue, and displays by the Buckland Fire Department and the Buckland Riders Snowmobile Club. There will also be a demonstration by mosaic artist Cynthia Fisher of Buckland, a Quilt and Textile show, book sale, a Pop-Up Adventure Playground, prints and cards by Buckland landscape artist Robert Strong Woodward and tag, art and crafts sales.
Starting early will be a tag sale at the historic Griswold homestead, known as the Mary Lyon House, on Old Upper Street from 8 a.m. to noon.
The Buckland Public Library will open at 9 a.m., will hold a book sale and host an exhibit of vintage aprons. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Pandora Redwin of The Play Workshop will provide materials and guidance for children to create a wonderland on library grounds, with a Pop-Up Adventure Playground. The activity will include lots of loose parts, such as cardboard boxes, tubes, rope and fabric. Kids are free to make a beautiful mess and discover, or remember, the simple joys of creative imagination.
The Buckland Historical Society Museum will be open and members will start serving coffee and their famous Buckland Blueberry Buckle at 9:30 a.m. and throughout the day.
Buckland resident Arnold Purinton’s many models of local historical buildings and landmarks will be on display. There will be colonial games for children of all ages. Historical Society guides will lead a Historical Walking Tour of Upper Street at 10:30 a.m. and again 2:30 p.m.
The historic Mary Lyon Church will open at 10 a.m. and will be serving a Chicken barbecue from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the Common. (Reservations are encouraged; call 413-628-3231).
The studio and gallery of landscape artist Robert Strong Woodward (1885-1957), located at 43 Upper St., opens at 10:30 a.m.
Fisher will demonstrate her mosaic tile craft at noon on the Common. This traveling artist’s adventures include a residency in Ireland, projects in Guatemala and Chile, and a trip to India planned for 2019.
The Shelburne Falls Military Band will perform a free concert at 1 p.m. The Buckland Riders Snowmobile Club will have a display with information about membership and the trails they ride. The Buckland Fire Department will be on site with their equipment and valuable fire safety information. The Buckland Union Cemetery Association will be selling raffle tickets and will sponsor a self-guided tour of Taylor Cemetery, located just west of the Common.
The Bird’s Nest Bed & Breakfast will host a Quilt & Textile Show in its historic barn all day Saturday and again on Sunday, July 29, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The show will feature works, both, new and antique, from the local quilting and textile arts community in celebration of the richness of Buckland’s history and culture.
For more information, call Douglas Mollison at 413-628-3231.