DEERFIELD — To commemorate Deerfield’s 350th anniversary, there will be a Founders’ Day weekend celebration on May 6 and 7.
The celebration will kick off on Saturday, May 6, from 1 to 4 p.m. on the lawn between the South Deerfield Congregational Church and Tilton Library, 75 North Main St., with a casual family event. The Farley String Band will perform and the Friends of Deerfield will provide ice cream. Children are invited to decorate the sidewalk and ring the church bells, and families are welcome to bring lawn chairs and picnic lunches.
The event continues on Sunday, May 7, with the postmasters of the Old and South Deerfield post offices stamping the first cancellation of two pieces of artwork created by young artists Brooke Charest and Ainsley Southergill. The Old Deerfield event will be held at 12:15 p.m. at 75 Old Main St., while the South Deerfield event will be held at 12:45 p.m. at 60 Sugarloaf St.
A ceremony will be held at Frontier Regional School from 1 to 2 p.m. to honor the artists, as well as provide a table for children to write letters to their future selves to be put into a time capsule. The celebration will conclude with at 2 p.m. presentation, “A New Interpretation of the Bloody Brook Neighborhood,” by Gary Sanderson, who will talk about a cluster of houses and the Frary Tavern, which sprang up in the area in 1757.
SOUTH DEERFIELD — Tickets are now available for the Friends of Deerfield’s chicken barbecue, which will close out the town’s 350th anniversary celebrations on Sunday, June 18, from noon to 8 p.m at the Deerfield Academy Tennis Pavilion.
Live music by the Decades band will happen from 1 to 7 p.m. The Friends of Deerfield expect there will be three 200-person seatings at 1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Food will be provided by Kathy Tomaus Catering with support from the Deerfield Polish Club and Berkshire Brewing Co.
Folks can purchase tickets, which are $15 for adults, by calling Stan Adams at 413-665-4858 or mailing a check payable to the Friends of Deerfield, P.O. Box 426, Deerfield, MA 01342. Tickets can also be purchased through Venmo at @FriendsofDeerfield or PayPal to info@friendsofdeerfield.org. Please include your name, number of tickets and seating time.
CONWAY — The Forest and Trails Committee is seeking volunteers to help with invasive species removal, planting native ground covers and trail maintenance during work sessions in May and June.
The current sessions are scheduled for Saturdays, May 13 and June 17, from 10 a.m. to noon at Conway Grammar School. Those interested can email Cynthia Lawton-Singer at lagd2101@gmail.com.