WARWICK — New residents are bringing new ideas to this year’s three-day iteration of Warwick Old Home Days, namely, a free contra dance.
Festivities will start at 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 21, and wrap up with the Moore’s Pond Beach Party on Sunday, Aug. 23. The contra dance, spearheaded by new residents Charlene and David Beach, is slated to be held Saturday after the Old Home Days Supper at Town Hall.
The former Idaho residents had played music for contra dances in Idaho, Montana and Washington. They’ve continued to attend contra dances in Franklin County since moving to Warwick, and thought they’d bring their passion to the place they describe as “the center of the universe.”
“Warwick, we’ve said, is like the center of the universe because it’s a half hour to Brattleboro, [Vermont], … it’s a half hour to Greenfield, it’s a half hour to all these different events and things going on,” Charlene Beach explained. “It was a good location, and nice and rural.”
While it certainly won’t be the first contra dance held in town, it will mark a revival.
“I guess in the old days, people [from Warwick] told me that they had contra dances, so we thought it would be nice to revive that,” Charlene Beach said. “We thought that Dave and I could play if we can’t find any musicians. … We just need[ed] to find a caller. I asked around, and Julian Blechner was willing to come help us try to get this off the ground.”
In addition to being the steward of the contra dance, Charlene Beach will also be taking part in the readers theater at Town Hall that kicks off the celebration on Friday.
Also in Town Hall, a community supper will be available directly preceding the dance. Andrea Woods, an organizer of the meal, said it will feature standard homemade options, such as baked beans and coleslaw. Also on the menu is ham, potato salad and dinner rolls. Brownies and ice cream will be served for dessert.
Another new event taking place this year involves the town’s newest acquisition, the First Parish Unitarian Church and Meetinghouse. During the 2025 Annual Town Meeting, residents approved accepting the property, which includes 32 acres on Hastings Pond Road, as a gift from the First Parish and Religious Society.
According to Woods, the new event incorporates the newly refurbished pipe organ, which Orange resident Deb Kent will play on Saturday from 3 to 4:30 p.m.
At the same time in the meetinghouse, community members will dress the part of mid-19th-century Warwick residents and provide historical vignettes regarding what the town was like during this period, which is around the same time that construction on the meetinghouse was finished. A poem will also be read, written by Larry Carey, a longtime resident of Warwick who died earlier this year.
The events at the meetinghouse are free, however, donations are welcome to support the continued maintenance of the building.
The Fire Department’s cookout, which has been a staple of the yearly event, is returning, featuring hamburgers, hot dogs and French fries. The boat parade at Moore’s Pond will close out the festivities on Sunday, with live music and a sandcastle contest.
“That’s always fun to be out there and see how people dress up their craft,” Charlene Beach said about the boat parade.
The schedule of events on Saturday, Aug. 22, and Sunday, Aug. 23, includes:
Saturday
- 8 a.m. to noon — The Women’s Guild Cafe will be downstairs at Town Hall selling coffee and muffins.
- 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. — A tag sale will take place on the town common.
- 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. — Early in-person voting for the primary elections will be available at Town Hall.
- 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. — During this time, an open mic session will take place, horse-drawn wagon rides will be provided and the Warwick Historical Society will be open.
- 11 a.m. — Residents can take part in tai chi, the town will honor its residents and the Fire Department will provide cookout food.
- 3 to 4:30 p.m. — The meetinghouse will host historical vignettes and music on the refurbished pipe organ.
- 5:30 to 7 p.m. — The Old Home Days Supper will be offered at Town Hall. The cost is $12 for adults, $6 for children ages 4 to 11, and free for kids under 3.
- 7 p.m. — The community contra dance will take place at Town Hall.
Sunday
Sunday’s festivities will take place at the public beach at Moore’s Pond, with live music being played during the afternoon. Activities at the beach include:
- 2 p.m. — A decorated boat parade.
- 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. — A sandcastle contest, with prizes for crowd favorites.
- 3 p.m. — Food will be offered, with patrons getting a choice of a hamburger or hot dog, along with chips and lemonade, for $5.
A full list of events can be found at warwickma.org/historicalcomm/old-home-days-2026.
