Daily events are subject to change.
Maple Days Programming
Sugar Camp: See how maple trees are tapped and how the sap is collected and boiled down to syrup. Learn from the farmers about how to choose the right trees and recognize the right season to begin sugaring (at the Goods from the Woods exhibit, Building #48).
10:00 a.m. Help the farmers collect Maple Sap at the Maple Camp: Visit with the farmers by the Goods from the Woods exhibit (Building #48). Learn about the sugar bush and help bring any sap back to the camp for boiling into syrup.
Households
Small House (Building #5) Making syrup is only half the work! Stop here to see how maple syrup was cooked down into more desirable sugar loaves.
Fitch House (Building #21) Visit to see a hearth cooking demonstration and to learn how families might have incorporated maple sugar into the foods they prepared.
Trades
Blacksmith Shop (Building #39) Our smiths are hard at work making sugar tools like sugar nippers, sugar axes, skimmers, ladles and other iron tools used when working with sugar.
Cabinetmaking Shop (Building #8) The cabinetmaker will typically be working with wood from maple trees. Explore the different uses of maple, a hardwood, in furniture building.
Cooper Shop (Building #37) Coopers made round wooden containers including barrels, tubs and pails for carrying water, milk and maple sap from tapped trees to the sugar camp for boiling down to sugar.
Tin Shop (Building #15) Experience our tinners producing authentic reproductions of the sugar boxes and graters.
Pottery Shop and Kiln (Building #34) Explore the world of pottery, see sugar molds being made and learn about pottery that
was particularly useful in the colder months.
Performances
10:30 a.m. A Guided Tour of the Towne House: Tour the home of a prosperous farmer (meets in the hallway of the Salem Towne House, Building #16).
11:30 a.m. & 2:00 p.m. Uncle Ezra Unpacks His Traveler’s Trunk: The mechanic’s perpetual guests tells about his adventures on the road (in the Fitch House, Building #21).
1:00 p.m. & 3:00 p.m. Meet the Schoolmaster: Learn about school in the 1830s with a costumed educator
(in the District School, Building #33).
Music Performances
1:30 p.m. Music at the Tavern: Hear a sampler of 1830s music (at the Bullard Tavern, Building #3).
2:30 p.m. Ballroom Etiquette: Learn about the forms of ceremony or decorum used in the entertainment of dancing during the 1830s (in the Bullard Tavern, Building #3).
The Carryall (weather permitting)
We offer a horse-drawn carryall ride included with the price of admission. From 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. you can board behind the Bullard Tavern (#3) or in front of the Blacksmith Shop (#39) about every 20 minutes for a ride around the Mill Pond.
Dining & Shopping
Bullard Café (Building #3) (on the Ground Floor)
11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. A variety of lunch options and beverages.
Miner Grant Store & Bake Shop (Building #19)
9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Stop in to buy our famous chocolate chip cookies, Joe Frogger cookies, and treats. Shop for Village-made wares, heirloom seeds, historical children’s toys and gifts, too!
Ox & Yoke Mercantile (Building #1)
10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Take home a traditional rural New England treasure or locally made gift. Village-made crafts and kits, home décor, books, and more await! We stay open a bit later than the rest of the Village.
Old Sturbridge Village’s new exhibit
Needle and Thread: The Art and Skill of Clothing an Early 19th Century Family highlights the responsibilities held by rural New England housewives in constructing new garments, patching, mending, and darning worn items, and repurposing old items into new wardrobes. The exhibit features over a dozen garments and accessories, along with other textile and clothing objects from the Old Sturbridge Village Museum Collections (in the Dennison Building, #28).
Upcoming Events
Celtic Celebration – March 18th, 2023
Join us as we celebrate Irish cultural heritage through music, dance, storytelling, and poetry!
Women’s History Weekend – March 25 & 26, 2023
Join us as we acknowledge and celebrate extraordinary and everyday women in the early 19th century. Learn how they ran their households, managing clothing construction, cooking, laundry, gardening, and more.