Daily events are subject to change.
Welcome to Old Sturbridge Village, a recreated 1830s rural New England town! Join us in our Celtic Celebration! In the early 19th Century, skilled Irish immigrants came to Worcester County to work on the Blackstone Canal and the railroads. Today we celebrate their cultural heritage through music, dance, storytelling, and poetry. Enjoy your visit!
Celtic Celebration Performances
10:30 a.m. Special Performance: Step Dancing by Lee Irish Dancers (in the Visitor Center Theater, Building #2).
11:00 a.m. & 2:30 p.m. The Brief History of the Montgomery Guards: Learn about the first all-Irish militia company in the Massachusetts Militia and its short-lived existence in the late 1830s (in the Armed & Equipped Militia Exhibit, Building #26).
11:30 a.m. A Reading of Irish Poetry: Poems from ancient Ireland to the early 19th Century (in the Salem Towne House Lower Kitchen, Building #16).
11:30 a.m. & 1:30 p.m. Cate Mahoney, Celtic Harper:
The Harp has been an important part of Irish culture for centuries. Irish Mythology includes many stories about the Harp and its importance. Music played on the harp was heard in the great halls of ancient Chieftains and the manor houses of Irish nobility and continues to bring joy to many peoples. The program will feature the history of the harp through song and story
(in the Bullard Tavern, Building #3).
12:30 p.m. Celebrated Celtic Musicians: Learn about popular Celtic music performers who toured New England in the 1830s. Hear some of the songs written and performed by these individuals that embraced and popularized Celtic culture
(in the Bullard Tavern, Building #3).
1:00 p.m. Meet 19th Century Irish Immigrant Mary Culligan: A character presentation about an Irish immigrant’s experience in America (in the Salem Towne House Lower Kitchen, Building #16).
2:00 p.m. Irresistible Irish Tales: Tales about the legendary Finn McCool and his son Ossian (in the Salem Towne House Lower Kitchen, Building #16).
2:30 p.m. Learn a Dance: “St. Patrick’s Day in the Morning” (in the Bullard Tavern, Building #3).
3:00 p.m. Celtic & Catholic Tour: Pre-Famine Irish immigrants in 1830s Massachusetts (meets by the Center Meetinghouse, Building #7).
Community
Thompson Bank (Building #20) Yesterday was a holiday in the City of Boston: Evacuation Day. Ask the banker about this date in history and how it relates to our bank’s furnishings.
Asa Knight Store (Building #11) Country stores sold goods from all over the world, through seaports like Boston, Providence, and Hartford. They also carried locally produced goods such as livestock, cheeses, braided straw and more.
Households
Throughout the Day: Household Sewing (at the Fitch House, Building #21).
Maple Days Programming
Sugar Camp: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Come visit the maple camp to learn about traditional Native American mapling traditions from Aquinnah Wampanoag tribal member Tess Lukey. (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.
Hands-on Crafts in Kidstory
1:30-3:30 p.m. Green Candle Dipping | $4.00 per craft.
Purchase a $4.00 token for Crafts at the Visitor Center or the Miner Grant Store. Instruction by Costumed Interpreter; make an item to take home.
Please note tokens are nonrefundable. Unused tokens can be redeemed on a future visit.
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).