All former Brockporters are encouraged to return to their former place of residence July 4th weekend to help the Town of Sweden celebrate its Bicentennial during Olde Home Weekend, Thursday, July 3 through Sunday, July 6.
“We want to bring people back,” Sweden Town Clerk and Bicentennial Celebration Committee member Karen Sweeting says. “There’s going to be something for everyone.”
The weekend will include annual Independence Day events such as the “July 3 Event” at the Sweden-Clarkson Community Center which includes music, food, games and fireworks at dusk; and the 4th of July celebration at the Morgan-Manning House in the village which begins with the Children’s Parade at 10 a.m. and includes tours, music, children’s games and a cake walk.
Special events planned in celebration of the Bicentennial include a parade at 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 3. Sweeting recommends you come early and stay for the fireworks. The parade lines up in the plaza at the intersection of Route 19 and Route 31 and proceeds south on Route 19 to Duryea Drive, and then to Bader’s Way where the Sweden-Clarkson Community Center is located.
Saturday, July 5 is Museum Day with the Emily L. Knapp Museum, located on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the Village Hall, celebrating a grand re-opening beginning at 9 a.m. Role players will be on hand until noon. Also featured are the Brockport Community Museum (9 a.m. to noon at the Emily L. Knapp Museum; 1 to 3 p.m. at the Sweden Farmer’s Museum); The Capen Hose Museum, Navy Club collections and the Morgan-Manning House. Virginia Parker, genealogy resource, will be at the Farmer’s Museum from 1 to 3 p.m.
Also on Saturday, July 5 from 4 to 6 p.m., a Community Picnic is planned at the Sweden Town Park on Redman Road.
“You can bring your own food, or vendors will be available,” Karen Sweeting says. “It will be very relaxed.”
The weekend concludes with the Farmers Market on Market Street in the village from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, July 6. Sundays on the Canal at 1 p.m. at the Canalside Welcome Center features poetry readings by four local poets.
Out-of-towners can connect with others by registering online at http://www.townofsweden.org/Bicentennial (click on attendance intentions). Additional information including all events, a map of the parade route and “Olde Home Weekend” venues as well as all Sweden Bicentennial events is provided. Sheet music from the Olde Home Week held in Brockport in 1911 is also available online.
