Windsor Historical Society and Windsor Chamber of Commerce present Barn Raising and Colonial Day on Palisado Green

            On Saturday, April 22nd from 10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (rain date:  April 29th), Windsor Historical Society and the Windsor Chamber of Commerce with support from the Connecticut Humanities Council present a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to participate in an old-time barn raising on Palisado Green.  All ages are welcome at this free community event.  Jeff Bradley and three colleagues from the New England Outbuildings Company will demonstrate tools and techniques for building barns, culminating in the raising of a small ten-foot by sixteen-foot barn frame with public participation.

Costumed participants from the 9^th Regiment Afoote and Hinsdale Company re-enactment groups will be encamped on Windsor Historical Society’s lawn throughout the day demonstrating colonial crafts such as spinning and weaving and cooking over the campfire, and sharing 18^th century herbal knowledge and remedies.  Live period music played on recorders, hammer dulcimer, fiddles and psaltries will waft through the camp throughout the day, combining with the odors of cooking for a multi-sensory experience.  Family groups will have the opportunity to participate in a militia drill on Palisado Green, and observe blacksmiths, gunsmiths, and woodworkers as well as the barn crew at work.

From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Reel Nutmeg Dance Troupe will demonstrate traditional line dances of the late 19^th and early 19^th centuries to period music.  At noon, Helen Davenport-Senuta, director and dance mistress for Reel Nutmeg, will teach interested participants a simple line dance.  Beginning at 11 a.m., families can try out classic colonial toys such as hoops, graces, ball-and-cups, and spinners, participate in colonial circle games and relay races or individual games such as cat’s cradle.   Lon Pelton will offer hayrides down to the Great Meadows area at the junction of the Farmington and Connecticut Rivers from 2-4 p.m.  This area is still being used for agriculture and the landscape here has remained virtually unchanged for centuries.  Baked goods and drinks will be for sale throughout the day.

            Parking is available around Palisado Green and in the Windsor Discovery Center and First Church parking lots.