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KEENE, N.H. (MyKeeneNow) The Monadnock Region is set to celebrate America’s 250th birthday Saturday with a daylong lineup of patriotic events, highlighted by Keene’s Monadnock 250 Independence Day celebration and additional festivities in Marlborough, Peterborough and Jaffrey.
The holiday weekend begins Friday night in Keene with the annual Independence Eve celebration at Alumni Field. The Keene SwampBats host the Sanford Mainers at 6:35 p.m., with gates opening at 4:30 p.m. A fireworks display is scheduled immediately after the game.
Saturday’s activities begin early with the annual 4 on the 4th road race through downtown Keene. The race starts at 7:30 a.m. and raises money for PathWays for Keene, the nonprofit organization that develops and maintains the city’s network of bicycle and pedestrian paths.
The official Monadnock 250 celebration gets underway at 10:45 a.m. when members of the Mayor’s Keene High School Youth Council read the Declaration of Independence. At 11 a.m., the Independence Day parade will step off from the Wyman Tavern and travel down Main Street to Railroad Square.
After the parade, downtown Keene will transform into a community celebration with free entertainment, music, history and family activities spread across Main Street, Railroad Square and the Historical Society of Cheshire County campus.
Railroad Square will become the center of the festivities beginning at about 12:20 p.m., when the Main Street Four leads a community rendition of the national anthem. The Keene Cheshiremen Chorus, Monadnock Blend singers and a community sing-along led by Keene Middle School Choral Director Jennifer Garretson will follow with patriotic favorites. The Cheshiremen will also perform throughout downtown during the afternoon.
At noon, three of Keene’s historic churches — the Keene Unitarian Universalist Church, the United Church of Christ and St. James Episcopal Church — will ring their bells together 13 times, honoring the original 13 colonies on the nation’s 250th birthday.
Live entertainment continues throughout the afternoon. The Nelson Town Band performs in Railroad Square at 1 p.m., followed by the Keene Jazz Orchestra at 2 p.m. Gavin Key and the Get Down will perform on Main Street at noon and 2 p.m., while Doug the Devil Stick Man takes the stage at 1 p.m.
Families can also enjoy a free showing of “The Sandlot” at The Colonial Theatre at 1 p.m., visit the Enchanted Animal Parties petting zoo from noon to 3 p.m. near the intersection of Main and Davis streets, and browse food vendors and educational exhibits in Railroad Square.
The Historical Society of Cheshire County will host activities from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at three Main Street locations. Visitors can tour the “Beyond the Battlefield: Cheshire County in the Revolutionary Era” exhibit, try hands-on colonial crafts and games at the Bruder House, and experience tours, period music and living history demonstrations at the Wyman Tavern.
More information, including maps and event details, is available at the Monadnock 250 Facebook page.
Other July 4 Celebrations Around the Monadnock Region
Several neighboring communities are also commemorating America’s 250th birthday with special events.
Marlborough will dedicate its first Revolutionary War Veterans Memorial Monument at 9 a.m. on the Frost Free Library lawn. The monument recognizes local Patriots who served in the War for Independence with their names engraved in bronze on granite quarried in Marlborough.
Peterborough hosts “An Old-Fashioned Fourth” beginning at 10 a.m. at the Monadnock Center for History and Culture. The celebration includes an ice cream social, old-time games, descendants of Revolutionary War Patriots reading the Declaration of Independence, an 1876-style baseball game, contra dancing and other family activities throughout the day.
Jaffrey continues its long-standing Independence Day tradition with the 26th annual public reading of the Declaration of Independence at noon at the historic 1775 Meetinghouse in Jaffrey Center. The event is followed by a free ice cream social, with the Little Red Schoolhouse, Melville Academy and historic fire apparatus open for visitors.
The Park Theatre in Jaffrey is also wrapping up its three-day America 250 Cultural Fair. Saturday’s schedule includes the placement of a community time capsule at 2:50 p.m. that will remain sealed until July 4, 2126, followed by a 6 p.m. screening of the award-winning musical film 1776. The theatre is also displaying enlarged reproductions of historic Founding Fathers documents throughout the holiday weekend.