This Weekend: Concert, History And A Big Ol’ Cannon Celebrate 231st Anniversary Of New Utrecht Liberty Pole
History buffs will descend on the Historic New Utrecht Reformed Church this weekend to celebrate the 231st anniversary of the New Utrecht Liberty Pole with music, historical reenactments and the blasting of a Civil War cannon, among other activities.
It’s two days of events, hosted by Friends of Historic New Utrecht, kicking off on Saturday, June 1, on the grounds of the New Utrecht Reformed Church (18th Avenue and 84th Street). All events are free and open to everybody.
From the group’s announcement:
Events on the church grounds and in the Parish House from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. will be devoted to history. At 7:30 p.m. the Parish House will be the site of an all-American concert by the award-winning Symphonic Band from Susan E. Wagner High School in Staten Island, Paul Corn conducting.
Revolutionary War re-enactors will interact with the public on the church lawn and members of Winslow’s Battery D will explain and demonstrate by firing an authentic 1863 Civil War cannon.
In the Parish House at 12:30 p.m., National Park Service Ranger Michael Callahan will present a lecture on “The French and Indian War” while at 2:45 p.m. Dave Elligers, vice president of the New Utrecht Liberty Pole Association and president of the Friends organization, will talk about the history of the Liberty Pole. Throughout Saturday historical exhibits and displays will be open to visitors in the Parish House.
A ceremony honoring the 231st anniversary of the raising of the first Liberty Pole on the site at the end of the Revolutionary War will be conducted at 3:30 p.m.
Earlier in the day, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Mr. Elligers leads a tour of the Old New Utrecht Reformed Cemetery, on 85th Street with the entrance east of 16th Avenue. He gives a similar tour on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Liberty Weekend is the only time during the year that the cemetery, dating back to the 1600s, is opened to the public.
On the lawn from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the New Utrecht Reformed Church will conduct a sale of baked goods and costume jewelry with proceeds going toward the re-opening of the historic church sanctuary, which has been closed for restoration and repair. The sanctuary was built in 1828 with stones taken from the original church built in the Old Cemetery in 1700.
For more information, call (718) 256-7173, visit the group’s website, find them on Facebook, or e-mail mail@historicnewutrecht.org.
