2008 NOW AVAILABLE!
May 23-26, 2008
(also available as PDF for printing - updated 05/08/08)

 

Friday, May 23, 2008
6:00 PM- 8:00 PM	Kickoff COCKTAIL RECEPTION, Musical entertainment by HomeTown Roots.	Hynson Pavillion (Wilmer Park)
6:00 PM	SNEAKER CREEPER Footrace for children ages 2-11 (for information or to register please call Kiki Jones (410) 778-4179)  We will be holding the 20th annual Sneaker Creeper at the Washington College's Roy Kirby Stadium - organized by the H.H. Garnett  PTA,family & friends (08 Registration PDF)	Washington College - Roy Kirby Stadium
Saturday, May 24, 2008
8:00 AM	ANNUAL TEA PARTY CLASSIC DISTANCE RUN	Wilmer Park
9:00 AM	100 VOICE CHOIR	Main Stage (near Stams clock tower)
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM	BENJAMIN FRANKLIN Play chess with the master	White Swan Tavern Portico
9am-5pm	SULTANA SMART CAR RAFFLE - stop by Ops Booth III to purchase your raffle tickets - winner will be drawn in November - click here for more info	Cannon & Cross Street
9:30 AM	COLONEL LEONARD'S IRREGULARS Irish, Celtic, & Folk Music	Courthouse Green
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM	FACE PAINTING
10:00 AM - 1:00 PM	SCHOONER SULTANA OPEN HOUSE - Sultana will be open to the public for boarding	Cannon at Town Dock
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM	SCALES & TAILS - Tuckahoe State Park Animal Exhibit	Courthouse Green
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM	KATE'S COLONIAL DRESSUP From stays to stockings to Spitalfields	Foot of High Street
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM	AJ KOLODZIEJSKI - LUTHIER handmade stringed instruments	Foot of High Street
10:00 AM	DR. BILL - Colonial Medical and Surgical demonstrations	Foot of High Street
10:00 AM	COLONIAL PARADE	High Street (In historic district)
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM	CHILDREN'S GAMES IN WILMER PARK	Wilmer Park
10:30 AM	STORYTELLING & CHILDREN'S FOLK MUSIC, Miss Jackie	Courthouse Green
10:30 AM	SPINNING GOLD - Master Spinner Susan Langley demonstrates spinning textiles	Foot of High Street
10:45 AM	STEPHEN CHRISTOFF Colonial Music: Octave Mandolin, Bowed Musical Saw, Hand Flute	Main Stage (near Stams clock tower)
11:00 AM - 2:00 PM	WASHINGTON COLLEGE ARCHAEOLOGY LAB Open for Tours- the Revolution continues!	Custom House
11:00 AM	KILTIE BAND OF YORK	Custom House
11:00 AM - 4:00 PM	SWORDMASTERS History & skills of the colonial swordsman - lessons and demonstrations throughout the day	Foot of High Street
11:00 AM - 3:00 PM	CHILDREN'S COLONIAL GAMES 11am-3pm	White Swan Tavern Portico
11:15 AM	CHESAPEAKE CALEDONIA PIPE BAND	Courthouse Green
11:15 AM	FLAG RAISING CEREMONIES Kent County Community Marching Band	Cross and High Streets
11:15 AM	AWARDING OF PRIZES FOR TEA PARTY CLASSIC RUN	Wilmer Park
11:30 AM	TUCKER'S TALES - PUNCH & JUDY PUPPET SHOW Tuckers Tales	Courthouse Green
11:30 AM	FIFES & DRUMS OF THE DELAWARE MILITIA	Custom House
11:30 AM	WALKING TOURS OF HISTORIC CHESTERTOWN - 11:30, 12:00, 12:30, 1:00, & 3:00	from Information Booth
11:30 AM	DOVER ENGLISH COUNTRY DANCERS 18th c. Dancing	Main Stage (near Stams clock tower)
11:30 AM	STACY ROTH - Revolutionary Tea -- the story of the tea protest in song, poetry, and prose	Prince Theatre
12:00 PM	SLIM HARRISON - strolling musician GOOD TIME MOUNTAIN MUSIC Slim Harrison
12:00 PM	DAVID EMERSON - SEA STORIES David Emerson	Custom House
12:00 PM	BEATEN BISCUIT CONTEST	Foot of High Street
12:00 PM	DR. BILL - Colonial Medical and Surgical demonstrations	Foot of High Street
12:00 PM	WALKING TOURS OF HISTORIC CHESTERTOWN - 11:30, 12:00, 12:30, 1:00, & 3:00	from Information Booth
12:15 PM	STORYTELLING & CHILDREN'S FOLK MUSIC, Miss Jackie	Courthouse Green
12:15 PM	STACY ROTH - Revolutionary Tea -- the story of the tea protest in song, poetry, and prose	Courthouse Green
12:15 PM	COLONEL LEONARD'S IRREGULARS Irish, Celtic, & Folk Music	Main Stage (near Stams clock tower)
12:30 PM	STEPHEN CHRISTOFF - strolling set of Colonial Music: Octave Mandolin, Bowed Musical Saw, Hand Flute
12:30 PM	CHILDREN'S CALL TO ARMS with General Washington's Aide De Camp: Sgt. Doolittle	Courthouse Green
12:30 PM	TUCKER'S TALES - PUNCH & JUDY PUPPET SHOW Tuckers Tales	Courthouse Green
12:30 PM	CHESAPEAKE CALEDONIA PIPE BAND	Foot of High Street
12:30 PM	WALKING TOURS OF HISTORIC CHESTERTOWN - 11:30, 12:00, 12:30, 1:00, & 3:00	from Information Booth
12:30 PM	FILM Horseback Through History - Witness the birth of the Chestertown Tea Party Festival in this rare 1967 glimpse of Kent County. Eight-millimeter movies shot by Louis Anthony chronicle the affable journey of Walt Volker as he reenacts the 1781 ride of Col. Tench Tilghman.  Devised as a promotional tour for the first Chestertown Tea Party Festival, Volker follows the path of Col. Tench Tilghman's urgent sprint from Yorktown to Philadelphia. As General Washington's aid-de-camp, Tilghman was tasked to deliver the news of Cornwallis' surrender. Volker brings his own style and pace to the ride as he crosses Kent County among friends in a simpler time. Captured more than forty years ago, this is the movie's first ever public viewing.	Prince Theatre
12:45 PM	FIFES & DRUMS OF THE DELAWARE MILITIA	Courthouse Green
1:00 PM	SLIM HARRISON - GOOD TIME MOUNTAIN MUSIC Slim Harrison	Courthouse Green
1:00 PM	DOVER ENGLISH COUNTRY DANCERS 18th c. Dancing	Custom House
1:00 PM	WALKING TOURS OF HISTORIC CHESTERTOWN - 11:30, 12:00, 12:30, 1:00, & 3:00	from Information Booth
1:00 PM	FIDDLESTYX and STEP JAM Clogging, flatfooting & country music	Main Stage (near Stams clock tower)
1:30 PM	KILTIE BAND OF YORK	Courthouse Green
1:30 PM	DRILL DEMONSTRATION 1st Battalion of Maryland Loyalists	Custom House
1:30 PM	SPINNING GOLD - Master Spinner Susan Langley demonstrates spinning textiles	Foot of High Street
1:30 PM	NANTICOKE INDIANS, Dances and Stories	Main Stage (near Stams clock tower)
1:45 PM	FILM Tea Party on the Chester	Prince Theatre
2:00 PM	TEA PARTY REENACTMENT	Main Stage (near Stams clock tower)
2:30 PM	SPINNING GOLD - Master Spinner Susan Langley demonstrates spinning textiles	Foot of High Street
2:30 PM	SPICED PUNCH Colonial Music	Main Stage (near Stams clock tower)
2:30 PM	STEPHEN CHRISTOFF Colonial Music: Octave Mandolin, Bowed Musical Saw, Hand Flute	Prince Theatre
2:45 PM	DRILL DEMONSTRATION lst MD Regiment, 6th MD Regiment	Courthouse Green
2:45 PM	DR. BILL - Colonial Medical and Surgical demonstrations	Foot of High Street
3:00 PM	WALKING TOURS OF HISTORIC CHESTERTOWN - 11:30, 12:00, 12:30, 1:00, & 3:00	from Information Booth
3:00 PM	SQUARE DANCING PepperSteppers	Main Stage (near Stams clock tower)
3:15 PM	CHILDREN'S CALL TO ARMS with General Washington's Aide De Camp: Sgt. Doolittle	Courthouse Green
3:15 PM	STACY ROTH "The Distaff Muse - songs by and about 18th Century women	Prince Theatre
3:30 PM	TOSS THE TORY! - the guilty shall be tossed!	Foot of High Street
3:30 PM	SLIM HARRISON and the Children's Jug Band	Main Stage (near Stams clock tower)
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM	CHESTER RIVER RUNOFF	Main Stage (near Stams clock tower)
4:00 PM	SPICED PUNCH Colonial Music	Prince Theatre
4:45 PM	DAVID EMERSON - SEA STORIES David Emerson	Custom House
4:45 PM	FLAG FOLDING CEREMONY - Vietnam Veterans of America	Monument Park (at flag pole)
Sunday, May 25, 2008
12:30 PM	INTER-FAITH SERVICE & FLAG RAISING  The service will feature singers including soloist Betsy Beals and a local gospel choir, religious leaders from the community and speakers sharing inspirations from their own faith traditions.	Cross and High Streets
12:30 PM	WALKING TOUR OF HISTORIC CHESTERTOWN - Also tour at 1:30pm	from Information Booth
12:30 PM	TUCKER'S TALES -  It's the Wolf! puppet show	Wilmer Park
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM	SCHOONER SULTANA PUBLIC SAIL -  on the Chester River, Reservations Required!  Call 410-778-5954	Cannon at Town Dock
11:00PM - 1:00 PM	SCHOONER SULTANA PUBLIC SAIL -  on the Chester River, Reservations Required!  Call 410-778-5954	Cannon at Town Dock
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM	SLIM HARRISON Mountain music & children's instrument making	Wilmer Park
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM	BAY COUNTRY GENTLEMEN, Bluegrass Music	Wilmer Park
1:30 PM	WALKING TOUR OF HISTORIC CHESTERTOWN - Also tour at 12:30pm	from Information Booth
2:00 PM -4:00 PM	SCHOONER SULTANA PUBLIC SAIL -  on the Chester River, Reservations Required!  Call 410-778-5954	Cannon at Town Dock
2:00 PM	BAY COUNTRY GENTLEMEN	Wilmer Park
2:30 PM	RAFT RACE	Wilmer Park
3:30 PM	BAY COUNTRY GENTLEMEN - HOEDOWN & SQUARE DANCING (participation) Bay Country Gentlemen	Wilmer Park
4:00 PM	CLOSING
Monday, May 26, 2008
10:00 AM	MEMORIAL DAY PARADE	High Street (In historic district)

If you are a re-enactor of American colonial life and would like to be part of the festival's programming please contact programming@chestertownteaparty.com.

Please note that pets are not welcome at the Tea Party for the welfare of all.

For more information, contact contact@chestertownteaparty.com

The Reenactment | Walking Tours | Colonial Parade | Classic Run | Raft Race

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The Reenactment
In response to British Parliament's closing of the port of Boston, the citizens of Chestertown met in May of 1774 and set forth "Resolves" forbidding importing, selling, or consuming tea in Chestertown.

According to local legend, residents then gathered at the town center, marched down High Street to the brigantine Geddes, which was anchored in the Chester River, and tossed her cargo of tea overboard. The annual reenactment of that event is the centerpiece of the Chestertown Tea Party Festival.

The Schooner Sultana, built in Chestertown and launched in March 2001, plays the role of the brigantine Geddes during the reenactment.

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Walking Tours: 
HISTORIC WALKING TOUR OF 18TH CENTURY CHESTERTOWN AT THE TEA PARTY FESTIVAL
As part of the annual celebration of the Chestertown Tea Party, a walking tour of the historic district is offered to visitors and local residents. The tour is conducted by trained docents who are residents of the community of Kent County. The tour lasts approximately one and one-half hours, depending upon the interest and curiosity of the participants. The guides describe the architecture and the historical facts related to twenty one major 18th Century buildings and structures as well as answer questions related to town and county development since 1774. The tour strolls past such renowned buildings as Widehall, River House, the White Swan Tavern and the Hynson-Ringgold House in a setting of springtime in Maryland with the atmosphere of craftsmen in colonial dress and celebrations of the heritage of the area. Guides point out the distinction between Georgian and Federal homes and describe, in detail, the bonding of the predominately brick structures that make up the tour. Tour participants also have the opportunity to tour the interior the Geddes-Piper House, home to the Kent County Historical Society in order to gain an understanding of the interior furnishings and decor along with life styles of the people who lived in Chestertown in the 18th Century.

Walking Tour Times

Saturday: 11:30 12:00 12:30 1:00 3:00

Sunday: 12:30 1:30

For tickets please visit the festival's information booth.

For more information, contact walkingtour@chestertownteaparty.com

Town ordinance prohibits dogs at the festival.

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photos in opening FLASH sequence courtesy of Geoff Demeritt
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