The Big E.... Eastern States Exposition 2010

Just another great year. My 6th Year!  Every year I look forward to pretending the year is 1820.  Every day for 17 days, I live in an old house, my friends live within walking distance, we cook over the fireplace, we share our crafts and skills, we eat together, we go out into the "world of the fair" together, old friends stop by.

Its a good time. So this year, I think I will just post photos!

And another fair is over!  The last evening.

Mini Sgraffito ready for the Big E... next week!

Time for the Eastern States Exposition in Springfield MA!  17 days of food, farming and fun!  I have been attending this for... well, many years. When I was small, I looked forward to the Giant Slide, and plan to go down it again this year with my little grand daughter. 

Traditions such as the Giant Slide and the Storrowton Village, among other things during the next 2 1/2 weeks, keep us coming back to the fair year after year, fighting the crowds, getting stuck in traffic, eating too much junk food and smelling animal poop, but boy, it's still fun! I will be at the Storrowton Village Green demonstrating pottery in my old fashioned dress, playing the part of an Early American Tradeswomen! See you there!

Burlington Tavern, Burlington CT

The tiny town of Burlington has a little event every year at the old tavern.  Burlington Tavern Day, second Sunday in September.

Few can drive through Burlington without noticing the Brown-Elton Tavern on the Town Green, painted in the historically documented shade of pink. This beautiful Federal-style house, built by Giles Griswold in 1810, served as private home, public house, and inn during the next 164 years, until the Town of Burlington purchased it in 1974. Now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it is headquarters for the Burlington Historical Society. Giles Griswold was the son of Jeremiah Griswold, a farmer who settled in Burlington prior to 1770. Griswold is listed on the town assessment for 1806 and 1807 as a merchant.  It is likely that Griswold began construction on his new house (the Tavern) in either 1809 or 1810 with the monies he received from the sale of his store. It is most probable that the TAVERN was substantially completed in 1810. The Grand List for the Town of Burlington reveals that Giles Griswold did not own a house until tax year 1810 when the was taxed a total of $103.75 for a house with a total of nine (9) fireplaces. This house is undoubtedly the TAVERN. The house (Tavern) was definitely standing by June 1810 when he bought a small piece of land adjacent to his dwelling house (the east side yard) from Joseph Lankton. Market value of the new house (Tavern) at this time was about $1150.

And I demonstrated my pottery in front of this lovely pink tavern. (The upstairs front room runs across the whole front of the house and was used as a ball room, as many old taverns in New England had a ball room upstairs, running the expanse of the house).