Activities to fill First State Heritage Park Dec. 1-2
The Old State House will host the Friends of Folk Free Concert Series at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Dec. 1 in Dover. The Honey Badgers have been creating music together since 2011. With Michael playing guitar, mandolin, and the occasional banjo, and Erin on violin, glockenspiel and harmonium, The Honey Badgers have created a sound that is distinctive, satisfying and fun.
From 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 2, the First State Heritage Park staff will present What Happens in the Tavern. Ongoing at the John Bell House will be Good Cheer: 18th Century Tavern Life. From tavern songs to popular games, visitors will be immersed in the comings and goings at a Dover tavern when Delaware was becoming the First State. Guided tours of The Old State House will focus on how Delaware went from being the Delaware State to the State of Delaware.
In a special partnership with the First State Club of Campus Community School, the Heritage Park will present traditional mummer's plays across the park several times. Middle school students have researched, written, and will perform the plays. Visitors will learn the unique history of mumming and enjoy the humorous performances.
Other activities will be taking place throughout the day. Leaving from the John Bell House from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Stories of The Green Walking Tour will reveal tales from Dover's more than 300 years of history. Guided tours of Legislative Hall, Johnson Victrola Museum, and Woodburn – The Governor's House will be available at select times.
Centrally located free parking is available at the First State Heritage Park Welcome Center and Galleries, at 121 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. North (formerly called Duke of York Street). For more information, call 302-739-9194 or go to destateparks.com/heritagepark.
The First State Heritage Park is Delaware's first urban park without boundaries, linking historic and cultural sites in the city that has been the seat of state government since 1777. The park is a partnership of state agencies under the leadership of DNREC's Delaware State Parks, working in collaboration with city and county government, nonprofit organizations and the private sector.
