Tea Days in Weymouth celebrates 35 years

Teas are held Thursday afternoons; wrap the season in early October

Karen Cooper and her family have been visiting the Weymouth Tea Parties for generations.

“It’s tradition for us now,” says the Weymouth woman.

The Weymouth Historical Society began hosting summer tea parties in the summer of 1983 and the events keep growing as the years go by.

Cooper remembers visiting a tea in 1988 and a reporter took a picture of her kids outside the tea hosted in the Weymouth Historical Society church.

Now her children are grown up, and Cooper tries to bring her grandchildren to the teas in the summer.

“We’ve been doing it for generations. It’s a great family tradition we try and keep alive as our family grows,” Cooper says.

She enjoys them because each week there is a mix of regulars and tourists.

“You never know who you’re going to talk to,” she adds.

The Weymouth teas are or- Debbie Connell of Carleton and her granddaughter Anna Herman from Bathurst, New Brunswick, visited the Aug. 23 tea in Weymouth. The pair try to attend at least one tea a summer when Herman comes to visit. ganized by the historical society, but each tea is a fundraiser for a different group. On Aug. 23, the group raising money was the Weymouth Lions Club.

From 2: 30 to 4: 30 attendees can enjoy tea, sandwiches and sweets provided by each organization.

This year the Weymouth His- torical Society is celebrating its 40th anniversary.

The group was formed in 1978 as an initiative to transform the former St. Thomas Church in Weymouth Bridge into a community centre. Through funding the group was able to restore the church, originally built in 1864, and they’re still using it today.

In 1999 the Weymouth Historical Society building was named a municipal heritage property.

Lennie McCullough, president of the society, says the teas continue growing with each event.

The tea is separated into two sittings, so those who arrive early get a chance to sit and then a second sitting starts halfway through the event.

“It never used to be like that, more and more people are coming,” she says.

McCullough tries to attend most teas throughout the summer.

This year there were 14 teas planned. The next tea is Aug. 30 and it’s a fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society.

Following that there is a tea every Thursday in September and the first Thursday in October is their final tea for the year. The October tea is called the Witches Tea, it’s a Halloween- themed fundraiser for the MS Society.

All teas take place from 2:30 to 4:30.