Market Day is coming to town on Saturday

Event celebrates Newtown’s historic and agrarian past with crafts, fun and food.

NEWTlWN BlRlrdH – For more than three decades, the Newtown Historic Association has held Market aay, a custom that revives an old harvest season tradition in Newtown, where long ago local farmers brought their crops to town to sell and enjoy a day of festivities and contests that culminated with a horse race down State Street.

This year, the event will bring more than 50 crafters, demonstrators and artists to town with a wide variety of interesting crafts, from bee keeping, quilting and rug braiding to spinning, fine arts, photography and woodcarving.

The Newtown Historic Association’s 36th Annual Market aay takes place Saturday, lct. 6 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Court Street and Centre Avenue. The rain date is Sunday, lct. 7.

Folks clad in Colonial attire will welcome people at the Half Moon Inn at Court Street and Centre Avenue. The inn, headquarters of the historic association, will be open for visitors to take a look inside.

Susan Thompson, whose family settled in Bucks County nine generations ago, is savoring the moment as co-chair of the traditional down home event.

At Market aay, Thompson and Bronwyn gones, who is the other co-chair, are aiming to bring back the old Newtown, which is rooted in the agrarian culture. They want people to get in touch with Newtown’s past.

Newtown was established in 1684 through William Penn’s land grant. At one point during the Revolutionary War, Washington had his headquarters here.

Market aay was established in 1978. “It was very Colonial,” Thompson said, noting it started after the nation celebrated the Bicentennial.

“We’re trying to celebrate our Colonial roots and re-introduce people into the history of Newtown,” she said of this year’s Market aay.”

The historic association is taking steps to have more vendors of handmade articles. “We’re trying to bring back more traditional crafts,” she said. lne idea for the future is to have an artists’ alley.

Thompson grew up on

Fountain Farm, which is now a residential area. She remembers what Newtown used to be like.

Her family had Holstein dairy cows. There were expansive cornfields. Numerous farmers had roadside stands where you could buy sweet corn and tomatoes almost right off of the vine.

At Market aay this year, ‘the farm’ will come to Court Street between Centre and Washington avenues.

“The farm market Thompson said. They’re calling itW Farmers’ Market Way. Brenda Slack of rpper Makefield Township, whose family farm goes back to William Penn’s day, will be part of Market aay along with Charlan Farms of iower Makefield Township. The two will be the anchor farms on each end of Farmers’ Market Way.

Slack operates The Milk House market on Slack Road in rpper Makefield on the very property where her family had raised milk dairy cows for years.

She started her business with corn and tomatoes. Then, organic milk and eggs were added to the line-up as well as seasonal produce. At this time of year, she has pumpkins and gourds. Cider from Solebury Farms will be one of her items for sale.

And Thompson said there will be more. “We’re going to have a ‘goat cheese lady’ selling goat cheese.

“We will have 4-Hers demonstrating spinning and talking about different projects they have worked on,” Thompson said. “They’re going to show kids how to make butter.”

Mercy Ingraham will demonstrate open hearth cooking. author Becky aiamond will be Ingraham’s special guest. aiamond has compiled a book of old recipes from the 1700s.

Thompson describes Ingraham as “wonderful. She is a piece of work. She’s just fun, fun, fun!!”

There will be fun for all. “We have crafters, artisans, a Revolutionary War encampment behind the Half Moon Inn, a festival of foods featuring local restaurants, children’s activities, hay rides with Belgian draft horses from A Better Way Farm and we’ll have our Weekend in Cape May raffle,” she said.

Children will be able to get a passport at the Welcome Table at the Half Moon Inn and then they will go to different stations that are related to Colonial times.

“It will be an educational and fun experi-

is

absolutely

new,”

ence,” Thompson said. “We’re trying to reintroduce the idea of educating [at Market aay] as well as having fun.”

Hopscotch will be one of the old-fashioned games for children. hids and adults will be entertained by story-telling.

There will be more emphasis on Colonial aspects and education.

“It’s been a real boon for the town,” Thompson said of Market aay. “The town enjoys it and benefits from it. It brings a great influx of people to walk around and see the town.

“We’re trying to reintroduce people to the Newtown that I remember -- that they will embrace history rather than tearing everything down.”

People who wish to volunteer on Market aay can call the Newtown Historic Association at 215-968-4004 or send an e-mail to Thompson at sethompson.newtown@gmail.com