Westerly eager to continue town’s 350th birthday party
Anniversary events set for summer and remainder of the year
Westerly — After 350 years, the town of Westerly is still not certain of the origin of its name, but that hasn’t dampened the spirits of those heading up the anniversary celebration.
This year the town is marking its 350th birthday, and a host of activities have occurred with many more to come.
Like the Olde Tyme Fair in Wilcox Park on Aug. 24, when revelers will be able to ride swan boats in the pond, travel on a trackless train around the park’s perimeter, listen to the local and legendary Roomful of Blues, as well as many more musical acts, and enjoy entertainment such as jugglers, magicians and carnival games — all for free. Oh, and a gigantic birthday cake — a collaboration by two local bakeries — will be served.
There’s already been a gala — actually two — after the first sold out so quickly that the anniversary committee organized a second the next night so everyone who wanted to attend could. The festivities started on New Year’s Day, with 250 bell ringers outside Town Hall and a giant inflatable snow globe that townspeople could enter and be photographed in.
With the exception of the gala, everything is free and everyone welcome, according to Lisa Konicki, president of the Ocean Community Chamber of Commerce, which is
working in conjunction with the 350th Anniversary Committee and major sponsors to host the yearlong commemoration.
On June 29 at Wilcox Park a time capsule buried in 1969, at the 300th anniversary festivities, will be unearthed and opened. Later, in September, a new time capsule will be buried.
Also, an artist and paper engineer have been hired to create a cut-out, three-dimensional, pop-up book that will include pages depicting Westerly places and events, such as the Babcock Smith House, Knickerbocker Music Center, Virtu Art Festival, Riverglow, Misquamicut and Watch Hill.
Grey Sail Brewing has crafted a special beer — Flying Horse Blonde Ale — for the occasion and is donating all profits from its sale to the committee to help underwrite anniversary activities. Owners Alan and Jen Brinton have already given $5,000 from the beer that features a likeness of the historic Flying Horse Carousel in Watch Hill on its label.
According to a written history of the town on the 350th Anniversary website, the carousel became a local institution when it was left behind by a traveling carnival in 1879.
That same history explains that a group of English colonists from Newport, including Robert Burdick, Joseph Clarke, John Crandall and Tobias Saunders, purchased Misquamicut
from the Niantic in 1661. Eight years later, the Rhode Island and Providence Plantations incorporated King’s County as the Town of Westerly.
“Its namesake is not confirmed; however, the two most prominent theories are that it was named either for its geographic location as the western-most town in the colony or for the village of Westerleigh in South Gloucestershire, England, where one member of the Misquamicut Company was born.”
State Sen. Dennis Algiere, a lifelong Westerly resident and supporter of the anniversary celebration, said time and time again the town has come together to support its people, properties, culture and history.
“Westerly has always recognized the importance of the past and where we have come from,” he said, adding that prior citizens had the foresight to preserve the town’s architectural gems, open spaces, and to embrace all of its people.
“We are so pleased and fortunate that people over the years protected what we have,” he said. “Our park (Wilcox Park, created in 1898) is still intact, no one put a road through it. People over the years have protected Westerly’s historical integrity.”
Diana Serra, also a lifelong resident and co-chair with Chris Duhamel of the 350th Anniversary Committee, agreed.
“Westerly is a jewel,” she said. “We have so much to offer with our beaches and the arts and our downtown, and our outstanding chamber of commerce. I’ve been here all of my life and I’ve seen the town grow, and I think it’s grown in the right direction.”
The 350th festivities, Serra said, “Are a celebration of who we are, what we are, and how far we have come.”
Konicki, the chamber president, said Westerly residents come together in times of need and times of celebration.
“The sense of pride in this community is incredible,” she said. “The demographics have changed, but the pride is as strong today as it has ever been. Community spirit and volunteerism are infectious.”
Everyone involved agrees that regular townspeople as well as businesses have stepped up to support the 350th celebration. Major sponsors include Washington Trust, founded in 1800 and the oldest community bank in the nation, along with Dime Bank and Yale New Haven Health Westerly Hospital. And there are many, many others contributing.
Students at the Westerly Education Center, Community College of Rhode Island’s Westerly satellite, are helping to fabricate the new time capsule that will be buried. And the owners at Vesta and Sunny Side Up bakeries are collaborating on the massive cake — estimated to be 8 to 10 feet long and 6 to 8 feet tall — that will be served at the Olde Tyme Fair in Wilcox Park in August.
Another initiative includes a locally made documentary that will be shown at the Granite Theatre on Sept. 18. Eighteen residents aged 75 to 96 were interviewed about their hometown, opining on how they believe the town has changed, on local landmarks, their favorite places, and who locally influenced them. A similar film is being made with younger people.
The town’s anniversary finale will be a downtown light parade on Dec. 15, with lighted, holiday-themed floats and vehicles traveling through the streets.
“Everything is being done through fundraising and sponsorships,” said Konicki. “We want (these activities) to be accessible to everyone.”
Algiere, the state senator, was 9 when Westerly celebrated its 300th birthday and likened what he remembers of those festivities to the 2019 commemoration.
“We have always been rich in culture and history and very diverse, and we come together to recognize the importance of our institutions and our history,” he said.