Celebrating the Eastern Shore’s Colonial Heritage and welcoming the beautiful month of May have become an annual event for Wye Parish and the Eastern Shore. This year’s Colonial May Fair takes place on Saturday, May 4. The celebration is held on the grounds of the beautiful 1721 Old Wye Church in historic Wye Mills, Maryland from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Docent-led, Clydesdale-drawn wagon rides will take Fair-goers to the old (1682), working Grist Mill. A special traditional event is the May Pole Dance at 1:00, when the children “dance” while weaving brightly-colored ribbons around a live-flower-bedecked May Pole. Throughout the day, children will have fun participating in Colonial games and crafts and learning how children entertained themselves 250 years ago.
Watching blacksmithing, basket-weaving, bee-keeping, quilting demonstrations and militia displays will give fair-goers a sense of life in Colonial times. Lots of folks will be dressed in Colonial clothing, and hand-made Colonial costumes for girls will be for sale.
Just as in Colonial times, there will be animals everywhere! A petting zoo featuring barnyard animals will give children a chance to have an up-close encounter with farm animals. Bring your pets to the traditional Blessing of the Animals at 1:30 so that Wye Parish Rector Charlie Osberger can give your pet an individual blessing.
A fife and drum corps will be on the march, providing rousing Colonial music. Inside the Church, the Wye Choral Scholars and the Wye Youth Chorale will have concerts between 11:00 and 12:00.
Mother’s Day is the following weekend, and the Colonial May Fair is a good place to find that special gift. There will be all kinds of flowering plants and hanging baskets, and in the Lavender Cottage there will be a wide variety of lavender products such as sachets, candles, soaps and sprays made from locally grown lavender. Children can create a special hand-made gift by painting and planting a small pot of flowers. You might find something mother would love among the silent auction items, such as a hand-embroidered table cloth. Other auction items include a large doll house, a lesson in driving a pony cart, and furniture.
There will be lots of food – especially Eastern Shore specialties like Barbequed Chicken dinners to take home or eat on the spot, pulled-pork plates or sandwiches courtesy of a Sudlersville pig, Amish cold slaw, Smith Island Cake, as well as soup, chicken salad, hot dogs, and lemonade. A bake table will feature favorite sweets made by Parish cooks. Eat, relax and just enjoy the day sitting at the picnic tables on the grounds.
Old Wye Church is located at 14114 Old Wye Mills Road (Route 662) in Wye Mills. There is no admission charge. Proceeds from sales support the outreach programs of Wye Parish. For further information, call 410.827.8484.