Five Colleges, Incorporated: Historic Deerfield Events: Summer 2006

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Historic Deerfield Events: Summer 2006

Current Exhibitions at Flynt Center of Early New England Life

Engraved Powder Horns from the French and Indian War and The American Revolution: The William H. Guthman Collection. Special viewing through December 31, 2007. One of the finest assemblages of this indigenous and unique American art form ever formed, these 75 powder horns at Historic Deerfield offer a wealth of documentary information about the original owners and carvers who created them.

At Home in Holland: Dutch Decorative Arts from the Historic Deerfield Collection. Open through December 31, 2006. Delight in a beautiful array of 18th- and 19th-century objects created in or inspired by Holland. Several rare items will be paired with an historic painting or print that shows the object in use during the period in which it was created.
The Canton Connection: Art and Commerce of the China Trade, 1784-1860. Extended through December 31, 2006. The stories of Connecticut River Valley merchants, sailors, captains, and wives venturing to China in the 18th and 19th centuries come to life in this visually stunning exhibition. Explore the trade activity and relationships between American and Chinese merchants through over 120 objects from Historic Deerfield’s Asian export art collection. One of the rarest artifacts on view is an album of 24 hand-painted images of the tea production process.
Embroidered History -- Stitched Lives: Samplers & Needlework from the HistoricDeerfield Collection, 1670-1850. Extended through December 31, 2006. Explore the world of schoolgirl art through this comprehensive exhibition of Historic Deerfield’s remarkable collection of embroidered samplers and related needlework. Highlights include what is believed to be the oldest surviving 17th-century colonial sampler worked in colored worsted wool on linen by a woman in nearby Hatfield, Massachusetts.

Events: June 2006

Family Activities: All About Bees and Honey
June 3-4, 10-11, 18, 24-25; Noon-4:00 p.m. Learn how people have historically used honey and its byproducts. Make a beeswax candle to take home. Free with admission.

Demonstrations: Open Hearth Cooking
June 3, 10, 17, 24; 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Hall Tavern kitchen. Savor the delicious sights, sounds, and smells of hearth cooking while learning about colonial foods and diet. Free with admission.

Workshop: To Sleep, Perchance to Dream: A Workshop on Beds and Bed-Hangings
June 10, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Flynt Center of Early New England Life. Join Edward Maeder and Holly Ihloff for a daylong workshop on historic bed hangings. Participants will receive cloth samples, sewing supplies, a reading list (bibliography), and basic patterns for bed hangings. Please furnish your own scissors.
Pre-registration is required by May 30, 2006. Class is limited to 12 persons. Fee is $135 per person for non-member, $125 per person for members. For more information, please contact <A HREF="mailto:dturner@historic-deerfield.org">Dorrit Turner</A> at (413) 775-7179.

Demonstration: Cultivating Silkworms and Making Silk Cloth
June 17, noon-4 p.m. Delve into the secret world of silkworms with Faith Deering of Historic Deerfield and Jody McKenzie of the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association. See actual silkworms and discover what they eat and how they transform themselves into moths by spinning cocoons. Then learn how the cocoon fibers are spun, dyed, and woven into beautiful cloth. Free with admission.

Father’s Day Celebration
June 18. Families are invited to treat all Fathers and Grandfathers to a free visit at Historic Deerfield. Enjoy the Boyden Carriage Collection, as well as lunch at the Deerfield Inn’s Terrace Cafe. Parents and kids alike can take part in regularly scheduled “All About Bees and Honey” Family activities from noon-4 p.m. at the Children’s History Workshop. Free Admission for Fathers.

Events: July 2006

Family Activities
July 1-30, noon-4:00 p.m. Learn about everyday life and the material culture of early New England through four weeks of daily offerings, each with a different theme. July 1-7: Folk Art; July 8-14: Work & Play; July 15-21: Tea & Spices; July 22-30: Building Basics. Free with admission.

Summer Lecture Series: “The Worm in the Apple: Slavery in Early New England.”
July 6, 7:30 p.m., Blue & White Hall, 10 Memorial Street. Joanne Pope Melish, Associate Professor of History, University of Kentucky, will present the first in a series of three talks addressing the topic of slavery in New England. Co-sponsored by the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association. Free.

Children’s Class: Dig! Deerfield Archaeology for Kids
July 7, 14, or 21. Children entering grades 5-8 will learn the basics of archaeology from a professional archaeologist and educator. They will work at research, excavation, and lab stations to discover clues to Deerfield’s past.
Pre-registration is required by June 9, 2006, using the attached form. Fee is $25 per student/ per class for non-members, $20 per student/per class for members. Classes need full subscription in order to run. For more information, please contact <A HREF="mailto:ccarlson@historic-deerfield.org">Claire Carlson</A> at (413) 775-7217.

Demonstrations: Open Hearth Cooking
July 8, 15, 22, 29, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Hall Tavern kitchen. Savor the delicious sights, sounds, and smells of hearth cooking while learning about colonial foods and diet. Free with admission.

Summer Lecture Series: “A Century in Captivity: The Life and Trials of Prince Mortimer, a Connecticut Slave”
July 13, 7:30 p.m., Blue & White Hall, 10 Memorial Street. Denis Caron, Vice President and Connecticut Counsel for LandAmerica Exchange Co. and author of “A Century in Captivity: The Life and Trials of Prince Mortimer, a Connecticut Slave,” will present the second in a series of three talks addressing the topic of slavery in New England. Co-sponsored by the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association. Free.

Demonstration: The Art of Porcelain Production
July 15, 10:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m., Bartels Seminar Room, Flynt Center of Early New England Life. Explore porcelain potting with Bob Woo, Studio Potter and Adjunct Faculty for Ceramics at Deerfield Academy. Bob will discuss the unusual properties of porcelain clays and demonstrate the techniques for throwing them on a potter’s wheel. Then view over 50 examples of Chinese export porcelain in the adjacent exhibition, “The Canton Connection: Art and Commerce of the China Trade, 1784-1860.” Free with admission.

Demonstration: Silversmithing
10:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m., Silver Shop. Stephen Smithers, one of the few craftsmen in the country keeping 18th-century silversmithing alive, will work with period tools and techniques. Free with admission.

Demonstration: Letterpress Printing
10:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m., John Wilson Printing Office. Carl Darrow will operate a replica of a 19th-century wooden letterpress and explain the traditional process used for printing and binding. Free with admission.

Summer Lecture Series: “Slavery, Emancipation and the Education of African Americans in New England.”
July 20, 7:30 p.m., Blue & White Hall, 10 Memorial Street. Hilary Moss, Assistant Professor of History and Black Studies, Amherst College, will present the third and final talk of this series addressing the topic of slavery in New England. Co-sponsored by the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association. Free.

Events: August 2006

Family Activities: Looking at Landscape
August 5-6, 12-13, 20, 26-27, noon-4:00 p.m. Learn to look at the landscape around us, including Deerfield’s fields, forests, river and street. Contribute to a Deerfield landscape mural. Make a shoebox diorama to take home. Free with admission.

Hands-on History Family Program: Back to School
August 19, noon-4 p.m. Experience a 19th-century education in an afternoon at the authentic, one-room Wapping Schoolhouse. Use a slate and pencil to calculate sums. Parents and children alike may benefit from practicing their penmanship with a quill pen. Make a parchment bookmark to take home. Enjoy recess outside playing period games including marbles and graces. Free with admission. Special Hands-on History admission of just $7 adults, $5 youth (6-21), under 6 and members free.

Posted 6/22/06

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