The theme for the Heritage Festival is “Celebrating 250 Years of the U.S.A.”. It will be held Saturday and Sunday, September 26 and 27, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day. Admission is free. Parking will be available close to the museum and at East Jay Elementary School. Golf carts will be provided to shuttle visitors back and forth from the school.

There will be stage entertainment, craft vendors, kids’ activities, displays, demonstrations, and food. Ham and beans with cornbread will be cooked over an open fire on Saturday and chili
on Sunday. Foot long hotdogs will be served both days. Other sandwiches, pie, ice cream, caramel corn and cotton candy will be sold.

It takes many people to put on a festival of this size. Volunteer schedules will be available by mid-August at the museum office. Workers will be needed to help with parking, stirring the beans and chili, serving food in the food tent or ice cream parlor, staffing other booths, helping in the kids’ area and with clean up, etc. Help will be needed to make caramel corn before the event and set up tents, tables and chairs and take them down afterward. There are several spaces available for vendors, demonstrators and reenactors. All items sold should be handcrafted or appropriate for a historical event, and all demonstrations, reenactments, etc., should be historically oriented.

If you are interested in having a space, call or email the museum for an application. Spaces are limited and are assigned on a first-come-first-serve basis. Those selling items will pay $30 for a 10’ x 10’ tented area (half a tent) and $50 for a 10’ x 20’ space (entire tent). If you are not selling, there is no charge. Canopies, tables, and chairs are provided for all participants.