By Brandon T. Bisceglia
The Orange Bicentennial Committee has set the dates for a number of events throughout the year to celebrate the town’s 200th birthday.
The committee after its Feb. 3 meeting put came up with a calendar that includes events spanning from May through September, including a parade, a golf tournament and the digging up of the sesquicentennial time capsule.
The “summer of celebration,” as it’s being dubbed, begins on Saturday, May 28 at 10 a.m. at the High Plains Community Center gazebo with a Founding Day ceremony, followed by a groundbreaking ceremony for the Orange Chamber of Commerce’s bicentennial bricks. The bricks, which can be purchased by individuals and etched with messages, will be installed around the gazebo.
On Saturday, June 25 at 2 p.m., the town will host a celebratory parade and family dinner. The rain date for the parade is June 26. Applications to participate in the parade have been drawn up and will be due to parade organizer Pat O’Sullivan by June 4.
Then on Monday, June 27 the town will be sponsoring a bicentennial golf tournament at Race Brook Country Club in Orange. The event begins with registration, warm-up and a continental breakfast at 8 a.m., followed by a shotgun scramble start at 9 a.m. The event will include 18 holes with live scoring by Golf Genius. In addition to the game itself, the $200 fee will get players a tournament gift, breakfast, lunch, snacks and beverages on the course and other contests.
Another major event will occur on Saturday, Sept. 10 on the Town Green with the digging up of the sesquicentennial time capsule. The items found in the capsule will be displayed at the Orange Country Fair, which also happens in September.
Other events added to the bicentennial calendar included:
– Restaurant Week from May 28 to June 10.
– A flower show by the Garden Club of Orange on Sunday, June 5.
– A mud run at High Plains Community Center on June 18.
– The annual concert and fireworks display on July 3 at the High Plains Community Center fairgrounds.
– A goat hike at the Race Brook Tract on Saturday, July 23 at 10 a.m., with a rain date of July 30.
– A falcon demonstration at High Plains Community Center on Saturday, Aug. 20 at 1 p.m.
The Orange Historical Society is also sponsoring a number of events to showcase the town’s heritage during the year, including a lunch at the historic Bryan-Andrew House on Thursday June 2 and Tuesday, July 7 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; the Lebanon Town Militia at the Bryan-Andrew House on Saturday, July 16 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; tours of the Stone-Otis House herb garden on Saturday, July 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and crafters and a blacksmith at the Stone-Otis House on Saturday, Aug. 27 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Orange Historical Society is additionally selling commemorative bicentennial medallions to honor the anniversary.