On June 24th, 2012, Monkton will be celebrating its 250th Birthday;
being chartered by then Governor Wentworth of New Hampshire on June
24th, 1762. As a tribute to this upcoming birthday, a Monkton 250 Founding Celebration Committee was formed to organize and act upon various activities in the town. A 5K “fun” race has been planned, inviting runners, walkers,
wheelchair riders, carriage pushers, etc., any age, to join in on
this 3.1 mile event. There is a fee to race- $15-$20 and $7 for
students and seniors. Contact Karla Huizenga at 377-7445 or
karla.huizenga@lmsre.com for more information.
Also in the planning stages, is a parade. The committee wishes to
invite any interested area town citizens or groups to join in on this
parade, near or far! If you want to ride a horse, walk; have an old
tractor, car or truck to drive; want to have a float: are a band
that could play and march, or any other group who would like to be a
part of the festivities, come join the fun!! The committee also
welcomes any livestock owners to participate in the parade. Bring
your pets, cows, llamas, alpacas, goats, etc. Come and ride your
bike, skateboard, unicycle or whatever you wish to add to the delight
of spectators. There is no fee to do this- just your time to
participate. The parade is tentatively scheduled to start at 9:30
A.M. at this time. Contact Kristen Farrell at
farrellleafarm@yahoo.com for more information and to sign up for the
parade. Please note ‘the 250th celebration’ in the Subject
line.
A contest to design a flag for Monkton is under way. Five
finalist’s designs will be judged and voted on by community members
at Monkton’s Town Meeting on March 6th. The flag selected will be
unveiled at the parade.
Another plan for the day is the planting of two oak trees grown from
seed by Pete and Caroline Aube and donated to the town. A time
capsule will also be buried containing items such as pictures, town
census, prices of gas, etc., at Morse Park around Noon, the location
to be marked, with plans to dig it up in 50 years. A photo of this
year’s town meeting attendees will be taken to put in the vessel.
The committee is still requesting ideas of things to put in it. It
measures about 16 by 16 inches in size so the contents need to be
fairly small. If you have an idea of what else could be put in the
capsule, contact Pete at blackdogcoal40@yahoo.com . Please put
‘the 250th celebration’ in the Subject line.
Other activities for the day include the 25th Annual Strawberry
Festival sponsored by the Russell Memorial Library at the Monkton
Volunteer Fire Station from Noon to 3 P.M.; Exhibits at the Monkton
Central School and the Willowell Foundation from 11:30 A.M. to 4 P.M.
and a chicken barbeque to wind up the day at the Monkton Recreation
Field at 4:30 P.M.
The Monkton 250th Founding Committee invites and encourages all
towns, near and far to come join in to help make this event a
spectacular day!