Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 8/7/2023
SOUTHAMPTON — Residents of Southampton will gather together this weekend for Celebrate Southampton, an event filled with music, a picnic, memories and family-friendly activities.
Sponsored by the Southampton Historical Society, Celebrate Southampton is planned by Tammy Walunas, president of the society; Becky Nimmons, its secretary and Candy Iwanicki, its treasurer.
“We start planning in January and do not stop until the day after the event,” said Walunas. “There are many things to plan out and have in order to get this day to run smoothly.”
The fun begins the evening of Friday, Aug. 11 with a picnic and free concert by Time Stretchers at the Conant Park Pavilion. Attendees can either bring their own picnic or eat the grab-n-go dinner from the First Congregational Church of Southampton, pre-orders for which ended on Aug. 8. The concert begins at 7 p.m. Members of the Southampton Historical Society will be there selling raffle tickets and the Lions Club will be there with its popcorn cart.
“We ask everyone to come on down with their meal or picnic and enjoy the performance that night,” said Walunas.
Saturday, Aug. 12 is filled with activities for residents to enjoy. The morning features Memory Hour at 10 a.m. at the Southampton Church, a presentation titled “David Parsons and His Kinfolk” by Mariam Howland. At 11:30 a.m., the grand picnic and activities will begin at Conant Park Pavilion. There will be two food trucks, Local Burgy and Ginger Love Cafe, for lunch options and the Citizen of the Year Award will be presented at 12:30 p.m.
The afternoon will feature a bounce house, sponsored by Polish National Credit Union and a balloonist, sponsored by Easthampton Savings Bank, as well as barnyard animals. The musical group The 413s will be performing at 1 p.m. There will be booths from different town organizations, 30 local craft vendors and a raffle table to explore. All events are family-friendly and free. Raffle tickets are $5 for a sheet of 25 tickets.
Local business Crooked Stick Pops will be handing out free popsicles and the historical society is working with Southampton Cumberland Farms to have a refreshment stand with free beverages.
Although Celebrate Southampton only began in 2019, its predecessor, Old Home Day, has quite the history, starting in 1897.
“It was a time when sons and daughters of old Southampton returned to their hometown and celebrated,” explained Walunas. “This included the young school-aged children and townspeople putting on shows, parades and picnics that covered the whole center green.”
Old Home Day also featured a remembrance of both big and small events for the town that year. Items like the number of dog licenses, marriage licenses and births were read aloud as well as the names of the school principals, police and fire chiefs and who was celebrating the longest wedding anniversary.
Unfortunately, the event ended in 1996 because there didn’t seem to be anyone to continue it.
In 2019, the new iteration, Celebrate Southampton, came to be through the work of Walunas and Nimmons. Originally a one-day event, it has grown to two days filled with family fun.
Last year’s event drew over 500 people and would not have been possible without the work of the Southampton Historical Society members and volunteers.
“Donations from town and local businesses really help make this happen,” said Walunas. “Thank you to all our sponsors: red, white and blue ribbons. We could not do it without their help.”
Any students or adults who would like to volunteer at Celebrate Southampton should reach out to Walunas, who said set up and take down require the most help.