DOVER, DE – DNREC’s First State Heritage Park will take a closer look at types of 18th-century music in Delaware from 9 a.m.– 4:30 p.m. Saturday, June 1, 2019 at the John Bell House on The Green. The public is invited to have some fun and sing along with “Music and Song in a Public House.”
Other sites within the First State Heritage Park will also delve into a variety of other aspects of music from around the world. Children will be able to create their own musical instrument by taking part in the Biggs Kids program at the Biggs Museum of American Art. The Johnson Victrola Museum will be celebrating African-American Music Appreciation Month with guided tours focusing on the impact of people of color on the music industry throughout the world. Visitors can also learn about the origins of country music at the “Play that Old Time Country Music” lecture presented at the Old State House.
First Saturday Activities: Saturday, June 1
9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
· Music and Song in a Public House
John Bell House, 43 The Green
Sing along while learning the importance of music and song in the 18th century.
· Black Music Month Celebration
Johnson Victrola Museum, 375 S. New Street
In celebration of African-American Music Appreciation Month, guided tours will highlight the contributions African-American artists have made to music around the world.
· Biggs Kids – Kazoos
Biggs Museum of American Art, 406 Federal Street
Learn how music and art work together, by making and decorating your own musical instrument.
· A Capitol Experience
Legislative Hall, 411 Legislative Avenue
Experience Delaware history at Delaware’s state capital building. Photo ID is required for all adults entering the building.
10 a.m. – 3 p.m. (Last tour leaves at 3 p.m.)
· Stories of The Green Walking Tour
Meet at the John Bell House on The Green
For 300 years, The Green has been the center of commerce, politics and civic life in Dover. Guided walks through the historic district reveal the people and events that left their mark on Dover’s history.
10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
· Guided Tours
At Woodburn – The Governor’s House, 151 Kings Highway
Enjoy guided tours of the official residence of Delaware’s Governor since 1965.
10:30 a.m.
· An Unsurpassed Soldiery: The Delaware Regiment during the American Revolution
Delaware Public Archives, 121 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard North
This presentation by historian Charles Fithian will offer some of the preliminary findings of a new study of the Delaware Regiment, and will describe some of the distinctive features of its service.
1:30 p.m.
· Play That Old Time Country Music
The Old State House, 25 The Green
This lecture discusses the early roots of country music with the Victor Talking Machine Company. Visitors can enjoy this educational presentation with original 78 rpm recordings.
1:30 – 4 p.m. (Last tour begins at 4 p.m.)
· “The Once and Future Courthouse
Historic Kent County Courthouse, Courtroom #1, 38 The Green, meet on front steps
From the 1690s to the present, learn how this site went from a courthouse to a hotel and back again.
Admission to all park sites and programs is free. Centrally-located free parking is available at the First State Heritage Park Welcome Center and Galleries, located at 121 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard North. For more information about “First Saturday” events and all First State Heritage Park programs, please call 302-739-9194 or visit www.destateparks.com/heritagepark.
# ## #
The First State Heritage Park is Delaware’s first urban “park without boundaries,” linking historic and cultural sites in the city that has been the seat of state government since 1777. The park is a partnership of state agencies under the leadership of DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation, working in collaboration with city and county government, nonprofit organizations and the private sector.