The Liberty and Union Festival is Saturday, October 21th from 12 - 4 pm on Church Green in Downtown Taunton. This free, all-ages event features reenactors, music, dance, farm animals and more! Updates to this page will be added as events are finalized. Stay tuned!
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Ongoing Activities (12 pm - 4 pm)
The Colonial Village & Market
Interact with artisans and interpreters depicting life in Taunton at the time of the American Revolution. Visit a market set up like a Colonial market place and explore quills & ink. Shop a variety of vendors such as the USA History Store, Doreen Bradbury, Sue Silvia, Bea Soapy, 4 the Love of Junk, Margaret Hazelton, & Joan Dion. The Pumpkin Patch
Kids are invited to decorate a free Patriotic Pumpkin to take home! Our littlest Revolutionaries can also enjoy the fun feat of eating a donut off a string (while supplies last), trying their hand at pumpkin bowling, and enter a coloring contest. Face painting available with local artist Crystal O'Leary. The Picnic Grove
A variety of vendors & food trucks will be offering food for sale including The Bearded Chicken, Trucchi's, Taunton High School Culinary, Capriotti's, 2 Sisters, Smackadoodles, and DTF's food truck. Public restrooms are open inside the Museum as well as in the form of a port a potty on the Festival grounds. A limited number of tables & chairs will be available for eating. The Museum
Admission to the Old Colony History Museum is free all day in honor of the Liberty and Union Festival! The Liberty Stage
A variety of acts will be featured on the Liberty Stage including music by Mike Kelleher, & Stu Peak, Dance History Alive, William Diamond Junior Fife and Drum, Miss Taunton, and local dance studios. Local favorites, Carol Doherty & Barry Sanders will be our stage emcees for the day! 
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Special Events
Liberty and Union Trail Walking Tour
11 am starting at The Museum. Wreath Laying at the Robert Treat Paine Statue & Liberty and Union Flag Raising
11:30 am at The Robert Treat Paine Statue, group procession to Liberty Pole at OCHM. Featuring the THS JROTC, SAR, William Diamond Junior Fife and Drum, Rehoboth Minutemen, and more. Dance History Alive Presentation 12- 4 pm
Dancing was seen in colonial America as both a necessary accomplishment and an enjoyable activity. As a French visitor to Philadelphia put it around 1795, “All American girls or women are fond of dancing, which is one of their greatest pleasures. Join Jacob and Nancy Bloom as they demonstrate and teach some dances Colonial-style! Pied Potter Hamelin 12 - 4 pm
Master Potter Rick Hamelin will provide a demonstration of historical pottery making techniques and forms with a discussion of the Potter's trade in Massachusetts from the 17th -19th centuries. Liberty Libations Beer Tent 12 - 4 pm
On the eve of the raising of the Liberty & Union Flag by a group of Tauntonians, the patriots enjoyed some local brews in a nearby tavern. In keeping with that spirit, we have created the beer tent! Stop by the beer tent to sample some seasonal beer! Berkley Beer Company will be on site featuring a variety of their excellent brews. Admission to the beer tent is limited to patriots aged 21 and over. Paws Pantry Patriotic Pet Parade 2 pm & Photo Booth 1 - 3 pm
Dress up your pooch in Patriotic attire for this fun and adorable Parade featuring our four footed friends! All pets must be on a leash. We ask owners to use good judgement and only bring along pets who are crowd friendly. Local photographer Melissa Santos will be taking complimentary photos of the Patriotic Pets from 1 - 3 pm. Paws Pantry will be accepting donations of cash and cat food during the festival. Awards will be given for Most Patriotic, Cutest, and Most Revolutionary. Judging will take place during the parade, winners will be announced at 2:45 pm. Please register your pet for the Parade & contest at the Paws Pantry table. |
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Revolutionary!
Revolutionary! is an experience that re-imagines the events that led up to the raising of the Liberty & Union flag. Hear from local Tauntonians and visitors from the past and watch history unfold the way you would have in 1774! The Farm Yard
The kids will enjoy visiting with a variety of farm animals in our farm yard. Liberty & Union Kids Coloring Contest
From now until the day of the Festival, kids of all ages are invited to enter the Liberty & Union Coloring Contest! There are two versions available, one for older and one for younger participants. Kids can decide which page is right for them. Coloring sheets & contest rules are available at the Taunton Public Library, Taunton YMCA, and Marion Manor. They can also be printed at home by clicking here for one version and here for the other! Entries can be mailed to or dropped off at the Old Colony History Museum or turned in the day of the Festival. Judging will take place at the end of the Festival with winning art work to be displayed at the OCHM and shared on OCHM and DTF social media. |
Pie Eating Contest 3 pm
The Pie Eating contest, sponsored by Trucchi's Supermarkets, is back by popular demand! Entry is open to the general public and is limited to 25 contestants. There is a $2 entry fee. Cash prize of $50 to the winner. Pies will be chocolate creme. Pre-register for the contest by via email at ekelleher@downtowntaunton.org or at the DTF food truck the day of the festival. Registrants must be 16 years or older, present a valid ID, and sign a waiver (parent must sign for those under 18). Guided Tours of First Parish Church 12 - 4 pm
The site of Taunton's first church and meetinghouse back in 1697, the current First Parish Church is the 4th church on this historic site. In 1671 it was here that a peace treaty was signed between colonists and King Philip (and later broken in 1675). Learn more about this amazing building and property such as about the architecture, the bell, and the gorgeous stained glass windows made by a famous maker! This is a tour every Tauntonian should take! Tours are free of charge. |
