EVENTS

Genesee Country Village War of 1812 Bicentennial
June 23

The Forgotten War of 1812 is revisited on its Bicentennial at Genesee Country Village and Museum, Saturday and Sunday, June 23-24.

The weekend will be devoted to activities that recall those harrowing days when the United States was young. The museum's historic village will be populated by visiting War of 1812 re-enactors, who will offer insight into the impact of the conflict on the region during this look at the War of 1812 in the Genesee Country.

Friday, June 22
10:00 am Museum opens to the public – including the Depot Restaurant.
3:00 pm REGISTRATION OPENS
(vehicles are not allowed in the Historic Village until after 4 pm)
4:00 pm Museum closes to the public
(vehicles are allowed in the Historic Village but must be out and parked in lower staging)
4:30 pm Depot Restaurant closes
11:00 pm REGISTRATION ENDS

Saturday, June 23, 2012
8:00 am REGISTRATION OPENS
8:00-9:00 am Free breakfast for participants at the Garden Pavilion
9:30 am Vehicles must be out of the Historic Village
10:00 am REGISTRATION ENDS & Museum opens to the public
10:30 am Raise the US Flag (Town Hall)
11:00 am Declaration of War Against Great Britain (Town Hall)
11:30 am US Army & New York Volunteers stump for recruits (Village Square)
11:30 am-1:00 pm “Shooting at marks”: On-going demonstration of flintlock firearms
(South Field)
11:00 am-3:00 pm Mid Day meal at Hosmer’s Inn
12:30 pm Jane Austen era fashions (Brooks Grove)
1:00 pm Enlist in the Volunteers & drill “kid friendly” (Village Square)
1:30 pm Cannon firing at targets (South Field)
Military Uniforms (Town Hall)
2:00 pm New Recruits learn the drill (Village Square)
2:30 pm Tactical Demonstration (Village Square)
3:00 pm Jane Austen-style dance demonstration
3:30 pm Militia drill for Public “kid friendly” (Village Square)
4:30 pm Lower the US Flag (Town Hall)
5:00 pm Museum closes to the public
7:00 pm Pavilion Restaurant closes & After hours entertainment begins (Hosmer’s Inn)

Sunday, June 24, 2012
8:00-9:00 am Free breakfast for participants at Pavilion Restaurant
9:30 am Vehicles must be out of the Historic Village
10:00 am Museum opens to the public
10:30 am Raise the US Flag (Town Hall)
11:00 am Tactical demonstration (Village Square)
11:30 am-1:00 pm “Shooting at Marks”: (South Field)
12:30 pm Jane Austen era fashions (Brooks Grove)
1:00 pm Enlist the Volunteers & drill “kid friendly” (Village Square)
Cannon firing at targets (South Field)
1:30 pm New York Volunteers dedication of Regt flag (Town Hall)
2:00 pm Military Uniforms (Town Hall)
2:30 pm Tactical Demonstration (Village Square)
3:30 pm Militia drill for public “kid friendly” (Village Square)
4:30 pm Lower the US Flag (Town Hall)
Break up camp following evening parade
5:00 pm Museum closes to the public

All,

I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of you and your respective groups and friends for attending this year’s 1812 event at the Genesee Country Village & Museum. Although I was disappointed at the number of last minute cancellations that greatly reduced our anticipated turn out, I do greatly appreciate those of you who did attend and provided our public and your fellow participants with an outstanding program.

Although I do not have the final numbers yet, it appears our visitation over the weekend was better than last year and certainly it was one of the best weather weekends we have had in at least several years. Either interest in the Bicentennial of the War of 1812 or the increased emphasis on Jane Austen (or both and the good weather) drove our numbers up. From what I heard from a number of people and the fantastic attendance at the Austen fashion shows, it may well have been the focus on Austen that made a lot of difference.

Some highlights to note from this year’s event.

We had to actually turn guests away from the two fashion shows that Betsy Bashore conducted in the Brooks Grove Church! The building accommodates well over a hundred guests.

We had the largest number of sutlers and demonstrators on the village square; it looked great and we look forward to increasing that number next year.

More buildings were occupied this year than in previous years. We are at capacity however, and future growth and use of buildings will have to be evaluated.

I do appreciate the fact that so many of you come from great distances to participate in this event. We had participants from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania along with a handful of Canadians. We also had one gentleman fly in to the event all the way from Seattle, WA. The fact is, the vast majority of you who attend this event are from out of state and travel generally 6 to 8 hours to get here. I Thank you for your commitment in both time and resources to travel so far.

Because I know so many of you had great distances to travel to get home Sunday, I understand the desire to hit the road as early as possible. Our challenge is that we try very hard to make sure that visitors who are still here at 4:00 or even 4:30 on Sunday have the same experience that those who attend at 11:00 am do and that vehicles or piles of modern camping gear do not detract from that experience. I really appreciate all those of you who stayed till the very end even when visitation declined after 3:00 pm on Sunday and your desire to leave was great. And, I and the museum staff appreciate those of you who took care to pack out either by foot or prior to 10:00 am.

For next year, If you need to depart early, please let us know and we will work with you to find a way to make your early departure possible.

I look forward to seeing many of you in the coming months at other events. If you have any comments or issues with the event this year and/or suggestions for next year’s event, please feel free to contact me or talk with me at an upcoming event. I’d be glad to listen to you.

Best wishes,

Chuck

Charles A. LeCount
Senior Director of Programs & Collections
Genesee Country Village & Museum