Raynham Hall Museum is preparing to celebrate Independence Day with a mix of tradition, history and a touch of 1970s groove as it hosts its annual Fourth of July festivities in Oyster Bay and prepares for its Spirit of ‘76 gala fundraiser later in the week.
Ahead of the nation’s semiquincentennial — which marks 250 years of American history — the museum has held numerous events to participate in the historic nature of the year, including an art show and a subsequent artist speaker series, “We the People.”
The museum’s celebrations begin July 4 with participation in the hamlet’s annual parade, followed by an open house featuring tours, games and historical activities and demonstrations at the museum’s West Main Street headquarters.
This year’s parade, organized by Oyster Bay Fire Company No. 1 and joined by Atlantic Steamer Fire Company and local organizations, will also introduce a new feature: a children’s bicycle parade.
Raynham Hall will once again host its annual open house following the parade, but organizers say the programming will be expanded in honor of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations.
Among the programs will be a historic cooking demonstration by Diane Schwind, who has appeared at museum events in the past and specializes in colonial cuisine.
“She’s so much fun… and she has a ton of knowledge about historic cooking,” Justinne Lake-Jedzinak, the museum’s director of education and public programs, said. “She’s made things from George Washington’s favorite cake to Martha Washington’s waffles, different types of potential dishes that could have been served in the colonial era.”
Schwind will prepare George Washington’s favorite hoe cakes, fried cornbread that resembles a pancake, over an open fire and offer samples to visitors with honey and butter.
The museum’s programming comes as institutions across the country prepare for the United States semiquincentennial. Raynham Hall officials said planning for the anniversary began years ago.
“I would say it’s interesting because we’ve been having initial conversations about this since I started working here, and that was four years ago,” Lake-Jedzinak reminisced. “People love to gather around anniversaries and major milestone years.”
She added that the current celebrations will continue into next year, when New York marks the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the state.
Semiquincentennial celebrations will continue on July 9, the day the Declaration of Independence was first publicly read in New York, at the museum’s annual fundraising gala. This year’s gala, titled “Spirit of ‘76,” seeks to combine the revolutionary spirit of 1776 with the cultural energy of America’s bicentennial celebrations in 1976.
Guests are encouraged to embrace the 1970s fashion and music theme alongside patriotic themes, wearing clothes like bellbottoms.
“We’re suggesting that people dress not in red, white, and blue,” Lake-Jedzinak said, “but in red, white, and ‘groove.’”
Museum Director Harriet Clark said the inspiration came partly from a love of the era’s music.
“The music, the funky music of that era was just fantastic party music and dance music,” Clark said, “and that’s kind of what we were going for.”
The gala will feature an eight-piece band, Epic Soul, and will be held under a large tent on the grounds of the Renwood Estate in Old Brookville with a seated dinner, a departure from recent years’ walk-around format.
The event’s historical honorees are George Washington and Robert Townsend, the Oyster Bay merchant and Culper Spy Ring member whose family home became Raynham Hall Museum. Local philanthropist Constance Cincotta will serve as honored guest.
The fundraiser will also serve as a major push for the museum’s endowment campaign.
Clark said the museum, which receives 10,000 visitors a year across school trips and general tours, currently has an endowment of approximately $1.5 million, which covers only about 5 percent of operating expenses. A donor has pledged a $100,000 challenge grant if the museum raises $50,000 by the end of the year, helping launch a three-year effort to grow the endowment to $2.5 million.
“We want to be sure that Raynham Hall will be here in another 275 years,” Clark emphasized.
For Clark, the museum’s role during the semiquincentennial extends beyond celebrations alone.
“Our idea is to really capture people’s enthusiasm about the 250th and help people celebrate,” she said. “We’re a little museum right in the heart of Oyster Bay, and we think that we can help define the character of the village in a more historic direction.”
For more information on Raynham Hall Museum, their work and how to support them, visit RaynhamHallMuseum.org.
