The Evening Sun | CCHS To Host Wedding-themed Summer Barn Party

NORWICH

—

The

Chenango

County

Historical

Society

and

Museum

(CCHS)

will

be

hosting

their

annual

Summer

Barn

Party

from

6

to

8:30

p.m.

on

Thursday,

June

29

in

the

historic

Loomis

Barn,

located

at

41

Rexford

Street

in

Norwich.

The

event’s

theme

will

reflect

this

year’s

community

gallery

exhibit

“Sixpence

in

Your

Shoe:

A

Glimpse

at

Chenango

County

Wedding

Traditions.”

“‘Timeless

traditions

meet

the

unique

charm

of

local

communities

in

this

exhibit

encompassing

nearly

200

years

of

wedding

history

rooted

in

Chenango

County,'”

said

CCHS

Executive

Director

Jessica

Moquin.

“We’ve

got

classic

wedding

hallmarks

and

their

stories

of

enduring

love,

and

breathtaking

wedding

keepsakes,

and

all

that

happy,

warm,

fuzzy

stuff.”

The

Summer

Barn

Party

will

include

catered

wedding

reception

fare,

music

by

DJ

Jim

Baldwin,

photos

by

5th

Dimension

Photography,

and

games

and

decor

provided

by

Live

Event

NY.

“The

goal

here

obviously

is

to

feature

and

highlight

what’s

already

here,

and

the

history

and

the

wonderful

items

and

everything

that

they’re

putting

together

for

the

historical

aspect

of

this,”

explained

Live

Event

NY

Owner

Will

MacGuire.

“There’s

not

going

to

be

too

much

of

a

radical

transformation.

We’d

really

like

to

highlight

what’s

already

here,

the

cool

things

that

are

really

already

here.

So

that’s

the

plan,

and

we’ll

work

together

creatively

to

come

up

with

some

fun

details,

but

we’ll

save

that

for

the

grand

reveal.”

“We’re

bringing

in

a

fun

array

of

things,

everything

from

some

tenting

and

decorations

to

games

and

services,

as

well

as

some

hands-on

services

for

some

serving

and

coordinating

and

things

like

that,”

he

continued.

“We’ve

worked

with

the

Historical

Society

on

several

projects.

We

have

a

great

working

relationship

and

we’re

really

looking

forward

to

putting

this

one

together,

too.”

Additionally,

CCHS

has

gotten

confirmation

that

Better

Days

Winery,

Forged

Brewing

Company,

Hidden

Springs

Brewhouse,

the

Madrona

Tasting

Room,

Old

Home

Distillers,

and

Ommegang

Brewery

will

be

attending

the

event

and

providing

beer

and

wine

tastings.

The

Cottage

Bakery

will

also

be

providing

wedding-themed

cupcakes.

Guests

will

also

have

the

chance

to

participate

in

a

wedding

tradition:

the

bouquet

toss.

“[A]

raffle

is

not

a

thing

that

you

do

at

a

wedding,

but

a

bouquet

toss

is.

So

our

guests

will

have

the

chance

to

invest

in

the

chance

to

catch

the

bouquet,”

said

Moquin.

“That’s

going

to

be

sponsored

by

McNeil

Jewelers,

and

include

a

piece

from

the

Elle

Jewelry

Collection.

Because

it’s

not

a

real

wedding

if

there’s

not

something

shiny!”

Early

bird

registration

is

currently

ongoing,

and

will

be

available

until

June

23.

Early

bird

tickets

are

$43.

From

June

24

through

to

the

day

of

the

event,

and

at

the

door,

tickets

will

be

$50.

To

purchase

a

ticket,

visit

ChenangoHistorical.org

or

call

CCHS

at

607-334-9227.

The

“Sixpence

in

Your

Shoe”

gallery

exhibit

is

also

available

for

public

view

now

through

the

end

of

the

year.

The

display

features

several

wedding

gowns,

marriage

licenses,

cake

toppers,

a

Norwich

organ,

wedding

mementos

and

keepsakes,

and

more.

The

exhibit

includes

the

wedding

gown

and

suit

worn

by

Sherburne

residents

Betty

and

Dell

Law

at

their

wedding

in

1958.

“We

have

a

special

guest

or

two

who

we’ll

be

featuring

as

an

honored

guest,

who

have

the

distinction

of

making

history,”

said

Moquin.

“So

this

year

we

have

Dell

and

Betty

Law

of

Sherburne.

They’ve

been

married

just

over

65

years,

and

their

gown

and

their

suit

from

the

wedding

are

featured

in

the

exhibit.

So

they’re

going

to

join

us.”

Also

detailed

in

the

exhibit

are

various

wedding

traditions

practiced

in

Chenango

County

throughout

history,

many

of

which

hail

from

the

Victorian-era

English

rhyme,

“Something

old,

something

new,

something

borrowed,

something

blue,

and

a

sixpence

in

her

shoe.”

Wedding

traditions

commonly

practiced

in

Chenango

County

throughout

history

include

brides

wearing

head

coverings

or

veils

to

protect

from

evil

spirits,

newlyweds

cutting

their

wedding

cake

together,

and

the

wearing

of

white

wedding

dresses,

which

was

made

popular

in

1840

by

Queen

Victoria.

The

CCHS

annual

Summer

Barn

Party

was

made

possible

by

presenting

sponsor

Live

Event

NY;

Barn

Raiser

sponsors

M&T

Bank

and

Visions

Federal

Credit

Union;

and

Gatekeeper

sponsors

Enlightened

Dentistry,

New

York

Pizzeria,

and

Preferred

Mutual.

The

annual

fundraising

event

contributes

a

large

portion

of

CCHS’

annual

operating

budget,

which

allows

the

museum

to

provide

free

public

programming,

educational

programs

for

area

schools,

and

free-will

donation

admission

to

the

museum.

CCHS

is

open

to

the

public

from

10

a.m.

to

4

p.m.

on

Wednesday,

Thursday,

and

Friday.

For

more

information

on

the

Chenango

County

Historical

Society,

visit

ChenangoHistorical.org

or

the

Chenango

County

Historical

Society

and

Museum

Facebook

page.