After a year’s hiatus, Chadds Ford Days is coming back. According to Chadds Ford Historical Society Board President Phyllis Recca, it’s a reboot with the aim of getting back to the roots of the event.
“It’s a community celebration commemorating the heritage of Chadds Ford,” Recca said. “That’s how it started and that’s what will be our focus.”
That heritage, she said, centers around three things: Colonial America, art, and the 1777 Battle of the Brandywine.
Recca explained that celebrating Chadds Ford’s history was what had Chris Sanderson started Chadds Ford Days in 1958 and, she added, the historical society should stick to its mission of preserving and educating people about Chadds Ford history.
“That’s what Chadds Ford Days was about and this is a restart,” she said.
Recca acknowledged the declining attendance during recent years. The society decided not to hold the event last year in order to take some time to rethink and regroup. Part of the decline was due to competition from other events held during the same weekend, the one after Labor Day. One change is that the event will be held one week later.
One of the other issues in bringing it back is to find more colonial demonstrators, the craftspeople who make things by hand as was done in the 18thcentury. A difficulty in finding those people is that many of the ones who used to come to Chadds Ford Days are older and have retired or passed on. But Recca is determined to rebuild the event and will continue to rebuild year after year.
She also said that while she’d like to have a lot of interesting things for people to do, getting back to the roots comes first.
A lot of what will be happening is still up in the air at present, but the society is working to bring in what it thinks are the right attractions. Historical Society executive Director Jason Greenplate said colonial reenactors from the 2nd Pennsylvania and 1st Delaware Regiments are scheduled to be on hand with canon and muskets, as will people from the Brandywine Battlefield Park and the Brandywine Battlefield Task Force.
Other historically oriented nonprofits will also be involved.
This year’s Chadds Ford Days is scheduled for Sept. 14 and 15 at the Chadds Ford Historical Society on N. Creek Road.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
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