Independence Festival

While I often fantasize about seeing if my iPhone would skip across the river like a flat stone, I realize that I would miss the convenience it provides me. No matter where I am, I can instantly connect to what is going on in the world. I can also get pictures and stories from people who are “on the scene” as the events are unfolding. Facebook allows me to be social without having to leave my couch. I make dinner plans and negotiate schedules with employees via electronic communications.

In 1776, we know this wasn’t the case. News that the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4th didn’t reach Exeter until July 16, 1776. I can’t imagine having to wait almost two weeks to get information that important.

In Exeter, we don’t celebrate the Fourth of July on the actual fourth. We celebrate later in the month, just like they would have in 1776. The American Independence Museum puts on the American Independence Festival to honor our country’s freedom.

The festival starts with the Declaration arriving in town via horseback and then being read aloud by an actor portraying John Taylor Gilman (who at age 22, read the Declaration to the townspeople for the first time). I’m not sure how best to describe what it feels like to hear the Declaration read out loud in a forum that must in some ways parallel how it was first shared with the people. Humbling? Awe-inspiring? Enlightening? I will say it is definitely something that is worth experiencing if you ever get a chance.

Traditions like these remind us of not only where we came from, but also of what is important in life. It isn’t the materials we possess, but the experiences we are able to share with our friends and families that truly make us wealthy. Take a moment to unplug and experience life firsthand rather than through the electronic highway. One last thing before you unplug…the redcoats are coming. Pass it on.