Home Business Business News North Fork Chamber of Commerce gears up for Southold’s 375th anniversary

North Fork Chamber of Commerce gears up for Southold’s 375th anniversary

A year-long slate of activities is scheduled to mark Southold’s 375th anniversary, and the North Fork Chamber of Commerce is set to garner support from the business community for the big celebration.

At last night’s Chamber meeting, held at Elbow East in Southold, guest speakers included Herb Adler, president of the Southold Historical Society and Nick Planamento, both from the Southold 375 committee.

“I may be the only person here from the town’s 300th anniversary,” Adler said, smiling, adding that this celebration is different than others in the past because it’s a year-long schedule of events.

New events are being added all the time, he said, including a scheduled tour in December of churches decorated for the holidays.

One of the challenges, Adler said, is that Southold Town can not ask for funding for the celebration.

To that end, NFCC president Tom Scalia said, the North Fork Promotional Council stepped up to help design mugs that can be sold at local businesses to raise funds and commemorate the anniversary.

Meanwhile, the town is busy shoring up plans for the anniversary: Adler came before the town board in November with a complete lineup of events for next year.

To kick off the year-long celebration, a cocktail party was held at Brecknock Hall in January, with town officials and other dignitaries invited.

Next up, Mile Marker Day will be held on May 16. Beginning in Laurel and stretching to Orient, the mile markers, which were used to calculate mail delivery, will be celebrated. The event will be “a great day for stamp collectors,” as well as kids interested in history, with a special postcard designed for the celebration. Dan McCarthy will be dressed up in Orient to hand cancel the postcards with the special 375th anniversary stamp, Planamento said.

“We all need to step up to make this memorable,” Planamento said.

He added that while there has been an ongoing rivalry between Southold and Southampton Towns as to which is older, a statement by a member of the Shinnecock tribe reminded that Native Americans were the first settlers.

Over the course of the year, work will be done to elevate the town’s historic mile markers, which, it was initially believed were first were placed in Southold Town by Benjamin Franklin in 1755 to mark the Post Road to Boston. At last night’s Chamber meeting, Adler said research had proven that Franklin did not, in fact, place the markers, but he said he was sure, “Benjamin Franklin was here in 1853.”

Another component of the celebration, Adler said, will include digital storytelling at area schools at the end of June, with an exhibit at the end of the series.

Sometime during the summer, the Coast Guard band will play at the Horton Point Lighthouse.

Independence Day, July 4, the North Fork Chorale group is slated to play at Silversmith Corner. And on August 1, a parade in Southold will be a highlight of the festivities.

Another Douglas Moore Memorial concert will follow on August 8. Also, the Orient Point Yacht Club hopes to host a regatta, perhaps tying it in with the Tall Ships event in Greenport slated for 2015, Adler said.

Fall will include events such as a tour of historic homes, a volunteer day, and an event for the Latino community, organized by Sister Margaret Smyth of the North Fork Spanish Apostolate, which will include food and entertainment. That event, Adler said, will be held late in the season, after the Latino community has completed their “hard work on the farms, making it easier for them to be present.”

Also upcoming will be an event focused on the African American community, organized by Eleanor Lingo, Adler said.

Planamento said a special logo created for the anniversary could be used on business owners’ stationery.

The event, Planamento said, is a “grass roots” effort; participation from area merchants is still sought. “We’re living history,” he said. “It’s important we all participate.”

One way to do that, he said, was if merchants wanted to host an event or “rebrand” an already planned event with a 375th anniversary theme.

A website and a Facebook page have been set up with information regarding all the Southold 375 festivities.