Southold, founded in 1640, is gearing up to celebrate in a big way as the town marks its 375th anniversary this year — and both the North Fork Chamber of Commerce and the North Fork Promotion Council have teamed up with a way to raise funds for local businesses.
At Monday night’s North Fork Chamber of Commerce organizational meeting, Tom Scalia, president, introduced Joan Bischoff, president of the NFPC, who held up a mug that has been designed to celebrate the town’s big anniversary.
According to Bischoff, the town’s committee, with Southold Town Board liaison Bob Ghosio, is hard at work planning the festivities, and created the mug to help commemorate the anniversary and raise funds for the upcoming townwide celebrations.
The NFPC and the North Fork Chamber, Bischoff said, are trying to help the town’s 375th anniversary committee to promote the upcoming festivities, and is working on a new website to promote the event. The website is being designed by the same team who created the NFPC’s www.gonorthfork.org calendar, he said.
Bischoff said local businesses will be asked to participate in the upcoming celebration, which will fete Southold, the first English settlement in New York State.
Meanwhile, the town is busy shoring up plans for the anniversary: Herb Adler, president of the Southold Historical Society, came before the town board in November with a complete lineup of events for next year.
To start the year, a cocktail party will be held at Brecknock Hall on Saturday, with town officials and other dignitaries invited.
Next up in February and March, the town will host a lecture series.
On April 12, there will be a ringing of the bell for submarines at the New Suffolk beach, with a ceremony. Following, on April 18, will be an indoor Douglas Moore Memorial Concer.
Over the course of the year, work will be done to elevate the town’s historic mile markers, which were first were placed in Southold Town by Benjamin Franklin in 1755 to mark the Post Road to Boston.
In addition, a special stamp will be created to commemorate the event, and envelopes generated, stamped, and sold for $1 to raise funding for the town.
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.
In honor of the anniversary, Greenport Brewery and Clovis Point Winery have both offered to create new labels, Adler added.
The town board reviewed the timeline, and Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell suggested perhaps a special logo created for the anniversary could be used on town stationery.
Adler also laid out a proposed budget for the year, which totaled $25,000 and included funding for the lecture series, stamp covers, fees for the North Fork Chorale group, parade costs, a composers contest, advertising, an anniversary book, and souvenirs.
The anniversary book, he said, would be updated to include new chapters about recent developments on the North Fork, including the emergence of wineries, and could be created for about $15 each with a cost to customers of $25. Last time a book was created, Russell said advertising was sold, but the town cannot engage in asking for donations. The suggestion was made that perhaps the SHS could ask for donations.
One suggestion from a resident was that the books could be ordered on demand, with B & Bs and other businesses sponsoring various print runs with their own logo on those books; the books could be handed out or sold to guests or customers.
Souvenirs will be created and sold in area stores, Adler said.
Adler suggested Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst be invited to the kick-off event; Russell suggested representatives of Southold’s namesake in England, Southwold, be asked to attend, as well.
One other idea pitched by Adler was an “old timers’” baseball game, complete with costumes, that could be played at Strawberry Field in Mattituck.
