A September 2020 Centennial Celebration
A celebration of East Hampton Village’s centennial, scheduled for Sept. 26, 2020, will include a parade, a fair, and a tour of historic houses on Main Street, which will be shut down from the post office on Pantigo Road to Mulford Farm, said Steven Ringel, the executive director of the East Hampton Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the village’s centennial anniversary committee.
“It’s going to be a major event,” said Mr. Ringel. “But the idea is not to flood the village with thousands of people from UpIsland. It’s going to be a celebration for locals.”
In August, Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr. appointed the centennial committee, which is chaired by Barbara Borsack, a trustee, and includes her colleague Rose Brown, members of the Ladies Village
Improvement Society, the Garden Club of East Hampton, the Village Preservation Society, the East Hampton Clericus, and the school district, among others.
It was on Sept. 25, 1920, the mayor said, that village residents voted by a margin of 166 to 57 to break away from East Hampton Town.
Throughout the anniversary year, said Becky Molinaro Hansen, the village administrator, lectures and art exhibits related to the village’s history will be held. A special curriculum will be created for students, and a time capsule will be buried.
The events planned for the big day will take place between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. and will incorporate a 1920s theme, said Mr. Ringel. People dressed in period costumes will ride in parade floats,
Main Street shops will feature window displays that hark back to the era, and film shorts from the decade will be shown at Guild Hall. Village restaurants will offer $19.20 specials for lunch and dinner, as well as speakeasy-style cocktails.
To cap off the day, there will be a concert at Herrick Park, the details of which are still to be determined, said Mr. Ringel, who has been encouraging some of the village’s most high-profile residents to participate. He said that “a famous comedian has shown interest in being the M.C.” for the concert.
For those interested in volunteering for the event, riding a float in the parade, or participating in any way, Mr. Ringel suggested contacting him at [email protected].