Cranberry Celebration Day

It’s National Cranberry Month, and we’re celebrating with fun for the whole family on the final weekend of Heritage’s main season. This fun-filled day at Heritage will feature live music by the Cranberry Jam Big Band, a visit from the Massachusetts Cranberries Traveling Bog, kids’ activities, hands-on crafts, food, and the chance to explore cranberry history and culture.

• Visit a real cranberry bog – on wheels!– The Massachusetts Cranberries organization’s Traveling Bog brings live plants to Heritage, including exhibit information and the opportunity to learn about growing cranberries from an accompanying expert
• Make your own “bog in a cup” to take home – Create a miniature, contained environment to grow a cranberry vine, replicating the soil layers of a natural cranberry bog
• Enjoy food and drinks on the field – Food vendors on the field include The Filling Station, featuring comfort food classics and a few specially-created cranberry-inspired dishes; Beyond the Grind Mobile Coffee Experience, with handcrafted coffee, tea, and smoothie creations, along with cranberry baked goods made for the day; and Lilly’s Café, with beer, wine, and other beverages
• Dance to performances by the Cranberry Jam Big Band – Bring your own chairs or a blanket and settle in to enjoy this multi-piece band that will play a variety of danceable music – including favorites from Duke Ellington to Billie Eilish – at 12 pm and 1 pm
• Take part in kids’ activities – including hands-on experiments with cranberries, take-home cranberry craft making, and trying on waders for a fun photo op!
• Explore Hidden Hollow’s cranberry theme, A Bog’s Life – Activities that are part of this month’s theme in this outdoor discovery area include playing a game of Bog Squad charades, creatng a woven cranberry craft, preparing your own “bog” in the sand play area, and more
• Experience story time with author Jannette Vanderhoop– This author and cultural educator will read from her book Cranberry Day: A Wampanoag Harvest Celebration. Learn more about Wampanoag traditions connected to the land and cranberry harvest, and view a display featuring traditional clothing and objects, including a horseshoe crab basket, gourd rattle, wampum, and bottled clay.
• Check out FoxRock Farms, a cranberry farm helper – Learn how FoxRock Farms supports healthy cranberry bogs through beekeeping, native plantings, and integrated pest management practices
• Discover artifacts from Heritage’s cranberry collection with the curator – from 12-1:30 pm, learn fun facts from Jennifer Madden, Heritage’s Director of Collections and Exhibitions and curator of the Bountiful Bogs exhibit, who will share artifacts from Heritage’s newly acquired cranberry history collection – the largest museum cranberry history collection in the country!
• View winning cranberry sauce recipes – Winners of the cranberry sauce contest will be announced at 11:30 am, and their recipes will be on display to inspire!