1812 Symposium Remembers Fashion and Highlights Service | Oswego County Today

1812 Symposium Remembers Fashion and Highlights Service | Oswego County Today: 1812 Symposium Remembers Fashion and Highlights Service

The village of Bath invites you to party like it's 1812 - in period costume

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Hollie Pratt-Campbell, Kingston EMC

Diane Nolting (Left) and Gail Heywood show off some 1812-era fashions.

EMC News - So, you're giddy with anticipation for this summer's War of 1812 bicentennial celebrations and are looking forward to getting right into the spirit of things. Still, the question remains: whatever will you wear to the big event?

Thankfully, help has arrived. A special 1812 period dress workshop, put on by experts from the St. Lawrence 1812 Bicentennial Alliance, will be held in Bath Saturday from 2 - 4 p.m. at the village's fire hall.

Reenactors and dressmakers Mardi MacFarlane, Sharon Miller and Alicia Wanless will educate those in attendance on how both men and women can accurately recreate the fashions of the Regency era in Upper Canada. They will focus not only on how to create costumes from scratch, but also on how to piece together outfits from consignment finds and find appropriate costumes to rent. Topics such as historic fabrics, clothing components and patterns will be covered.

"We're hoping many people in the village and area will get dressed up, just to get into the fun of things and the spirit of (the celebration)," says Gail Heywood, co-chair of Bath's Canada Day Committee, the organization which is sponsoring the workshop.

Bath's 1812 bicentennial celebration will take place June 29 - July 1, and include everything from historical displays to an elaborate reenactment of the naval battle "the Flight of the Royal George." Reenactor camps will be set up in the park behind the local school and on the grounds of the historic Fairfield-Gutzeit House, giving visitors the opportunity to tour tents highlighting various trades from the era.

"You have to close your eyes and imagine what it's going to be like in Bath," says committee member Diane Nolting, explaining that with all the historical displays and reenactors in town, the village is going to look like it's literally been transported back in time.

"There will be 600-800 reenactors here, and they will all be dressed in either uniforms or period costume. And we're expecting 20-30 thousand people will come for that weekend, so there's going to be a whole sea of people here."

Heywood and Nolting point out that even on a regular day, Bath is an ideal destination for history buffs, as it features, among other things, the famous Fairfield-Gutzeit House, which dates back to 1796, as well as Hawley House, the oldest surviving wooden structure in Ontario.

"And there are quite a number of heritage homes in this area that date back to that period," says Nolting. "These are all part of Bath's legacy. People who enjoy history and who are perhaps descendants of United Empire Loyalists (who founded the village after the American Revolution) will come here and take part in the (bicentennial) celebrations."

"This is really the reviving and the reliving of the history of this area," Heywood notes.

Thus the ladies encourage everyone to come take part in this weekend's workshop, so that they too can feel a part of these unprecedented historical festivities. The cost is $5 per person. To register, please contact Heywood at 613-352-5071.