The Patterson Inn Museum's Birthday Celebration For George Washington

On Saturday, February 24, 2007 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., the Corning- Painted Post Historical Society will sponsor a celebration in honor of George Washington's birthday at the Patterson Inn Museum.

Exhibits throughout the Inn, located at 59 West Pulteney Street in Corning, will include Revolutionary War artifacts and items associated with George Washington. Visitors with an interest in military history and armaments can learn more about bullet molding, the Medal of Honor, and the works of renowned local gunsmith B.C. Wood.

Demonstrators of traditional crafts will also be on hand, ready to share their knowledge of textiles and needlearts, pewter, carving and fine woodworking. Children can take part in related activities, including weaving, making silhouettes, playing checkers, and learning a bit of history.

A variety of musical performances will be ongoing to delight guests throughout the day. Harpist Tom Wierbowsky will play period music at 11:00 and again at 1:30. The sing-along group, Eastside Laundry, has shared their upbeat patriotic, folk and Tin Pan Alley songs with audiences throughout the Southern Tier, and will again do so at the Patterson Inn Museum beginning at 10:30. Their distinctive assets are their fun-loving members and their adaptation of laundry tools to musical instruments, the source of their name. The Eastside Laundry's instrumentation includes; the washtub bass, or mountain cello, washboard rhythms, banjo and guitars along with other miscellaneous oddities such as tambourines, and musical spoons which are passed among members of the audience, who are always invited to join in the musical fun. Featured from 11:45 until 1:15, The Cotton Mill Girls play traditional songs that span centuries from British Isles tunes that the American settlers brought with them, right up to later folk music written "in the tradition." Instrumentation includes fiddle, guitar, home-made washtub bass, and banjo along with three voices. The group encourages people to dance, toe-tap, clap and hum or sing along in a participatory event. The Cotton Mill Girls take their name from the folk song recorded by the now- deceased Hedy West which describes the hard times faced by young women in the early cotton mills.

Of course, it wouldn't be a birthday celebration without cake! Complimentary Williamsburg or colonial orange cake and mulled cider will be served in the kitchen, where visitors can also observe open hearth cooking techniques.

Delicious baked goods will be offered for sale. Many will have a cherry theme - pie, crisp, cheesecake, ham glaze, assorted cookies.

The Inn's gift shop will feature new merchandise, including pierced tinware, Patterson Farms' maple syrup and wooden kitchen utensils. In addition, shoppers can select from the numerous handcrafted specialty items, notecards, books of historic interest and a table of sale items discounted for George Washington's birthday.

The event is free and open to the public. Children must be accompanied by an adult. All proceeds benefit the programs and operation of the Corning-Painted Post Historical Society.