Location changed for Chautauqua Tent Show in Lewes, Del. on Monday, June 10, 2013

Due to heavy rainfall, the venue for the Monday, June 10, 2013 Chautauqua Tent Show: ‘America Takes Flight’” has been moved from a tent on the grounds of the Lewes Historical Society to indoors at the Lewes Presbyterian Church located at 133 Kings Highway in Lewes, Del. 19958. Programs begin at 1 p.m. and culminate at 7 p.m. when Bob Gleason of the American Historical Theatre portrays the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei. Admission is free and open to the public. Unless otherwise announced, the Chautauqua will resume its normal schedule on Tuesday, June 11, 2013 with a 7 p.m. concert by Captain Blue’s Grass Band at Stango Park, 111 Adams Ave., Lewes, DE 19958. For additional information, call 302-645-1148.

 -End-

Contact:
Jim Yurasek
Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs
Phone:  302-736-7413
E-mail:  Jim.Yurasek@delaware.gov
Web:   http://history.delaware.gov


“Shall Faithfully Serve!” at Dover, Del.’s John Dickinson Plantation on June 15, 2013

Eleanor Matthews, historic-site interpreter at the John Dickinson Plantation, demonstrating a spinning wheel.

On Saturday, June 15, 2013, from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., the John Dickinson Plantation, located at 340 Kitts Hummock Road in Dover, DE 19901, will present “Shall Faithfully Serve!,” a day-long series of activities exploring 18th-century indentured servitude at the country estate of John Dickinson, one of the founding fathers of the United States and “Penman of the Revolution.”

 Participants in “Shall Faithfully Serve!” activities will symbolically sign an indenture form with a quill pen, after which they will experience tasks associated with 18th-century trades and occupations including the carding, spinning and weaving of wool for cloth production; and various jobs centered around plantation life such as collecting kindling for the smokehouse and cleaning. During their free time, participants will have a chance to play Colonial games, enjoy a house tour or explore the grounds. The plantation will also be open for visitation and tours from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Admission for all of the day’s activities is free and open to the public. For additional information, call 302-739-3277.

-End-

Contact:
Jim Yurasek
Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs
Phone:  302-736-7413
E-mail:  Jim.Yurasek@delaware.gov
Web:   http://history.delaware.gov


“The Trial of William Penn”: Historical play to be presented at Dover, Del.’s Old State House on June 1, 2013

Courtroom inside The Old State House.On Saturday, June 1, 2013 at 1 and 3 p.m., The Old State House, located at 25 The Green in Dover, DE 19901, will present “The Trial of William Penn,” a historical play about the future founder of Pennsylvania’s 1670 trial on charges of “fomenting an unlawful and tumultuous assembly” by preaching to a group of Quakers on a London street. Admission to the museum, which will also be open for tours between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., is free and open to the public. For additional information, call 302-744-5055.

Adapted from “The Tryal of William Penn and William Mead” by Mary DeAngelis and Margo Gulati, the play depicts Penn’s prosecution and the jury that was imprisoned when they would not find him guilty as charged. Issues of religious freedom, the writ of habeas corpus and jury nullification are explored during the course of the 30-minute performance which features the audience serving as members of the jury. As English courts of old were far less civil than the courts in America today, audience members will be asked to join in on the court proceedings with the following cheers: “Hear him, hear him!,” “Let him speak!,” “Our brother speaks the truth!,” “Huzzah!,” and “God save the Magna Carta”; and the following jeers: “Tyranny!,” “Boo!,” “Hiss!,” “It’s unlawful” and “The curse of Cromwell be upon you”!

Actors will include community members David Brown and Mike Cordeiro of Dover and Jim Whisman of New Castle, as well as Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs’ historic-site interpreters Jackie Collins, Susan Emory, Dennis Fisher, Chris Hall, Gavin Malone, David Price, Thomas Pulmano, Bill Sparke, Bob Vander Decker and Tom Welch.

Completed in 1791, The Old State House is one of the oldest buildings of its kind in the nation. The first floor features an 18th-century-style courtroom that was originally designed for legal proceedings similar to those utilized in the trial of William Penn. The second floor features chambers for the state’s Senate and House of Representatives. The building is situated on Dover’s historic Green, a public area designated by William Penn in 1683 after his arrival in America.

-End-

Contact:
Jim Yurasek
Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs
Phone:  302-736-7413
E-mail:  Jim.Yurasek@delaware.gov
Web:   http://history.delaware.gov


Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs sponsors 18 special events during June 2013

Eleanor Matthews, historic-site interpreter at the John Dickinson Plantation, will be demonstrating a spinning wheel at the “Shall Faithfully Serve” program on June 15.During the month of June, the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs will be sponsoring 18 special programs at the six museums that it operates across the state.

Highlights of the month include “Shall Faithfully Serve!,” a June 15 program exploring indentured servitude at the John Dickinson Plantation. Program participants will symbolically sign an indenture form with a quill pen, after which they will be assigned 18th century chores such as gardening; preparing wool for spinning, weaving and carding; kindling gathering for the smokehouse and cleaning. During their free time, participants will have a chance to play colonial games, enjoy a house tour or explore the plantation grounds.

On June 1, The Old State House will present “The Trial of William Penn,” a living-history theater presentation exploring the prosecution of William Penn and the jury that went to jail when they would not find him guilty as charged.

Also on June 1, the First State Heritage Park Welcome Center and Galleries will utilize the exhibit “Dealing in Symbols: Profundity and the Human Figure” as a backdrop for guided tours that explore the life and work of the noted Wilmington sculptor Charles Parks and his contributions to American art.

Go to the following for a complete listing of events. Except where noted, programs are free and open to the public. For additional information, call 302-744-5055.

-End-

Contact:
Jim Yurasek
Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs
Phone:  302-736-7413
E-mail:  Jim.Yurasek@delaware.gov
Web:   http://history.delaware.gov


300 to gather for foster parent conference in Dover

Dover – Nearly 300 foster families, Division of Family Services staff and service providers will gather in Dover on Thursday May 30th, to learn more about best practice tools and strategies to help care for children who experience Delaware’s foster care system. The theme for the Foster Parent Conference and Recognition Luncheon hosted by the State’s Division of Family Services (DFS) is Partners in Progress: Healing Through Hope. This is the second year that conference workshops have spanned a full day instead of a half day as in previous years. DFS officials say foster parents provide a critically important role in Delaware’s child protective services system.

“They open their hearts and their homes to care for these children, many of whom have experienced a variety of trauma in their young lives, and provide love, nurturing, stability, safety and support,” said DFS Director Vicky Kelly. “It is our goal to support them through this conference so they can even more effectively care for the children who enter their homes.”

Workshops cover a variety of topics including strategies for dealing with difficult behaviors, how to help children maintain familial bonds and connections while in care, the impact of trauma on behavior, and helping children in care get through school. Keynote speakers include the Reverend Darrell L. Armstrong discussing “Congregational Home Visiting,” a program that trains clergy to plan and implement programming related to child abuse & neglect, and Mr. William Kellibrew IV, a motivational speaker on civil, human, women, children and victims’ rights and SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) consultant who will speak about his own experiences with the impact of trauma.

Foster parents provide a temporary home to children who have entered the child protective services system due to abandonment, abuse and/or neglect and prepare them to either reunify with their birth family or move onto a new permanent family when reunification is not appropriate. There are nearly 800 children currently in foster care in Delaware.

“I see foster parents as the starting point for our children’s healing journey,” said Jennifer Ranji, Cabinet Secretary for the Children’s Department. “As the theme for the conference indicates, we want to continue to build our partnership with our foster parents and to hear from them regarding initiatives we’re developing to better support their work with children in very challenging circumstances.” These initiatives include additional training opportunities and respite support.

Additionally, the Division of Family Services is in need of, and actively recruiting, more families to care for children with special needs including teens, sibling groups and children with special needs or who are medically fragile.

The Children’s Department provides services to children who have been abused, neglected, are dependent, have mental health or substance problems, have been adjudicated delinquent by the Courts, as well as prevention services targeted toward all youth. For more information, please visit www.kids.delaware.gov.