Contact: Elaine Brenchley, First State Heritage Park at Dover Project Director, phone: (302) 739-9194 , e-mail: elaine.brenchley@state.de.us
or Joanna Wilson, Public Affairs, phone: (302) 739-9902

First State Heritage Park Sites to Host Veterans Day Events Nov. 10 and 11

This Veterans Day holiday, Friday, Nov. 10, all of the First State Heritage Park partner sites will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. – including Legislative Hall, which will offer special half-hour tours at noon and 3 p.m. The tour, entitled “Military Heroes of Delaware,” will focus on the Capitol Building’s Gallery of Military Heroes, giving visitors a chance to learn who these men were and remember their sacrifices.

Other park sites open on Veterans Day include the Delaware Public Archives with its 17th Century Delaware exhibit, the Delaware Visitor Center and Galleries and its new “Fighting the Dragon” firefighting exhibit, the Biggs Museum of American Art, the Delaware Archaeology Museum, the Museum of Small Town Life, and the Johnson Victrola Museum. All museums are open to the public free of charge.

On The Green, special programs will be offered for both young and old and will be led by the Spirits of the Green, costumed interpreters who take visitors back through Dover’s past. From 11 a.m. to noon, children are invited to learn games and songs that were popular during the colonial period. Geared to ages 6 to 10, the program is open to all children at no cost and with no reservations needed.

For the adults, and to honor our Revolutionary War veterans, at 1 p.m. a guided walking tour will embark from the Delaware Visitor Center. “Revolutionary Dover” will highlight the stories of those who lived in Dover and fought for our independence. Or you may choose to rent an audio wand to explore The Green on your own. Audio wands and discount coupons are available from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Delaware Visitor Center.

Veterans Day events continue on Saturday, Nov. 11 with a WWII Veterans Tour of Lakeside Cemetery in Dover from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Conceived as a way to honor Dover’s military heroes of WWII and presented by researcher Danny Waite, who works to ensure that their memories and contributions will not be forgotten, this special tour traces the lives of those heroic Delawareans who served both at home and abroad to ensure the freedom we have today. Call 302-739-9194 for directions or for more information.

For more information about First State Heritage Park programs, please call 302-739-9194 or visit www.destateparks.com/heritagepark.

Established by Governor Ruth Ann Minner in 2004, The First State Heritage Park at Dover is a partnership of state agencies, under the leadership of Delaware State Parks, working in collaboration with city and county government, nonprofit organizations and the private sector to create Delaware’s first urban “park without boundaries” linking historic and cultural sites in the city that has been the seat of state government since 1777.

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