Celebration of Reenactment at Westmoore Pottery

Date: September 9 2008Contact: Mary FarrellWestmoore Pottery of Seagrove NC will be paying tribute to those who portray our past all day from 9-5 on Saturday September 20. During “Celebration of Reenactment: History Comes Alive” the public will have an opportunity to learn about history from the perspective of those who research and portray it. Anyone not familiar with the world of reenactment and those who are and enjoy it! will want to come and mingle throughout the day with the 2nd NC Regiment of the Continental Line. The folks who portray the 2nd NC Regiment will be encamped beside Westmoore Pottery from 9 am to 5 pm portraying the life of 18th century soldiers and followers. Also in the afternoon Jim Daniel will visit Westmoore Pottery in the persona of an 18th century North Carolina surveyor for Lord Granville. From 2 – 3 pm weather permitting Jim will present an hour-long first-person program in the character of the surveyor. He will explain to visitors what would have been involved in receiving land in central North Carolina in the mid to late 1700s. Jim spent over ten years researching 18th century surveying has written a book on the subject and has performed this same program at sites such as Colonial Williamsburg and Mount Vernon. “We are so excited to have these folks coming to be with us for the day” says potter David Farrell of Westmoore Pottery. “It takes a tremendous amount of time and dedication to inhabit a persona from the past but it really can make history come alive for people today.” During the day the 2nd North Carolina Regiment will do drill and firing demonstrations and will show a variety of military implements that would have been used during the Revolutionary War. They will also have a “kids chest” on hand with wooden muskets to let kids try out “being in the line.” Patrick O’Kelley of the 2nd NC Regiment has authored several books on the Revolutionary War in the Carolinas. He will be selling and signing his books all day.As the surveyor Jim Daniel will discuss why and how people bought land in North Carolina in the 1700s. Before the Revolutionary War the Granville Line ran between Asheboro and Seagrove. North of that line the land was owned by Lord Granville while south of that line land was in the control of the Royal Government. Jim will also discuss and demonstrate the technology and tools available to an 18th century surveyor and the limitations of those tools. After the program Jim will be signing his book on 18th century surveying.No admission fee will be charged for any of the “Celebration of Reenactment” program that Westmoore Pottery is offering.As thanks to all who are reenactors anyone who portrays any part of the time period 1600 – 1850 who comes by Westmoore Pottery on September 20th and is dressed in period clothing will receive a 10% discount for the day on all purchases.“We’ve had a number of phone calls already from reenactors “ says Mary Farrell. “Several just wondered if we would extend the discount to Civil War reenactors who portray a time just after 1850. We told them ‘Sure!’ ““Some reenactors from some distance away have called asking if they can camp out the Friday night before the event” adds Mary. “And if they call ahead and let us know that will be fine! We’ll save a large section of the grounds of Westmoore Pottery for the 2nd NC Regiment and then let those others camp in another section – Civil War French & Indian Revolutionary War and anything else – all mixed together!”Potters David and Mary Farrell of Westmoore Pottery are very active in preserving techniques and shapes of pottery from the 17th 18th and early 19th centuries. The pottery they make is used regularly by military reenactment groups and museum cooking programs. The Farrells are often named among a handful of the best traditional potters in the nation today. Their work is found in museum and private collections around the country.Westmoore Pottery is located at 4622 Busbee Road just off Highway 705 between Robbins and Seagrove North Carolina and is open to the public from 9-5 Monday through Saturday. To get further details or directions call Westmoore Pottery at 910-464-3700 or visit their website at www.westmoorepottery.com .###

Archives