The big party will be in early July 2024
From the Andover Bicentennial Committee
ANDOVER, NY – Planning has begun for a celebration in 2024 to commemorate the bicentennial of the Town of Andover. A committee was formally put in place in January and has been meeting monthly to develop plans for a celebration to be held around the Fourth of July weekend (July 4-7, 2024).
The Andover Bicentennial Committee, with input from other community organizations—including the Andover Chamber of Commerce, Allegany County Historical Society, Andover Fourth of July Committee, Andover Haunted House Committee, and Andover Lions Club—is holding preliminary discussions on the celebration. Specific details have not yet emerged, but the event promises to offer a host of activities, many family-friendly, to mark Andover’s 200th year.
The public is invited to attend any meeting of the Andover Bicentennial Committee, which welcomes volunteers to serve on various subcommittees organizing fundraisers, discussing and planning events for the celebration, and marketing and promoting the celebration. The next meeting is Wednesday, May 10, at 7 p.m. at the Allegany County Historical Center, East Greenwood Street.
The committee plans several fundraisers in support of the celebration. A 50-50 raffle has been held and a Duck Race and Chicken Barbecue will be held Memorial Day Weekend.
The Duck Race, in which participants buy tickets with a number corresponding to a small plastic duck, will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 27. Ducks will be dropped in Dyke Creek at the East Greenwood Street bridge near the intersection with Route 417 and will float west toward the village. The first three ducks to pass under the bridge on South Main Street will determine cash prize winners.
The Stearns Chicken Barbecue will be held from 4-6 p.m. on Sunday, May 28. Pre-orders are available and meals will be picked up at Kent Beer Company, 1699 Jones Road, Andover. Tickets are $12 for a full meal (chicken half, macaroni salad and baked beans, roll and cookie) or $7 for a chicken half only.
Tickets for the Duck Race and Chicken Barbecue are available from committee members Aimee and Mark Whitehouse, Emily McGinnis, Jennifer Joyce, Jonny Lehman, Maureen Holt, Mandy Joyce-Phelps, Maria McCormick, and Mel Thorp.
The committee has begun gathering recipes from community members which will be included in a Bicentennial commemorative cookbook, similar to that which was produced for Andover’s Sesquicentennial celebration in 1974. Anyone wishing to have a recipe included can email it to andoverbicentennial@gmail.com
The public is invited to like and follow a Facebook page set up to provide updates on meetings, fundraisers, and event planning.
