Saturday, May 3, 2025
Times: The Village is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Workshop and activity times vary.
Members are invited to join us for Friends’ Day 2025. Not a member? Join today!
You must be a member of Old Sturbridge Village or Coggeshall Farm Museum to participate in Friends’ Day programs. Capacity for some programs is limited. Registration for these programs is on a first-come, first-served basis and opens at 9:30 a.m. on April 21, 2025.
Special Tours, Workshops, and More
In addition to the regular daily program, the following programs are available to members. (Regular daily program information will be available on the map guide upon arrival at the Village.) All programs last 50 minutes – 1 hour unless otherwise noted. When choosing your programs, please plan for travel time between locations.
Programs that note “drop in” below are open throughout the entire time frame indicated; you can join that program at any time during that time frame and do not need to pre-register. Programs that require pre-registration are marked as such. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis and will open on April 21, 2025. Please note materials fees and age minimums on certain programs listed in the descriptions.
You must be a member of Old Sturbridge Village or Coggeshall Farm Museum to participate in the pre-registered Friends’ Day programs.
Furnishing Your Pew for Meeting
Drop-in Program | 9:30 – 12:00
Learn how people personalized their pews in the Center Meetinghouse by adding cushions, armrests, footstool, and other decorations.
Collections Storage Facility Tour
Pre-registration required.
Click here to register for 10:00 SOLD OUT
Join us for a behind-the-scenes tour of our collections storage building where we house most of our more than 40,000 artifacts made or used by rural New Englanders between 1790 and 1840.
Hearth Cooking Workshop: Make an Herb Pie
Pre-registration required.
Click here to register for 10:00 SOLD OUT
In the early 19th century, cooking was often centered around what's available from the garden and farm. In this 90-minute workshop, you will learn how to prepare a traditional herb pie baked over the open hearth. Ingredients include parsley, spinach, sage, beat leaves, flour, egg, cream and milk.
Household Furniture Tour
Pre-registration required.
Click here to register for 10:00 SOLD OUT
Learn about the design and construction of 19th-century New England furniture on this tour of household furnishings. The tour will visit several of our historic buildings and will explore the style, function, and social context of period furniture.
Costume Office Open House
Drop-in Program | 10:00-12:00
Visit the Costume Office for a peek behind the scenes at how we clothe a village.
Visit the Root Cellar
Drop-in Program | 10:00-12:00
Join our gardeners in the Freeman Farmhouse root cellar as we check on the condition of last year's harvest and discuss specific forms of preservation.
Hearth Cooking Workshop: Make a Scone
Pre-registration required.
Click here to register for 10:30 SOLD OUT
Learn how to make traditional scones over the open hearth and pair it with a delicious in season berry jam. Ingredients include butter, flour, baking powder, sugar, eggs and milk. For the jam: sugar and strawberries.
Textiles Workshop: Carding and Weaving
Pre-registration required.
Click here to register for 10:30 SOLD OUT
Explore the world of early 19th-century textiles! Examine the different fabrics that were used during this period. Try your hand at carding and weaving wool on our looms at Museum Education.
Woodworking Workshop: Make a Spaddle
Pre-registration required.
Click here to register for 10:30 SOLD OUT
Join us for a hands-on workshop where you will craft your very own 19th-century kitchen tool – the spaddle! This long-handled wooden tool was a staple in historical kitchens. Discover the history and function of this unique kitchen tool, and leave with a handmade piece to add to your own kitchen collection!
Meet a Horse
Drop-in Program | 11:00-11:30
Meet one of OSV's horses at the Towne Barn Yard.
OSV Chocolate Bar Tasting
Drop-in Program | 11:00-2:00
Stop in Ox & Yoke Store to try our new OSV chocolate bars made with artisanal dark chocolate.
Native Plant Identification
Pre-registration required.
Click here to register for 11:00 SOLD OUT
Stop by the Herb Garden to learn more about identifying plants that are native to New England. Explore different resources you can use to determine which plants are most beneficial to your home garden!
Printing an 1839 Toy Book
Drop-in Program | 11:00-11:30
Print a sheet of pages to make an 1839 book using a 200-year-old Smith-Acorn press.
Tour of Hands & Hearts Exhibit
Pre-registration required.
Click here to register for 11:00 SOLD OUT
Join Curator of Exhibitions, Katherine Fecteau, for a tour of our new exhibit, Hands & Hearts: Courtship and Marriage in 19th-century New England. This exhibit, located in the Visitor Center, explores marriage and partnership in 19th-century New England by telling the stories of four couples. Each story points to a different aspect of courtship and marriage, from choosing a compatible partner, to navigating a premarital pregnancy, remarrying as a widower, and the challenges of having a same-sex relationship before it was socially acceptable or, in some cases, even legal to do so.
Tour of the Research Library
Pre-registration required.
Click here to register for 11:00 SOLD OUT
Join us for a behind-the-scenes tour of the Old Sturbridge Village Research Library, which encompasses more than 35,000 volumes and focuses on the history and material life in rural New England from the years following the American Revolution until the Civil War.
Walking Tour of New England Homes
Pre-registration required.
Click here to register for 11:15 SOLD OUT
Explore the houses of early New England. Learn about traditional methods of construction, architectural elements, and living conditions in 19th-century rural homes. This walking tour will visit several of our historic houses.
Town Offices Tour
Drop-in Program |. Begins at 11:30
A brief walking tour of the Center Village discussing town government and civic responsibilities in early New England.
Octavo Paper Folding
Drop-in Program | 11:30-12:00
Ever tried folding a sheet of paper to get sixteen pages in the correct numerical order? Village printers and bookbinders did so every day. Drop in the Printing Office to test your paper folding skills.
Hearth Cooking Workshop: Make a Scone
Pre-registration required.
Click here to register for 11:30 SOLD OUT
Learn how to make traditional scones over the open hearth and pair it with a delicious in season berry jam. Ingredients include butter, flour, baking powder, sugar, eggs and milk. For the jam: sugar and strawberries.
Textiles Workshop: Carding and Weaving
Pre-registration required.
Click here to register for 11:30
Explore the world of early 19th-century textiles! Examine the different fabrics that were used during this period. Try your hand at carding and weaving wool on our looms at Museum Education.
Hearth Cooking Workshop: Make an Herb Pie
Pre-registration required.
Click here to register for 12:30 SOLD OUT
In the early 19th century, cooking was often centered around what's available from the garden and farm. In this 90-minute workshop, you will learn how to prepare a traditional herb pie baked over the open hearth. Ingredients include parsley, spinach, sage, beat leaves, flour, egg, cream and milk.
Woodworking Workshop: Make a Spaddle
Pre-registration required.
Click here to register for 12:30 SOLD OUT
Join us for a hands-on workshop where you will craft your very own 19th-century kitchen tool – the spaddle! This long-handled wooden tool was a staple in historical kitchens. Discover the history and function of this unique kitchen tool, and leave with a handmade piece to add to your own kitchen collection!
Sample Culture Pop & Polar
Drop-in Program | 1:00-4:00
Culture Pop (new Probiotic soda) and Polar will be here sampling some of their products in the Ox & Yoke Café.
The Great Room Waltz
Pre-registration required.
Click here to register for 1:00
Once considered scandalous, waltzing is now regarded with utmost class. Come to the Bullard Tavern to partake in this most divisive dance. But don’t tell the minister.
Make a Punched Tin Votive Workshop
Pre-registration required.
Click here to register for 1:00 SOLD OUT
Learn to make a decorative tin votive for a tea light.
Hearth Cooking Workshop: Make a Scone
Pre-registration required.
Click here to register for 1:00 SOLD OUT
Learn how to make traditional scones over the open hearth and pair it with a delicious in season berry jam. Ingredients include butter, flour, baking powder, sugar, eggs and milk. For the jam: sugar and strawberries.
Textiles Workshop: Carding and Weaving
Pre-registration required.
Click here to register for 1:00
Explore the world of early 19th-century textiles! Examine the different fabrics that were used during this period. Try your hand at carding and weaving wool on our looms at Museum Education.
Collections Storage Facility Tour
Pre-registration required.
Click here to register for 1:00 SOLD OUT
Join us for a behind-the-scenes tour of our collections storage building where we house most of our more than 40,000 artifacts made or used by rural New Englanders between 1790 and 1840.
Meet a Horse
Drop-in Program | 2:00-2:30
Meet one of OSV's horses at the Towne Barn Yard.
Annual Meeting with President & CEO, Jim Donahue
Begins at 2:00
President CEO Jim Donahue will host the Annual Friends’ Meeting where he will highlight the Village’s recent accomplishments, programs and vision for the future. Members must be present to participate in the raffle drawing.
Tour of Hands & Hearts Exhibit
Pre-registration required.
Click here to register for 2:00
Join Curator of Exhibitions, Katherine Fecteau for a tour of our new exhibit, Hands & Hearts: Courtship and Marriage in 19th-century New England. This exhibit, located in the Visitor Center, explores marriage and partnership in 19th-century New England by telling the stories of four couples. Each story points to a different aspect of courtship and marriage, from choosing a compatible partner, to navigating a premarital pregnancy, remarrying as a widower, and the challenges of having a same-sex relationship before it was socially acceptable or, in some cases, even legal to do so.
First Wild Flora of the Spring
Pre-registration required.
Click here to register for 2:00 SOLD OUT
Take a walking tour of the Village to identify and learn more about some wild edibles that grow early in the season, such as dandelions, garlic mustard, and chickweed.
Women Printers in New England: Widow Franklin and her Struggles
Drop-in Program | 2:00-3:00
Have you heard of the printer called Widow Franklin? Learn more about this extraordinary woman at the Printing Office.
Tussie-Mussies: The Language of Flowers
Pre-registration required.
Click here to register for 2:00 SOLD OUT
Learn how 19th-century New Englanders used Tussie-Mussies—small bouquets—to convey secret messages of love, friendship, and sentiment. Craft your own bouquet using fresh or dried herbs and flowers while exploring the symbolic language they once held.
Costume Office Open House
Drop-in Program | 2:00-4:00
Visit the Costume Office for a peek behind-the-scenes at how we clothe a village.
Make a Punched Tin Votive Workshop
Pre-registration required.
Click here to register for 2:00 SOLD OUT
Learn to make a decorative tin votive for a tea light.
Tour of the Research Library
Pre-registration required.
Click here to register for 3:00 SOLD OUT
Join us for a behind-the-scenes tour of the Old Sturbridge Village Research Library, which encompasses more than 35,000 volumes and focuses on the history and material life in rural New England from the years following the American Revolution until the Civil War.
Machinery Storage Tour
Pre-registration required.
Click here to register for 3:00
Get a behind-the-scenes tour of our Machinery Storage building where we house our larger pieces of early 19th-century equipment and vehicles.