AGNEW — Step back in time to the battles that launched the Revolutionary War at the Northwest Colonia Festival this weekend.
The four-day festival, which began Thursday, continues today from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the George Washington Inn at 939 Finn Hall Road.
It commemorates watershed events in 1775, with some 60 reenactors presenting battles and history talks, as well as a rustic colonial village, a militia camp and a British military camp.
Paul Revere, played by Colton Crouch of Carlsborg, rides onto the grounds every day at 10:30 a.m., re-enacting the Midnight Ride.
The Skirmish at Lexington Green is re-enacted at 11:30 a.m., and the Battle for Concord Bridge is played out with a life-sized replica of the bridge at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $10 per adult, with children 12 and younger admitted free. Family tickets are $25. Active-duty military tickets are $8 with valid military ID.
Tickets can be purchased online at http://tinyurl.com/PDN-colonialfesttickets.
Several groups have booths at the festival. They include the Second Connecticut Regiment of Militia , the Northwest Colonial Reenactors Association and the Daughters and Sons of the American Revolution.
Organizers also added hay bale theaters facing the water and mountains. In five sessions, portrayers and re-enactors will talk about an array of topics such as clothing, weapons and historical figures of the period.
The History Bits will be presented at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:15 p.m., 3 p.m. and 3:45 p.m.
Daily tea times include a full three-tiered service of period-inspired scones, sandwiches, fruit and desserts along with the inn’s signature tea.
The event is sponsored by the nonprofit state George Washington Society, a 501(c)(3).
For more information, visit www.colonialfestival.com or www.walavender.com.