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About
The 16th annual Heritage Day program will start with a parade down Orient’s Village Lane; followed by a welcome and invocation at the
Old Point Schoolhouse; the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance; “God
Bless America” sung by Franklin Mastrangelo; the reading of the
Declaration of Independence by Oysterponds stalwarts; after which
there’ll be hot dogs, sweets, music and fun kids’ games in nearby Poquatuck
Park.
The history of Heritage Day: in the 19th century Oysterponds native-son Augustus Griffin began a tradition of the reading
of the Declaration of Independence every July 4th. Many years later,
that simple ceremony has grown into Heritage Day—an annual opportunity
to fully acknowledge the innumerable generations of Oysterponders who
came before us—starting with those who first settled the East End over
17,000 years ago.
Heritage Day celebrates all of Oysterponds history—the people and the lives they
lived and the artifacts and stories that have been handed down to us in
the 21st century.
