Blissfield's bicentennial weekend features everything from bed races to historical demonstrations

BLISSFIELD — The bicentennial weekend celebrations in Blissfield are finally here.

After kicking off a year of activities and events focused on Blissfield’s 200 years as a Lenawee County community with a Feb. 10 fundraiser, summer is now here, and Blissfield will devote this weekend to celebrating its past while looking forward to the future.

A whole slate of activities are scheduled for Saturday, July 27 and Sunday, July 28, to commemorate Blissfield’s 200th birthday — July 28, 1824, to the present.

“Throughout the year, kind of everything we do will be attributed to the 200 years celebration,” Danielle Gross, Blissfield Village administrator previously told The Daily Telegram.

Just a couple of weeks ago, when the River Raisin Festival came to town and celebrated its 40th anniversary in Blissfield, the festival weekend was themed around the village’s bicentennial. A Miss Bliss Spirit award winner was crowned at the festival, who that same weekend, served as the River Raisin Festival parade’s grand marshal. The parade, too, was focused on a bicentennial theme with entrants encouraged to decorate their bikes, tractors, cars or floats with bicentennial spirit.

Blissfield will be the second community in Lenawee County this month to devote a weekend to its bicentennial. Tecumseh celebrated its 200th birthday from July 18 to July 21.

More: Tecumseh prepares for bicentennial weekend July 18-21

“We have so much planned, and we are so excited,” Laura Nichols, Blissfield DDA/Main Street/Economic Development Director said during an online update for Blissfield Bicentennial’s weekend.

According to Lenawee County records, William Kedzie, of Delphi, Delaware County, New York, entered the first land purchase in Blissfield, but Hervey Bliss from Raisinville in Monroe County was the first person to actually purchase and move onto his lands. He moved during December 1824, making Blissfield the second settlement in Lenawee County. The village was named after his family.

Blissfield’s actual incorporation as a village was on July 27, 1875.

One of the many highlights of the weekend are the cemetery tours, which are planned for 5 and 7 p.m. Saturday, July 27, and at 5 p.m. on Sunday, July 28. Both tour dates will see reenactments of notable figures from Blissfield’s history.

“The cemetery tours will have people dressed as the characters — the founding fathers and mothers of Blissfield — who will provide a snippet of their lives during the tours,” Nichols said in her online update. “We have a fascinating cemetery, and we have a fascinating history.”

Longtime Blissfield educator and historian Gary Holmes, along with the Blissfield Area Historical Society are heading up the cemetery tours.

Here’s a rundown of what is happening each day this weekend for Blissfield’s bicentennial celebration:

Saturday, July 27 events

• 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Civil War reenactments in both Clara Bachmayer and Ellis parks.

• 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Time capsule display and movie of Blissfield’s sesquicentennial at Blissfield American Legion Post 325.

• 10 a.m. to noon, Bed races along South Lane Street in downtown Blissfield. Entrants in this event will race their handmade beds down South Lane Street with prizes being awarded for the fastest bed, the best themed bed and the bed with the most bicentennial spirit.

• 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Open house at the Blissfield Model Railroad Club, 109 E. Adrian St.

• 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Business hours at the Depot Museum, home of the Blissfield Historical Society. Displays will be on exhibit for the public to view.

• 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Softball tournament at Ellis Park.

• 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Victorsville School on the Blissfield Community Schools campus. Check out the inside of a one-room schoolhouse.

• 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., American Farm Museum will be open to the public showcasing its 1860 barn, and agriculture and toy history display, kid's games, inflatables and other activities.

• 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Antique tractor show at the American Farm Museum. In case of inclement weather, the tractor show will be rescheduled to Sunday, July 28.

• 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Pulled pork sandwich lunch at the Blissfield First Presbyterian Church on Franklin Street. Tickets for the lunch are $10 in advance or $12 at the door. Meals come with a pulled pork sandwich, chips, cookie and water.

• Noon to 4 p.m., Paige’s Ponies and Petting Zoo. Visit the Springbrook Commons Shopping Center on the west end of town and get a free pony ride or pet a cute little critter.

• Noon to 4 p.m., Historical miniature war gaming at 107 W. Jefferson St. See how Blissfield boys fought in the American Civil War.

• Noon to 4 p.m., Carriage rides through Blissfield. Similar to the rides given during Blissfield’s Yuletide weekend in November, people can take a ride around the village in a historic carriage. Carriage rides are $5 per person.

• 1 to 2 p.m., Beard, mustache and sideburn competition along South Lane Street in downtown Blissfield.

• 2 to 4 p.m., Letter making party hosted by the Friends of the Schultz-Holmes Memorial Library. Create a card or a letter about why you love the library or a memory of the library. Completed letters will be displayed at the library, 407 S. Lane St.

• 5 p.m., Blissfield Story Walk ribbon cutting at the Bachmayer Little League Park.

• 5 and 7 p.m., Cemetery tours.

• 6 to 8 p.m., Music in the Park. Bring a lawn chair and grab some food and listen to the music of Old Creek Road. The Bicentennial Park is on South Lane Street in downtown Blissfield.

Sunday, July 28

• 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Time capsule display and movie of Blissfield’s sesquicentennial at Blissfield American Legion Post 325.

• 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Civil War reenactments in both Clara Bachmayer and Ellis parks.

• 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Open house at the Blissfield Model Railroad Club, 109 E. Adrian St.

• 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Carriage rides through Blissfield. Similar to the rides given during Blissfield’s Yuletide weekend in November, people can take a ride around the village in a historic carriage. Carriage rides are $5 per person.

• 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Volleyball tournament at Ellis Park.

• Noon to 4 p.m., American Farm Museum will be open to the public showcasing its 1860 barn, and agriculture and toy history display, kid's games, inflatables and other activities.

• Noon to 4 p.m., Historical miniature war gaming at 107 W. Jefferson St. See how Blissfield boys fought in the American Civil War.

• Noon to 5 p.m., Business hours at the Depot Museum, home of the Blissfield Historical Society. Displays will be on exhibit for the public to view.

• Noon to 5 p.m., Victorsville School on the Blissfield Community Schools campus. Check out the inside of a one-room schoolhouse.

• 1 to 4 p.m., Ice cream social at Blissfield American Legion Post 325. Old-fashioned homemade ice cream will be prepared and served by the Legion Auxiliary.

• 2 to 5 p.m., Cornhole tournament in the side parking lot of Rich Lanes Bowling Bar and Grill. Teams can be two-person teams with an entry fee of $20 per team. Teams are to report at 1:45 p.m. Prizes will be awarded to the top three teams.

• 1 to 3 p.m. and 3 to 5 p.m., Music in the Park. Bring a lawn chair and grab some food and listen to the music of the Sugar Beats from 1 to 3 p.m., and the Blissfield High School Ensemble from 3 to 5 p.m.

• 3 p.m., Ribbon cutting for the Rotary Trail at Clara Bachmayer Park.

• 5 p.m., Cemetery tours.

Shuttle services will be available throughout the weekend from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday to take people to seven stops around the village. Historical walking and driving tour maps will be available at the Depot Museum for a small donation.

— Contact reporter Brad Heineman at [email protected] or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: twitter.com/LenaweeHeineman.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Blissfield's bicentennial weekend, July 27-28, to celebrate 200 years