Activities start on Friday night, September 11th, with a street dance at the Colony Inn. Saturday, Sept. 12th is a full day of family friendly activities that include: caricature drawings by Draw Me Bill, 5-year Parade around the Park, pay at the door chicken dinner at the Colony School ($15 donation), music and program in the park featuring descendant speakers (bring chairs), followed by birthday cake at the Colony School. Also featured are authors Brita Butler-Wall and Lilly Setterdahl who will have books for sale, in addition to several live music acts: Bishop Hill High Society Band, harpist Deirdre Light, accordionist Fiona Light, and nyckelharpist Lisa Horngren.
Activities continue on Sunday with an ice cream social ($5 donation) and textile preservation demonstration at the United Methodist Church, in addition to Village dedications of a cemetery monument and downtown restored flag pole. Finally, the weekend rounds out with an afternoon Cruise-in to the Filling Station to enjoy socializing and music by Noah Soper.
Grand Marshals selected for this 5-year parade include an esteemed group of individuals who live, have lived in or around Bishop Hill, or made meaningful contributions to the town AND are 90+ years old! BHOSA is privileged to honor 27 individuals with a collective 2,500+ years of inspiration! You won’t want to miss seeing this group start off the parade.
Visitors to the Parade and celebration also include a group of 30+ Erik Jansson descendants gathering from all over the US. Erik was the driving force and organizer influencing over 1,000 Swedish immigrants to sail to America for religious freedom where they settled in Bishop Hill starting in 1846.
All activities are free to the public, and made possible by financial support from the following: Geneseo Foundation, Henry County Historical Society, Swede Swenson, Beth Magnuson, Jeff & Gail Olson, Patricia Hurd, and Bishop Hill Old Settlers’ Association. The village park is located in the center of town, Colony School at 405 West Main Street, United Methodist Church at 405 East Main Street, and Filling Station on Bishop Hill Street (main road).
Bishop Hill Old Settlers’ Association (a non-profit) is the oldest active organization in the village celebrating 130 years this year! A detailed schedule can be found on their Facebook page or emailing bholdse3lers@gmail.com.
