"Make It a Heathsville Saturday" on Saturday, July 20th

There are always a lot of reasons to visit Heathsville, but Saturday, June 20th is one of the best days to “Make It a Heathsville Saturday.” The entire community is coming together to offer a variety of fun eating, shopping and things to do in conjunction with the Heathsville Farmers Market.

Meanwhile, inside the historic Tavern itself, the Tavern Cafe´ will be serving light luncheon fare, all homemade by the volunteers of the Tavern's Culinary Guild. Enjoy salads, soups, sandwiches, quiché, and sweet treats. Breads are freshly-baked in the Tavern kitchen. Special on Market Day, the cafe' makes glazed donuts, hot out of the fryer. For "on-the-go" eating, visit the food concession stand in front of the "Transportation Museum Building".

 

Also inside the Tavern is the "Heritage Arts Center" gift shoppe, which offers one-of-a-kind, locally-made handcrafts for sale, and the working studios of several artisans, including a jewelry-maker, sewers, weavers, and spinners.

This month's theme at the Heathsville Farmers Market is "Kids Day". Children, grandchildren and their favorite adults will enjoy special treats and activities, like corn hole games and a fire engine. The Tavern Woodworkers Guild is offering the chance to make and paint toy wooden boats. The Tavern Spinners & Weavers Guild will have a loom warped and ready for kids to weave on. The Tavern 'Crafters' will have a crafting table set up inside the "Transportation Museum Building."

The Northumberland Library's “Tech-Mobile” will also be on site and open for tours. "Big Blue," as the vehicle is affectionately called, it both an internet "hot spot" with computers, as well as a place to browse the latest books.

Dating back to the late 1700's, historic Rice's Hotel / Hughlett's Tavern is home to four active artisan guilds, which will be on-site that day, demonstrating and selling their wares. Follow the smoke to the Forge to see the Blacksmiths at work. The Woodworkers have both a modern and a colonial era workshop in the "Carriage House," which also houses a collection of antique carriages. The Quilt Guild has their studio on the first floor of the Tavern, and the Spinners and Weavers gather in their studio upstairs.

After shopping the market, nearby shops and historic sites invite the public to check out their establishments. Visit Ye Olde Book Shoppe, a used book store run by volunteers of the Northumberland Public Library. Browse classy church thrift shops run by St. Stephen's Episcopal and Light of Christ Anglican. Check out Kathy's Korner for unique treasures for the home. Heathsville United Methodist Church sells homemade ice cream from 11 am to 1 pm. The Northumberland Historical Society will be offering tours of Heathsville old jail. Pick up your Historic Heathsville Walking Map, and wander past homes and buildings from every century since the 1700's.

All sites are located on Route 360 in Heathsville. Historic Rice's Hotel / Hughlett's Tavern, a non-profit run entirely by volunteers, is at 73 Monument Place, hidden just off Route 360 behind the old Northumberland Courthouse.

“Make It a Heathsville Saturday” takes place on the third Saturday of the month, April thru October. Each Farmers Market has a different theme. Sonabank is the major sponsor of this community-wide initiative.

For more information, visit www.RHHTFoundationinc.org, e-mail info@rhhtfoundationinc.org, or call 804-580-3377.

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