Harleston

Encounter working men and women from Harleston’s 17th century history in some of the yards and alleys around the town centre. Hear them talk about their life and occupation, the state of the nation and local gossip about the ‘Founding Fathers’ – their plans, their disasters and even their triumphs (12:00 – 3:00pm). 

At 3:00pm come and take part, or wave on, the Separatists and adventurers as they process around the town, with musicians, flags and banners, to St John’s Church. 

Pick up a detailed programme and site plan of activities from Robinson’s Traditional Stationers, 5 The Thoroughfare, Harleston (from 22 June).

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Come and find out about how the American and local East Anglian dialects and languages have evolved since the departure of the Mayflower pilgrims.

Tickets £5 per person (£4 concessions) and can be reserved at info@harlestonsfuture.org.uk  (pre-booking recommended) - or can be purchased at the door.

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The first Thanksgiving, New England, 1621. Fifty men, women and children from the Mayflower voyage gather for a grand feast. But what are they celebrating? Survival after a gruelling ocean crossing and a merciless winter? The freedom to worship as they please after years of meeting in secret? Liberty to govern themselves, far from King and State? And what about the local people who join them at this iconic meal, the original Americans who had watched the Mayflower sail into Cape Cod Bay the previous year? 

Join us as we follow the motley assortment of passengers boarding the Mayflower four hundred years ago, among them two brothers - Edward and Samuel Fuller - from a certain market town in Norfolk, called Harleston. 

A community heritage project led by Harleston Players with financial support from Norfolk County Council, Harleston’s Future, and others.

Thursday 16 July – Saturday 18 July, 7.30pm, and Sunday 19 July at 3:00pm

Tickets: £9 adults, £8 over-65s and claimants, £4, 10 to 18 yrs (under 10s free) available in advance from Robinson’s Traditional Stationers, 5 The Thoroughfare, Harleston. Limited number on the door.

Subsidised transport from outlying villages and Harleston available for Sunday afternoon performance. Call 01379 855235 for details.

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