Your invitation to the Boston Tea Party
Written: Dec 11 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: it is a lot of fun
Cons: it can be cold
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| azielinski's Full Review: Boston |
Last night caroleg and I enjoyed a little bit of American History.
As many of you may already know, on December 15, long, long ago the colonists in Boston finally reached the boiling point over a little tax on tea and dumped the tea in Boston Harbor.
Every year on the Sunday before December 15 (or December 15, if the dates come out that way) the Boston Tea Party is reenacted here in Boston. I have been meaning to go for years but never quite got around to it. This year I made it.
The reenactment starts at the Old South Meeting House on the corner of Washington and Milk Streets in downtown Boston. (It is right on the Freedom Trail so if you have walked that you have probably been inside the Meeting House.) The events for the evening involve the meeting reenactment, the march to the harbor and the dumping of the tea.
The doors to the Meeting House open at 5:00 PM. However this is a very popular event and most people start lining up around 4:30. While we were waiting on line the reenactors mingled with the crowd and tried to get us fired up for the events to come. (There were also some people from Tealuxe, who were distributing free tea samples while we were on line. It was very warming and made for some funny exchanges too.)
Once the doors opened we all filed in. The Meeting House collects a small fee of $1 per person and hands out pamphlets explaining what had led up to this moment in history and giving each person a side to be on. (You are either a patriot or a loyalist.)
Most of the meeting that leads up to the march to the Harbor is done by the reenactors. They do, however, really want you to participate in this and act out your part. They were particularly encouraging with the children.
Once the crowd is really fired up, the person portraying Sam Adams steps up and encourages everyone not to put up with this tax. He then encourages us to dump the tea.
Out we went into the street to march to the Harbor. I am sure that the original crowd really charged over to the Harbor. We waited until everyone got out on the street and then walked over to the Harbor (with a police escort so that there were no traffic accidents) in an orderly way.
Only the reenactors are allowed on the ship, but there are plenty of places on the bridge leading to the wharf to watch them dump the tea and the rest of the crowd is encouraged to cheer them on and “Dump the tea!” They do and the crowd cheers.
1. At the original meeting they managed to cram about 5,000 people into the Meeting House. Fire laws limit crowds today to about 600. You will need to get there early to make sure that you can get into the Meeting House for the meeting.
2. December is usually pretty cold here and lately it has been really cold. If you decided to do this, dress warmly and in layers. You will be inside for a while and then back out in the cold.
3. This is great for school age children. To my great disgust, there are many people who have managed to make history seem boring. It isn’t and if you bring your kids, they will realize just how exciting it is – besides, it’s fun!
4. If you are interested in doing this next year or are just interested in learning more about the Meeting House, you can call (617) 482-6439.
Recommended:
Yes
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azielinski
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Location: Boston, MA
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Just started a new job...I'll be writing again soon.
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