Happy 200th Birthday, Monroe, Connecticut
Stepney Bicentennial Celebration
MONROE, CT: May 4, 2023— The Save Our Stepney Task Force (SOS), in celebration of the Town of Monroe’s Bicentennial, will host a Stepney Bicentennial Celebration June 10-11, 2023, Saturday, 1:00-7:00 pm and Sunday, 2:00-6:00 pm on the Stepney Green, Main Street, Monroe, CT.
The weekend promises to offer fun-filled from then and now activities. The Green will be filled with antique tractors from Kate Chase’s Rockledge Farm. Ol’time machines will be puffing and chugging away courtesy of Stepney resident Kevin Barney, a Connecticut Antique Machines Association member. Get your picture taken with President James and Elizabeth Monroe, for whom the Town was named when incorporated on May 23, 1823. A historical timeline of the history of the village of Stepney will be installed on the Green, and on Saturday, a huge bounce house and slide will be inflated for all.
Come take a ride on the flying horses or try your luck with the Stepney History Wheel.
The event will offer FREE flying horse rides on a carousel Saturday from 1:00-7:00 pm and Sunday, June 11, from 2:00-6:00 pm in the spirit of times past. The Stepney Volunteer Fire Company will be on hand with their touch-a-truck event. Visit the SOS history tent with its Stepney memorabilia and take a pictorial walk down Main Street. Spin the Stepney History Wheel and try your luck at answering trivia questions and win a prize. Colorful Stepney Calendars filled with historical happenings and images will be on sale. Collect four Stepney bicentennial buttons created just for the weekend.
It wouldn’t be a celebration without a Cake Walk, Cornhole Tournament, and Axe Throwing.
Be a part of our Saturday and Sunday Cake Walk around the Stepney Gazebo from 2:00-3:00 pm, when the dance music stops. If you end up on the selected numbered square, you will win a cake donated by Mariolas Cafe, Big Y, Purdy Hill Bakery, or Tara Cafe.
Sunday, try your skill at axe throwing from 2:00-5:00 pm featuring the Litchfield County Axe House. Three free throws per person. Participants must be ten or older and sign a waiver. Also, on Sunday from 3:00-4:00 pm, there will be a cornhole tournament with two divisions, Adults 18 and older and Children. Thanks to Scott and Lisa Selby of Board and Brush in Monroe, CT, two cornhole boards have been designed and donated for the event. The boards will be awarded to the top finisher in each division. Please contact Joel Leneker at JLeneker@aol.com to sign up in advance; there is no entry fee.
Buy your piece of history at the Monroe Bicentennial Store and get your Stepney Cookies.
Purchase your bicentennial memorabilia in support of the town-wide celebration. Refreshments will be available for purchase featuring custom-baked Stepney cookies from Chokolate Kreations by Kristyn, refreshing Italian ices from Italian Ices of Connecticut, and bottled water, popcorn, and other snacks. Be sure not to miss the delicious donuts prepared by Monroe Boy Scout Troop 62 on Sunday. Parking for this celebration is available at the Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel, 15 Pepper Street.
The Save Our Stepney Task Force, Inc., is organized exclusively for charitable and educational purposes, more specifically to preserve and enhance the character of the village of Stepney, Connecticut, incorporated within the Town of Monroe. The organization’s scope of concern includes identifying, documenting, improving, and/or preserving Stepney's historical, cultural, and natural properties and features. Activities include public events, education, beautification, and cultural enrichment.
For more information or to be a part of the Stepney Green Bicentennial celebration, please contact Kathie Loehr at 203.261.7892. Follow the Save Our Stepney Task Force on Facebook.