You’re invited to submit a listing for this column: It’s easy. Email your information to listings@plymouthindependent.org at least 10 days in advance. A good quality photo without type on the image – sent as a jpeg attachment – helps.
It may be too obvious to say that for Plymouth the Thanksgiving holiday is huge. But for Plimoth Patuxet Museums experts Richard Pickering and Malissa Costa, there’s more to the old story than what some of us learned in grade school.
The harvest celebration with English and indigenous people resulted from mutual need at the time. Pickering, a chief historian at the museum, noted that survivors of the Mayflower who landed in Patuxet in 1620 barely interacted with the Wampanoag until March 1621, when they agreed to a treaty with Massasoit Ousamequin (yes, that’s his real name).
The harvest feast wasn’t until fall of 1621. Both populations had suffered and were diminished for different reasons – the English because of their difficult voyage and losses, as well as adjusting to a new environment, and the Wampanoag because of the ravages European diseases inflicted upon their population.
Costa, a Mashpee Wampanoag and interpreter at the Historic Plimoth Patuxet homesite, said the English at that time were like us today – more accustomed to buying food and clothing than growing and making it. The Wampanoag had to show them how to plant and tend their harvests of maize, beans, and squash in New England soil.
In those early years, the settlers relied on the Wampanoag to understand their environment, and the Wampanoag looked to the English to stand with them against perceived enemies like the Narragansett.
At the 1621 feast, Ousamequin arrived with 90 men (and others, possibly women and allies), but the English group only consisted of around 52 people, with children making up about half that number. Whether Ousamequin’s group was invited is not clear, but the feast was a celebration that included singing, dancing, and games and went on for three days. Though the English had shot some fowl for the feast, the indigenous group hunted deer to fill out the spread.
Although we view it as a happy, peaceful example of co-existence, for Costa and others the Thanksgiving holiday is known as a Day of Mourning. The indigenous people of the region suffered due to the actions of an influx Europeans who arrived in New England over the next couple of years following that first shared feast. Even today, the Wampanoag struggle to be recognized and respected as a community whose members act as stewards of the land and water.
As a horticulturist and someone knowledgeable about indigenous foods, Costa says a good harvest feast could include roasting a duck or rabbit outdoors and stuffing it as you would a turkey with garlic, onions, and cranberries. She also recommends roasting acorn squash filled with cinnamon, cranberries, and walnuts.
Let the feasting begin.
Plimoth Patuxet Museums is open seven days a week from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tickets are $46 for adults, $41.40 for seniors, and $29 for children under 12. They’re available here.
Monday, November 11
Texas Roadhouse at 20 Shops at 5 Way is offering free meals from 12 – 10 p.m. for veterans in honor of – you guessed it – Veterans Day. All veterans are invited and welcome. The restaurant opens its doors at noon. For more information, call 508-746-7700.
Tuesday, November 12
Join a short Plymouth Public Library plant walk around the Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary – 60 Beaver Dam Road – to examine how plants support wildlife even in the winter months. An educator from Mass Audubon will discuss landscaping for nature, and how restoration efforts can revitalize a landscape. This free is program for families (including children ages 8 and up). Wear sturdy shoes and weather-appropriate layers of clothing. The walk will be mostly flat along a wide trail with a few moderate inclines. Register through the Mass Audubon website, here.
Wednesday, November 13
If you’re intrigued by decorating ideas for fall centerpieces, the Plymouth Garden Club is presenting some samples with a “Fall Tablescape” by Grace Whittemore at 1 p.m. at the Chiltonville Congregational Church on River Street. Get tips on decorating your table for the holidays. Whittemore, who owns Primrose Floral and Event Design, has spent years designing flower arrangements throughout New England. New member inquiries to the Plymouth Garden Club are welcome. The guest fee is $5 and includes a traditional English tea.
For those who have tickets, Comedian Liz Moniz tonight kicks off the sold-out South Shore Conference for Women at Hotel 1620, 180 Water St. Moniz, a comedian and writer from Rhode Island, performs regularly at the Comedy Connection in East Providence, and has been the opener for performers such as Big Jay Oakerson, Jim Norton, and “Morbid: A True Crime Podcast.”
Thursday, November 14
The sold-out Sixth Annual South Shore Conference for Women, produced by the nonprofit She’s Local, takes place from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Hotel 1620 Plymouth Harbor, 180 Water St. This year the conference features stellar speakers and panelists from the South Shore, including emcee and executive coach, Karen Marinella Hall, and keynote addresses from Femita Ayanbeku, the fastest female amputee in the U.S. Paralympic Track and Field, as well as keynote speaker and organizing expert, Lisa Dooley. For more information, go here.
To the Moon and Back, a Plymouth-based nonprofit that advocates for families and children affected by prenatal opioid exposure, celebrates its new home with a ribbon cutting at 6 Main Street Extension, Suite 615, from 3 – 4 p.m. The nonprofit’s founder, nurse and social worker Theresa Harmon, landed To the Moon and Back in its new home and hired additional staff thanks to a grant from the Massachusetts Community Health & Healthy Aging Funds. Meet the two new part-time clinicians at the celebration, and savor food catered by local celebrity chef Stephen Coe.
Explore the wines of the Northwest at Uva Wine Bar, which is holding a dinner and wine tasting event from 7-9 p.m. focused on Oregon wines. Try various wines from Oregon – each paired with food. Doors open at 6 p.m. Dinner includes four courses. Tickets are $65, and you can buy them here.
Friday, November 15
“Cooked—Survival by Zip Code,” a 2018 documentary about the perils of natural disasters – especially for people living in poverty – will be shown tonight at 7 p.m. at the First Parish Plymouth chapel, 12 Church St. This event is free. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m., with light refreshments available. A Q&A session will follow the film, which covers a heat wave in Chicago that resulted in the deaths of more than 700 people in lower-income neighborhoods, and “shines a light on the issues of poverty, race, class, and education that underlie how natural disasters take lives.” This event is co-sponsored by the Citizens Climate Lobby, the Southeastern Pine Barrens Alliance, Sustainable Plymouth, and the First Parish Social Action Committee.
Livingston Taylor performs at the Spire at 8 p.m., along with special guest Matt Cusson. Taylor is a multi-talented musician and songwriter, as well as a professor at Berklee College of Music. He has been described as “equal parts Mark Twain, college professor, and musical icon.” and he is comfortable with a range of genres, including folk, pop, gospel, and jazz. Expect to enjoy his skills at story spinning as well. Taylor has written familiar top 40 hits recorded by his brother James Taylor, and has appeared with Joni Mitchell, Linda Ronstadt, Fleetwood Mac, and Jimmy Buffet. Matt Cusson is a pianist, producer, writer, and arranger. He’s performed in Plymouth many times over the years. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $49.50 and $55, and you can buy them here.
Monday, November 18
The Plymouth Lodge A.F. & A.M., 116 South Meadow Road, invites the public to attend a free event on the True History of Thanksgiving at 6 p.m. Hartman Deetz, a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and a Freemason, is the featured speaker. Deetz has spent more than 25 years working in environmental advocacy, cultural restoration, and preservation. He writes for Cultural Survival Quarterly, sits on the Seeds of Wisdom foundation’s grant review committee, and serves as a Native Cultural Consultant for the Charles River Watershed Association. Deetz performs internationally with Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers and is the owner-operator of Ockway Bay Wampum, a cultural arts and education company.
Wednesday, November 20
The 5 Gallon Challenge for Hunger invites community members and business owners to join Stevie Keith, co-owner of Keith Brothers Plumbing, and other business owners in a food drive to alleviate hunger and put food on tables at a time when such donations are sorely needed. The challenge asks donors to fill a 5-gallon bucket with non-perishable food items, and drop it off at Keith Brothers, 12 Cedarhill Park Drive, Suite 3, before Nov. 20. You can also bring filled buckets to Castle Storage, 20 Pilgrim Hill Drive, today from 12-4 p.m. At 4:15 p.m., a work truck convoy will leave Castle Storage with a police escort and travel through Plymouth to the Plymouth Area Coalition to deliver the donations.
Friday, November 22
Singer-songwriter Caitlin Canty will perform at the Spire. Canty plays a variety of folk, blues, and country ballads, and has put thousands of miles on her songs and singing, touring throughout the states and Europe. “Motel Bouquet,” her third record, features 10 original songs that highlight her voice which was called “casually devastating” by the San Francisco Chronicle. Doors open at 7 and the show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $22.50 and $28. You can get them here.
Coming in next week’s column: Thanksgiving parade details.