HARRINGTON — The 43rd annual Harrington Heritage Day will return this weekend with the ultimate hometown street fest.

Taking place Saturday, the city will offer many events, beginning with a downtown parade at 9 a.m., leading to opening ceremonies at Norman Barlow Pavilion.

Downtown, vendors, entertainment, food, kids’ activities and demonstrations will continue all day until 3 p.m.

The free event seeks to celebrate the continuing importance of agriculture and traditional resource-based industries in the greater Harrington community.

A beloved history

Born and raised in Harrington, event organizer Doug Poore is proud to keep small-town history alive.

“They all have such unique stories on their own. It’s not just a way to get to the beach,” he said.

Having written several regional history books, Mr. Poore said the central Delmarva Peninsula is so interesting because it grew in a matter of decades in the mid-1800s, from an area of almost no change since the Revolutionary War to one of the nation’s largest vegetable producers and processers.

“At one point in time, if you ate a canned tomato anywhere in the United States, 70% of them were from the Delmarva Peninsula,” said Mr. Poore, also the local museum’s curator and the town’s Parks & Recreation Department assistant director.

“People don’t realize the history. That’s the story that needs be told here. Harrington became a hub (because) all the railroads that crisscrossed Delmarva either ended up in Harrington or went through Harrington.”

Since the 42nd annual festival was canceled due to COVID-19, Mr. Poore expects a well-populated event this year.

“We have had people come out of the woodwork to want to attend, set up vendor spaces. I think it might be the largest one ever, just because people want to get out.”

Free program books will be available with schedules and maps, plus Mr. Poore’s articles on the town’s heritage, from education to the rise of manufacturing and even old prisoner of war camps.

It’s party time

Live music will fill the pavilion all day, featuring Bastion’s Wake, the Jones Boys, the Hrupsa Sisters and Spirit and Truth.

Anyone ready to shop can visit the 70 craft booths, while strolling by informational tables on various Delaware services. The food court will sell roast beef, chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs and frozen treats.

Celebrating the region’s agricultural heritage, there will be an antique-tractor display, a 4-H petting zoo and FFA sheep-shearing demonstrations, plus the annual blessing of the combines at noon. Kids can also compete in a pedal tractor pull.

Youth may want to bring bathing suits for the water slide, alongside the bounce house, games and other Kids’ Zone activities.

The Greater Harrington Historical Society will operate three museums around town, featuring displays on local music, service members and first responders, railroads and local life dating back to “Clark’s Corner” of the late 1600s. Visitors can step into history there, as “we restored that old soda fountain. You can now get in there and get a soda! They line up starting at 9 a.m. to buy a $2 jerk soda because it’s such a classic experience, with pinball machine and jukebox,” Mr. Poore said.

Other groups are celebrating the day, as well, including the Southern Delaware Street Rod Association and World War II reenactors.

Main Street Cafe will host Ty Sherwood and the Tydewater Band at 1 p.m. Also, Trinity United Methodist Church will host an open house and sandwich sales. And the Harrington Fire Co. will be open for tours and demonstrations.

Harrington traffic impacts

Public parking will be available at the Harrington Fire Co., Asbury United Methodist Church and W.T. Chipman Middle School.

There will be road closures from 9 until 3 on Commerce Street and Clark Street (between Mispillion and Hanley streets); on Mechanic Street (from Railroad Avenue to Dorman Street); and on Fleming Street (from Commerce to Liberty streets).

Organizers also ask that visitors follow state and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations regarding COVID-19.