Old Bethpage Village Hosts Traditional American Music and Vintage “Base Ball” Over Labor Day Weekend

Old Bethpage Village Restoration (OBVR) will offer up 19th-century entertainment over the Labor Day weekend, with period musical performances and dance, as well as a series of “base ball” games, announced Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi. The “Olde Time Music Weekend” festival will take place on September 5 - 6 from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

The musical events will be held at varying locations around the historic Village, with fiddle music at the District No. 6 school and traditional music and dance (including reels and quadrilles) at the Noon Inn PicNic Grove. In addition, the Old Bethpage Village Military Brass Sextet will perform each day at 2 p.m. and 3:15 p.m., while craftspeople demonstrate the art of decoy carving at the Conklin House, home of the local “bayman.”

Traditional base ball matches, one of OBVR’s most popular ongoing programs, will feature teams from the Village’s 1884 league on Sunday. September 6, with players wearing the uniforms and equipment of the time.

“Our Labor Day weekend program provides families with a hand’s-on opportunity to appreciate 19th-century Long Island history,” says OBVR Site Director and Curator Jim McKenna, who adds: “We also encourage visitors to pack their own lunch and enjoy a picnic.”

Old Bethpage Village provides visitors with the opportunity to step back in time and experience life in a recreated mid-19th-century American village set on more than 200 acres and housing some 50 historic buildings. Hours are 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Wednesday - Sunday.

Entrance fees are $7 for children 5 - 12 (those under 5 are free), seniors and volunteer firefighters; and $10 for adults. OBVR is located on Round Swamp Road in Old Bethpage (exit 48 on the LIE); for more information, call 516-572-8400.