This is the world’s oldest and largest gathering of fife and drum corps

and muster enthusiasts, and it has been going strong since 1953. Chester Fife & Drum Corps will march in the annual parade along Deep River’s Main Street, which concludes at Devitt Field, where festivities continue throughout the day.

The Chester Fife & Drum Corps has the honor of being one of the oldest, continuously active fife and drum corps. The Corps will play rousing fife and drum music plus talk about their instruments and history.

Although the Jews in Colonial America represented a small minority of the overall population, their contributions, individually and collectively, were significant beyond their meager numbers. This program explores the role played by those Jews who took up arms and endured the hardships and hazards alongside their Christian neighbors. American Revolutionary War Historian Eric Chandler presents this Chester Library program.

Randy Calistri-Yeh will give a solo cello recital of special arrangements of music associated with military conflicts from the Revolutionary War to 9/11. He will also share stories describing the historical context of how music has been used to celebrate, mourn and protest the horrors of war. The concert includes classical music, Broadway and movie music, patriotic marches and popular songs. A Chester Library program.

Constance Baker Motley (1921-2005), recognized as a “Hero Carrying the Torch Forward” by the Chester Historical Society, was our Chester neighbor for 40 years. As an NAACP civil rights lawyer, she desegregated thousands of public schools under the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling. As the nation’s first Black female federal judge, she presided for 39 years expanding rights for women, workers and the disenfranchised. Her Chester home was later designated a Heritage Site on the CT Freedom Trail. In 2024 the USPS honored her legacy with a first class Forever stamp in the Black Heritage series. A Chester Historical Society program.

Led by the Chester Cemetery Commission and Chester Historical Society, this guided walk and historical talk meanders through the 1813-founded West End Cemetery that overlooks Cedar Lake. Park in the Cedar Lake parking lot and walk to the cemetery at the start of Cedar Lake Road.

From the Siege of Boston to battles at Valcour Island, Long Island, Trenton and Princeton, Chester heroes fought beside George Washington for liberty and equality. The next generation carried this forward, making Chester a hub of abolitionist activity. As stationmasters on the Underground Railroad, they kept the fight for freedom alive. A Chester Historical Society Program.

Form a team or compete alone to be the first to finish a 500-piece American Constitution jigsaw puzzle. Audience members are welcome to cheer on their favorite teams from the balcony. This is a Chester Library event.

Decorate your tractor with Red, White & Blue!

Come see how it’s done in North Quarter Park with Chester’s sugaring expert Kim Price. Details through Chester Park & Rec.

Have you ever heard of Anna Maria Lane? Or Sally St. Claire? This presentation will introduce you to some of the women who risked their lives, fortunes and sacred honor to lift the yoke of British control of the 13 Colonies. The stories of these largely unsung heroines of the American Revolution will be revealed in an illustrated talk by Revolutionary War Historian Eric Chandler. This is a Chester Library program.

In a living history presentation, the Dirty Blue Shirts share stories of women who waged war on multiple fronts and examine what these women wore as their worlds turned upside down. The choices they made every day about fashion and the consumption and creation of fabric drove the course of the Revolution just as determinedly as any Congress. Costumed historians present this program, which includes reproduction clothing pieces and fabric samples, along with a PowerPoint presentation. This is a Chester Library program.

How much do you know about American history and the Revolutionary War? For instance, who was the Commander in Chief of the Continental Army? And, where did the Battle of Bunker Hill take place? Form your teams and sign up through Chester Park & Rec to participate. Or cheer them on from the balcony!

Edward C. Hungerford (1827–1910), honored as a “Hero Carrying the Torch Forward” by the Chester Historical Society, was an abolitionist and a philanthropist. In the 1890s, he escaped a lynch mob in Orlando, Florida, after providing land and funds for the first Black school in central Florida, where Hungerford had a winter home. The 1897 “Hungerford School” successfully educated thousands of Black children through the mid-20th century.

•   Keep Historic Chester Clean! Annual townwide clean-up event hosted by Chester Land Trust.

•   Main Street comes alive with fun activities and idea exchanges for protecting our planet.

Chester Fife & Drum Corps lead off a parade to the Veterans Memorial and then down Main Street to the town’s flagpole, where a changing of the flag takes place by Boy Scout Troop 13. Afterwards, everyone joins in as the parade continues to Chester Meeting House, where sandwiches await.

New for the season: Enjoy the historical quilts exhibit at Chester’s Museum.

If you were in Chester in 1976, do you remember the Bicentennial Picnic held on the Fairgrounds? We’re having a Sesquicentennial Picnic! We hope Chester folks from far and wide will join in. There’ll be music, old-fashioned games (in 1976 there was a tug of war, three-legged race and sack race, but also a costume contest and a talent contest). We’ve been thinking about a pie contest! Plans are still unfolding. Chester Fife & Drum Corps will start it all off with a parade. Bring chairs, folding table and picnic blanket to enjoy your own picnic or food truck fare. Please leave your dogs at home.

July 4, 2026 is the 250th anniversary date of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Join in America’s day of celebration by running the Chester Road Race, cheering on the runners and wearing your red, white and blue.