Hanna's Town adds trick-or-treating on Family Day, spices tours with Celtic lore

Western Pennsylvania frontier history and Halloween traditions and lore will combine for a fascinating and fun seasonal brew of activities this weekend at Historic Hanna’s Town.

A new trick-or-treating opportunity joins numerous returning features during the re-created 18th-century village’s annual Fall Family Day, set for 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Also returning will be evening Jack-O’-Lantern Tours of the historic site, available Friday or Saturday with advance registration.

For Family Day, “We encourage people to come in Halloween costumes,” said Louise Henry, education coordinator for the Westmoreland Historical Society, which operates and is headquartered at the site. “All of the places where we’ve got activities will be handing out candy to the children.”

Those activities will include demonstrations of traditional crafts at the blacksmith shop and by members of the Loyalhannon Spinners, who will show how textiles were made in the past.

Col. John Proctor’s Independent Battalion Westmoreland County Pennsylvania, a locally based Revolutionary War-era reenactment group, will fall in for a living history encampment. If the weather cooperates, the group will demonstrate military drills at 1 p.m.

At 1:30 p.m., historical society Executive Director Lisa Hays will lead a guided walk to family cemeteries on the grounds, noting how graveyards have changed through time. She’ll share the history of those who settled on the property after the original village was destroyed in a 1782 raid by a party of Seneca warriors and their British allies.

Visitors can take part in a Halloween-themed scavenger hunt, games of yesteryear and hands-on activities including dipping candles and making dolls from yarn or corn husks.

Signs posted along paths at Hanna’s Town and its short woodland trail will help explain some of the mysteries behind the celebration that falls on the final day of October.

“As people are enjoying our site, they can stop and read and learn more about Halloween,” Henry said.

Hay rides will be available from noon to 6 p.m., for a suggested donation of $5 per family or $2 per person.

Admission to Family Day is free for historical society members and children 5 or younger; $8 for adults; and $6 for seniors and students through grade 12.

Space is limited for the Jack-O’-Lantern Tours, which begin at 6, 6:30 and 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Participants will explore Hanna’s Town by candlelight while learning about the superstitions that were common among Westmoreland County’s Scots-Irish settlers regarding Hallowe’en — which had its roots in the Celtic new year’s eve observance, or Samhain.

“We give people a fun, interesting tour through the site as they learn about Celtic folklore, the superstitions and fears that people had when they settled here, and how Halloween came about as we know it today,” Henry said.

Call 724-836-1800, ext. 210, to register for a tour. The cost is $10 for historical society members, $12 for all others.

Visit westmorelandhistory .org to learn more about the historical society and Hanna’s Town.