CELEBRATIONS for Edward Winslow Day are under way ahead of the event’s return next week.
A new exhibition looking into the history of Edward Winslow is open at Droitwich Spa Library and will remain there until November 30.
Winslow was a separatist and New England political leader who became a key figure among the Mayflower Pilgrims, becoming one of the first English natives to travel to what would become the United States.
The exhibition will be part of many ways the town will be celebrating the legendary pilgrim following the success of last year’s inaugural Edward Winslow Day.
The event will now take place over three days from Thursday, November 27, to Saturday, November 29.
On November 27, there will be an American flag raising ceremony at St Richard’s House at 11am, followed by a thanksgiving service at 6pm at St Peter’s Church.
The American flag will be lowered at 2pm on Saturday, November 29.
There will also be music and entertainment at St Andrews Shopping Centre between 10am and 4pm on November 29, including line dancers and performances from the Salties Folk Trio, Voices Unlimited, and the Worcestershire Folk Players.
And there will be a themed market in Victoria Square at the same time.
Held on Thanksgiving Day, the festivities give a nod to Winslow’s involvement in the first-ever Thanksgiving dinner in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Born in Droitwich in 1595 and baptised in St Peter’s church in the town, Winslow grew up in a family who were deeply involved in the salt production trade, owning their own salt pit.
His education saw him attend King’s School in Worcester, and he later became a printer in London.
In 1617, he travelled to Leiden, Holland, becoming a prominent member of the local English Puritan Church.
Three years later, he boarded the Mayflower, a ship that carried 102 passengers from England to the New World.
He was a founder of the colony at Plymouth, Massachusetts, and served as governor three times there.
In October 1646, he left the New World and spent nine years in England, where he held minor offices under Oliver Cromwell.
In 1654, Winslow was chief of the three commissioners that Cromwell sent on his expedition against the West Indies.
However, in May 1655, he died of Yellow fever on board his ship between Hispaniola and Jamaica and was buried at sea.
