GLOUCESTER — Gloucester County will be celebrating its second annual “Gloucester Day” on Saturday, Sept. 2 with Gloucesters around the nation and across the globe.
The September date is traditionally celebrated in Gloucester, England, and recognizes the lifting of the Siege of Gloucester in 1643, holding out against Royalist forces during the First English Civil War.
Now held on the first Saturday in September, the Inaugural Gloucester Day was celebrated in 2022.
The county said the idea was the result of an exchange where approximately a dozen representatives from Gloucester, Virginia met with Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, in 2018.
The exchange eventually turned into a more formal movement called the “Gloucester Collaboration,” with a mission to form connections, collaborate with other communities, and learn from one another, the county said.
Like last year, churches and organizations around the Gloucesters are being encouraged to ring their bells 12 times at noon on Sept. 2 to signify the dozen Gloucesters that have been identified worldwide.
Locally, the Gloucester Museum of History will be open along with Rosewell Ruins and Fairfield’s Timberneck House. In the lower part of the county, Buck’s Store Museum will be open from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. with artifacts of the Guinea watermen’s way of life. Bucks BBQ will also be on-site.
Gloucesters around the world will be communicating electronically and through videos that
will be shared on the Gloucester Collaboration website.
Gloucester Brewing Company will host a livestream for Gloucester County, allowing Virginia residents to raise a glass to toast Gloucester, England residents at their Gloucester Brewery in the United Kingdom.
To coincide with Gloucester Day, the Duke of Gloucester is encouraging students from Gloucesters around the globe to describe through a special essay contest what they like most about their Gloucester and what they’d like to see change.
A grand prize of $100 will be awarded to the winning essay and $50 prizes will be given to two runners-up. A complete listing of rules and how to enter is available by visiting the Gloucester collaboration webpage. Essays must be submitted by Oct. 16.
“We are really excited to be able to share this special day with the other localities that share our name across the world,” said Carol Steele, Gloucester Virginia’s County Administrator. “We hope you’ll remember our day and we welcome you to ring your bells 12 times at noon and visit one of our many historical sites that will be open.”
For more information, visit gloucestercollaboration.org or call the County’s Community Engagement & Public Information office at 804-693-5730.
