EXETER >> The 50th Patriot Days Encampment is June 9-11 at the Daniel Boone Homestead near Birdsboro. Patriot Days is a weekend of fellowship, learning, and fun.
Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, Camp Fire Youth, and even some family campers set up camp on Friday evening and leave on Sunday morning, with a program throughout the day and evening on Saturday which includes: competitive races and volleyball and other fun games; hands-on crafts activities; Native American stories and crafts; a Colonial fisherman; a First Aide Challenge; Saturday evening camp fire with songs and skits; a guitar workshop; geo-caching; paint ball; a Saturday evening dance with a DJ; and Saturday evening movies. We have animal events and activities that include a police K-9 demo, Red Creek Wild Life Association, therapy dogs, rescue dogs, and Academy of Natural Sciences. There will be a toy maker, leave-no-trace camping, a Colonial Medicine lecture, a working blacksmith, and even astronomy and a robotics demo. The Daniel Boone Homestead offers tours and sawmill demonstrations. Other activities will also be taking place. We have an annual cooking contest between troops, this year a 50th Birthday Cake contest for Patriot Days.
Patriot Days was created in 1967 by Bill Gruber, the grounds superintendent at the Daniel Boone Homestead until he retired in the early 80s. It quickly became popular with a mix of Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, and even “Y Indian Guides.” Through the 90’s annual attendance averaged around 2,500, with groups coming mostly from southeast Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, and it was not uncommon to have troops from New York and Maryland. We even had a group of Girl Guides from Canada one year. Attendance today reflects the many changes in Scouting, with on average 500 people from the tri-state area.
Patriot Days is operated by the Patriot Days Committee, a non-profit corporation, made up of Scouters who have attended the event over the years, and is not affiliated with any Scouting organization. We have a close working relationship with Daniel Boone Homestead staff and the Friends of the Daniel Boone Homestead. We are financed solely by a registration fee per camper and limited sales of food and novelties.
The public is invited. Scouters are invited to attend for the weekend or just for the day on Saturday. For more information contact us at PatriotDays@aol.com or 610-775-3725, or visit our website at www.patriotdays.org. The event is rain or shine.
