Bergen County - River Edge - Washington's Birthday 287th Anniversary - A Country Ball

Sunday, February 24 – Bergen County Washington's Birthday 287th Anniversary - A Country Ball    Dance mistress Denise Piccino and the Tricorne Dancers will give two one-hour public performances in the Steuben House at 1:30 and 3:00 pm. Ridley & Anne Enslow will provide musical accompaniment on fiddle and hammered dulcimer. Throughout the afternoon,Rodger Yaden will portray General George Washington. Hot cider and crullers will be served in the restored 18th-century tavern in the Campbell-Christie House, where our gift shop is also located. Visitors may also see open-hearth cooking demonstrated in the Out-Kitchen featuring items that General Washington might have eaten during his stay at New Bridge in 1780 and recipes from Martha's cookbook. Re-enactors from the 3rd New Jersey Regiment will demonstrate military life. Activities for children include soldier drills, sewing take-away project & scavenger hunt.     The Needle to Cloth Exhibit of Girls' Samplers and Needlework (c.1740 to 1845) is available to see in the Steuben House. Also on exhibit for this event: George & Martha Centennial Quilt. Cooking in the outkitchen for this event: Chicken Fricassee cooked chicken with an egg custard-like sauce - Martha's recipe. Vegetable sides perhaps green beans or carrots.Corn breads Dutch recipe of sticks and muffins using two different pans, Martha's Great Cake with currants, lemon and citron. Shrub - a drink made with brandy, wine, lemon, sugar, fermenting for three days - (bet George liked this.)     So celebrate the 287th anniversary of Washington’s Birthday at Historic New Bridge Landing, where General George Washington made his headquarters in September 1780, when Continental troops encamped between Van Saun Park in River Edge and Soldier Hill Road in Oradell. A tiger-striped maple bedstead, reputedly used in a local home where George Washington stayed during the 1780 Steenrapie Encampment, is displayed in the Demarest House. The room in the Steuben House where Washington stayed for ten days during the Steenrapie Encampment is also open for viewing.