If it’s August, it’s “Aurora Colony Days” in Aurora. Mark your calendars for three days of fun! Saturday begins early with a 1K/5K funrun/walk starting right in front of the Aurora Colony Museum at 7:30AM.Enjoy a farmers market or an art show. Stroll through the Street Faire onMain Street featuring antique and vintage vendors from far and near, selling their latest finds!. Take in an old fashioned community parade at 11AM with the theme, “Community Gardens”.In the evening, enjoy a concert in the park featuring “Papa Smoke”. For more information visit www.auroracolonydays.com.
The celebration of the 51st anniversary of the opening of the Old Aurora Colony Museum and the 161st anniversary of the founding of Aurora Mills continues at the Museum. Museum admission will be free on August 12. Your children and grandchildren can enjoy a true blast from the past while building cabins using those retro Lincoln Logs and other fun and instructive living history activities.While at the Old Aurora Colony Museum, enjoy the current exhibit featuring the history of the Stauffer Families. And, don’t forget to buy tickets for our “Aurora Sampler quilt.
Back by popular demand, the Old Aurora Colony Beer Garden will open its doors on Friday, August 11, from 5 to 11 pm and on Saturday, August 12, from 11 am to 5 pm in the historic Octagon Courtyard in back of Aurora Antiques on Main Street. Eat up delicious brats and other delights that will be grilled on site by Ebner’s Custom Meats. Pheasant Run Winery and Tastes will provide refreshments. Lots of shade and seating will be available. Be sure to walk through the exhibit in the Octagon Building
What is The Octagon Building?
The Octagon Building is the only surviving structure from the 1867 Pioneer Hotel complex and its actual use remains somewhat of a mystery. Aurora residents from closer to the turn of the twentieth century remembered that it served as a chicken coup but to historians and architects it seemed rather elaborate for such a use.
Recently, however, it has become a centerpiece for fundraising activities. On Aurora Colony Day weekend (August 11-12) it will be open as part of a beer garden sponsored by ACHS. Then, on August 26th, the “Occasion at the Octagon” will be the major fundraiser for the year to support museum operations.Dinner will feature Indian-style salmon staked over an open pit fire, accompanied by side dishes featured in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. Enjoy a beautiful summer evening of food, microbrews and wines, raffles and live auction, music, and a bit of history.