Summerseat Farm’s 4th Annual ghost walk was high on the fright meter but also had an equally high local history quotient. The historic farm in Oakville provides a permanent dose of tranquility that belies its location beside busy Route 235.
The 120-acre farm is operated by a non-profit organization run dedicated group of volunteers. That volunteerism was much in evidence with the just concluded three-day Gates of Summerseat. More than 60 actors led participants through a ride through history with serious bumps in the night. And that doesn’t include the many behind the scenes volunteers needed to put off such an ambitious event.
The ghost walk is scripted by Summerseat Farm President Jin Dicus and his wife Teri. But the script is modified to take advantage of the strengths of the actors, according to Jim Dicus. The story told is of love and love lost, hardships on a colonial farm and the overall vagaries of life.
Some of the stops reflect the pirates and ships that were part of life on the Chesapeake. As folksinger and folklorist David Norris told the walkers around the campfire before the walk began, Summerseat at one time stretched from the Potomac to the Patuxent, so life on the water was an important part of its history.
During a break with helping with traffic, Dicus said that the events at Summerseat are exposing many new people to the farm and the story it has to tell. The animals living on the farm, including a herd of buffalo, are part of that experience.
Dicus said that the Gates of Summerseat is the non-profit’s biggest fundraiser. It takes a lot of money to keep the farm going and help pay down the loan from the state that allowed the group to purchase the property. Other recent events at Summerseat include a successful music festival this past summer and the recent Monster Glow Dash to benefit Community Mediation of St. Mary’s.
For more information about Summerseat Farm go to their website: http://www.summerseat.org/
