Field Day Of The Past Takes Visitors Back To Simpler Times

A big event is taking place this weekend, and though it’s a few miles west of the area, it features some of the main landmarks of Short Pump when it was a country outpost. Field Day of the Past takes place this weekend on Route 623 in Manakin-Sabot, near Bogey’s Sports Park. The three day […]

September 17, 2009; 6:03 PM • by Trevor Dickerson

A big event is taking place this weekend, and though it’s a few miles west of the area, it features some of the main landmarks of Short Pump when it was a country outpost. Field Day of the Past takes place this weekend on Route 623 in Manakin-Sabot, near Bogey’s Sports Park.

The three day event kicks off on Friday and runs through Sunday and combines the feel of a country fair with a full midway, food vendors and hundreds of booths filled with local artisans and craftsmen.

Exhibits focusing on steam and gas engines, a working sawmill and tractor pulls are also staples of Field Day of the Past.

Up front near Route 623, three relocated Short Pump landmarks stand proud and are open for tours. Short Pump Grocery and Short Pump Garage, both moved to the grounds in May of 1996 to escape the bulldozer, sell merchandise from a bygone era such as Cheerwine and Moon Pies.

Springfield Baptist Church is next to the two other buildings and is the most recent addition to the show. It was moved to the grounds in 2007 to make way for more development.

The first Field Day of the Past was held in 1992 and it now draws more than 30,000 people annually over the course of the weekend.

Gates open each day at 8:00 a.m. and general admission tickets are $10 each. For more information or to purchase tickets online, visit the Field Day of the Past website.

September 17, 2009 6:03 PM 0