Ideas for Preservation Month activities

• Host an open house to show off a historic building that has been recently restored or is in need of restoration.
• Work with students to research the history of their community or a well-known local landmark such as their school, then put on a pageant to present their findings.
• Hold a career day, inviting preservationists, architects, craftspeople, researchers, and others to speak to students about their work.
• Encourage Main Street merchants to create special store-window displays that highlight the history of their business or building.
• If a historic building in town is threatened with demolition, hold rallies, letter-writing campaigns, cleanup days, and/or and public town meetings.
• Hold workshops for owners of historic houses.
• Organize a work project to clean up a historic town square, park, or cemetery.
• Conduct a walking tour through a historic district.
• Collect "then and now" photos of your community and exhibit them in a public space such as a school or library.
• Present preservation awards to those who have made a difference in your community.
• Organize a block party, community picnic, or period fashion show in a historic neighborhood or park.
• Hold a photo or architectural trivia contest.
• Volunteer on an archaeological dig.
• Conduct oral history interviews with longtime residents.
• Bury a Community Time Capsule to be opened in 2056.

[Source: National Trust for Historic Preservation.]