Flag Day festivities in Basalt today

The Basalt Regional Heritage Society is celebrating Flag Day today by offering a fried chicken dinner and walking tour that will showcase the town’s past.The society will offer fried chicken, beans, potato salad, homemade pie and handcranked ice cream for $5 per person from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Lion’s Park, beside Town Hall and the Basalt Regional Library. The Frying Pan Bluegrass Band will entertain during dinner.A narrative walking tour of historical downtown and the Fairview Cemetery will be offered from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The Basalt Historical Tour is led by Basalt native and author Earl V. Elmont and Basalt residents Dwight and Nancy Maurin. Leading the cemetery tour are historians Caley and Liz Gredig.The celebration will end with a flag lowering ceremony and the playing of “Taps” at the Fairview Cemetery. The ceremony will be led by Lt. Col. Dick Merritt and assisted by the Pan and Fork 4-H Club. Participants should drive into the cemetery and park in the upper parking lot.Proceeds from the celebration will help restore the Arbaney Barn into a museum and educational center and fund other historical programs.For more information or to volunteer call 927-4693.