Battles and more reenacted at History Alive 2026 in Hillsborough
“We give people a chance to experience history, first hand,” said Traci Blain, one of the organizers of Hillsborough’s History Alive event happening Saturday, Aug. 15, and Sunday Aug. 16. “It’s like walking through a time-line.” This includes history from the Roman Empire to World War II, she said. “We [stage] different battle scenarios as well as open field cooking — how that worked during the French and Indian Wars. There are demonstrations of apple cider making, and gold panning. We have two authors coming. Marek Bennett is a comic book author who writes books about the Civil War. And we have another Civil War author coming, who writes … novels about the Civil War.”
History Alive is a yearly two-day event put on by the Hillsborough Historical Society. Re-enactors present different periods in American and European history, and guests can walk through and experience some of what life was like in those time periods.
“It’s a sort of total immersion in times that have passed us,” Blain said. “You can see the full sort of setup of a settler, what a settler might look like, who are the folks that sold to the guys on the field. The Vikings will show you how they make chain mail, and they will show you how they engaged in the battle. The company in the back, Black Spear, will show you how to shoot an arrow and what that looks like, with a bow and arrow, from medieval times. In the Civil War, they’ll show you a full battle out on the field, and we have a cannon that goes off, which is very loud across the valley. That’s pretty amazing. And this year we actually have both sides of World War II, and they’ll be doing a battle as well.”
Historical re-enactors have a reputation for meticulous attention to detail, Blain said. “It’s folks from all over the world and they’re very dedicated to each of their ‘realms,’ if you will, and they’re very accurate. They all live for the weekends when they are part of that year they’re portraying. My son and I are actually part of a Civil War unit as one of the organizers. We got involved helping to organize History Alive about three years ago when it was sort of losing steam because it had lost some volunteers. We got involved to help out, organize, and got hooked. My son fell in love with the event when we started helping with it. And it’s been great ever since. We’re part of the Third Maine [Civil War infantry unit]. They don’t generally join us this weekend, but we will be in full dress. My son is 16. He started as a drummer boy and has moved up to the infantry.”
History Alive will take place in two locations, Blain said, in Kemp Park and on Jones Road. “Our Kemp Park event will also be open on Saturday. And that is about Hillsborough history, by the river. And that’s only on Saturday. But Saturday and Sunday is the event. The $10 charge to get in — for adults only; kids are free — lasts all weekend. So you only have to pay once. And you can see all the events.”
Blain said History Alive’s immersive quality makes it different from many other historical festivals.
“It’s really fun to learn all about the different eras and that you can sort of walk through time and see things change, from tent structure to equipment, to fighting with swords to fighting with guns. You can see that progression as you walk through the event itself, which is one of the few places you can do that. The big demonstrations are mostly conflict scenarios — they are what folks like to watch. It’s a crowd-pleaser. But it’s also the smaller demonstrations about cider press and how to cook a whole chicken over a fire. It’s also really interesting to learn because there are all sorts of skills that have gone by that these folks have picked up and learned to do.”
History Alive 2026
Where: In Hillsborough, on Jones Road and in Kemp Park
When: Saturday, Aug. 15, and Sunday, Aug. 16.
More: Admission is $10 for adults, free for children. See historyalivenh.org for a schedule.
Featured photo: Courtesy photo.