WARWICK — The town’s annual Old Home Days celebration will return Aug. 24 and Aug. 25, with the intention of providing the community a chance to reunite with Warwick residents who have since moved away and learn about residents of the past.

“A lot of people who are from the town, or grew up in the town, will try to come back for it,” organizer Colleen Paul explained. “We’re a very small town, so we’re … a close community. Pretty much everybody knows at least something about everybody.”

The tradition began in the 1800s when Warwick Town Hall was first dedicated. The tradition disappeared for many decades until it was revived in the 1990s by former Selectboard member Larry Carey in collaboration with Paul, who is his daughter. Since Carey suffered a stroke two years ago, Paul has been running the event herself.

“I’ve been carrying on for him the past couple years,” Paul said.

The town common will host a plethora of activities on Saturday beginning at 8 a.m. Activities include an open mic, a tag sale, hay rides and a small parade, beginning at 10 a.m. The Warwick Fire Department will provide a lunch of hamburgers and hot dogs.

At 3 p.m., historians will present biographies of deceased residents who are interred in the town cemetery.

On Saturday evening, the Trinitarian Congregational Church will offer a dinner in Warwick Town Hall from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The menu includes pork loin, baked beans and cornbread, as well as apple pie and ice cream for dessert. Dinner is $15 for adults, $7 for children ages 4 to 11, and free for those under 3 years old.

Following dinner, the Warwick Arts Council will present a performance by local band Spacebar, also in Town Hall.

“It’s an opportunity for people to come back to Warwick and have some fun,” said Clara Shepardson, an organizer of the dinner.

Then on Sunday, after a 10 a.m. church service at the Trinitarian Congregational Church, the Beach Committee will host a boat parade beginning at 2 p.m. at Moores Pond for “anything that floats,” Shepardson said.

In previous years, Old Home Days featured a cardboard boat race, Paul explained. However, this year, in hopes of getting more community members to participate, there’s no requirement that boats be made of cardboard.

For more information, visit warwickma.org/moores-pond/old-home-days-2024.