Reporter staff

It’s an opportunity to learn more about Kent’s roots.

The Greater Kent Historical Museum, volunteers and event partners invite visitors and residents to explore and celebrate the city’s past on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the inaugural Experience Historical Kent Day.

The event showcases local history, featuring special exhibits and bus and walking tours of the city’s oldest homes, businesses, parks and cemeteries.

The Kent area is rich in history. Such an event embraces it.

“It’s curiosity, and that’s the beauty of having lived here for such a long time,” said Nancy Simpson, fourth-generation born here and the president of the Greater Kent Historical Society who helps manage the museum on lower East Hill. “You know names, family connections, and that really helps when people come into our museum looking for information. I can identify a name with someone. There’s a common language here.”

Highlights include:

• Greater Kent Historical Museum and Mill Creek Neighborhood Historic Home and Garden Walking Tour, 855 E. Smith St., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. every half-hour (last tour 3 p.m.). Turn-of-the-century and Great Depression-era homes. At the end of your tour, enjoy an ice cream social. Tickets for the tour: $20 and available at the museum; ice cream social is $1.50. Proceeds support the museum and Mill Creek Neighborhood Council in their endeavor to become the first historic district in South King County.

For more information, visit www.kenthistoricalmuseum.org.

• Neely-Soames Historic Homestead Annual Open House, 5311 S. 237 Place (along the Green River Trail), 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Tour the grounds and get a glimpse of the way residents lived in 1885.

• Soos Creek Botanical Garden and Heritage Center, 29308 132nd Ave. SE, Auburn, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Antique quilts and cars, entertainment by the Old Time Fiddlers Association and more.

• Historic Downtown Walking Tours, corner of 2nd Avenue North and Meeker Street, 10-11:30 a.m. and 12:30 – 2 p.m. Each walk is limited to the first 25 people.

• Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum, 5917 S. 196th St., 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Special free admission this day only to the nation’s primary resource for historical information on hydroplane racing.

• Historic Cemeteries Bus Tour: A pamphlet is available for guests on this informative tour of Kent’s historic cemeteries. While the tour is free, registration is required for transportation planning.

For more details, visit kentwa.gov/ExperienceHistoricalKent/ or contact Toni Azzola, 253-856-5708.