The Freeport Historical Society has a busy schedule in June.

The Harraseeket Hay Barn Gala & BBQ, one of the historical society’s major fundraisers, is Thursday, June 23, at Mallett Barn, located at Wolfe’s Neck Farm. The event will offer live music, silent and live auctions, a barbecue dinner by Buck’s Naked Bar-B-Q and a cash bar.

Two days later, the historical society will host an event at Strouts Point Wharf Co. in South Freeport – a celebration of some unusual Maine cargos, inspired by Camden author Chris Van Dusen’s book, “The Circus Ship.”

The June 25th Harraseeket Heritage Day celebration also will feature a circus-themed lunch of hot dogs, hamburgers, popcorn and cotton candy. Van Dusen’s book is an account of a ship carrying a small circus that sank near Vinalhaven in 1836. Van Dusen will be on hand to read excerpts from his book at 1 p.m., and autograph people’s copies.

Historian Kathy Smith will recite a speech from E.B. Mallett, the Freeport business baron who built shoe factories, a sawmill, grist mill, a coal yard and a granite quarry. Mallett also built the barn that bears his name to ship hay – one of the unusual cargoes that will be the topic of the day.

“The connection is all the different cargoes that traveled up and down the coast,” said Jim Cram, executive director of the Freeport Historical Society. “If something as crazy as a circus ship was traveling around, what else was traveling around?”

“The Circus Ship” is loosely based on the story of the Royal Tar, the ship that sank off Vinalhaven. The Royal Tar, owned by the Eastern Steamboast Co. and carrying the Macomber-Welch Circus Co., had been traveling across Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and the circus was performing from town to town. Then, the ship caught fire off Vinalhaven. Among the animals on board was a 15-year-old elephant named Mogul, which had a huge caged circus wagon to itself.

Crew aboard six small cutters saw the fire, and picked up and rescued 40 people, including the captain and some of the animals.

“The freed animals joined the humans swimming around the burning vessel, and some made it seven miles to the Isle of Haut,” said Jennifer Pollick, office manager at the Freeport Historical Society.“But many, including the elephant and 32 people, including children, didn’t make it.”

Freeport’s own band, Coastal Winds, conducted by Police Chief Susan Nourse, will perform at noon.

The poster for the Fifth Annual Harraseeket Heritage Day on June 25.

A painting of the sinking of the Royal Tar, near Vinalhaven in 1836, from the Library of Congress. The event is the basis for the book “The Circus Ship,” by Chris Van Dusen of Camden.

A closer look

The Freeport Historical Society’s Harraseeket Hay Barn Gala & BBQ is scheduled for 6-9 p.m. on Thursday, June 23, at Mallett Barn in Freeport. The deadline to purchase tickets for $55 is June 22. Sponsor tables of 10 are going for $500.Tickets can be purchased at www.HistoricFreeport.org or by mail at FHS, 45 Main St., Freeport, ME 04032.

The historical society will host its annual Harraseeket Heritage Day from 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, June 25. Tickets purchased in advance or on location are $10 for adults, $5 for children and $25 for families.