Welcome to Getting Local With Jane, our weekly feature in which we post local events of interest to Janeites. If your home town isn’t on the list, stay tuned–you never know when Jane might get local for you.

May 12, 2009, New York City: Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden will have an evening of Jane Austen appreciation at 6 p.m. Former JASNA president Elsa Solender will be the speaker. Tickets are $20 for non-members and free for members. Reservations are suggested (see the link for details).

June 7, 2009, Hunmanby, North Yorkshire: All Saints Church will hold a Strawberry Tea from noon to 2:30 p.m. with the theme “Pride and Prejudice.”

A spokesman said: “‘Mr D’Arcy’ will arrive in horse drawn buggy for the event. We will raise money for the church’s heating and upkeep costs.

“People will be asked to bring their own camera and we will charge a £1 for a pose with the characters and sell strawberry scones and cakes.”

A pound to get your photo taken with Mr. Darcy! Can’t beat that with a stick!

June 20-28, 2009, Alton, Hampshire: Jane Austen Regency Week in Alton and Chawton is a week of events celebrating Jane Austen’s time in Chawton, including a midsummer ball, fashion show, evensong, walks, and lectures.

July 5 and all of Summer 2009, Chawton, Hampshire: Jane Austen’s House Museum (a/k/a Chawton Cottage) will be celebrating the 200th anniversary of the arrival of Jane, her sister, her mother, and their friend Martha Lloyd at Chawton. Extensive renovations are going on at the museum, which will be completed by late June. The celebration kicks off on July 5:

Throughout the day activities for all the family will take place at the house including music and dancing with Madding Crowd, a traditional English village band, demonstrations on the use of herbs in Jane Austen’s time in the newly opened kitchen, interactive hands-on activities for children, displays of the history of the museum and the recent development works and an opportunity to watch the newly created audio-visual presentation about Jane Austen’s life.