EXETER — An estimated 5,000 people are expected to converge on downtown Exeter on Saturday as the Declaration of Independence arrives on horseback and British and Colonial troops battle it out at Swasey Parkway.

The 22nd annual American Independence Festival will offer a peek into Exeter’s revolutionary past, with activities planned throughout the day beginning with the traditional Water Street promenade by George Washington and his escorts followed by a reading of the Declaration of Independence.

The festival, which runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., is hosted by the American Independence Museum and is held after July 4 because it took nearly two weeks for news of the signing of the Declaration of Independence to reach Exeter. A copy arrived by horseback on July 16, 1776. The original Dunlap broadside will be on display for public viewing at the festival as well as a draft copy of the U.S. Constitution.

One of the most popular events is the Revolutionary War battle reenactment at Swasey Parkway at 2 p.m.

With sunny weather in the forecast, festival organizers are hoping for a good turnout and a successful event that will wrap up with a fireworks display over the Squamscott River at 8:45 p.m.

“The weather looks great. We’re really fortunate,” said Stephanie Rohwer Hewson, festival coordinator.

Hewson looks forward to the event each year, especially the reading of the Declaration of Independence.

“It makes you well up with pride. It’s a special feeling you get. It’s not done all that often, so it’s a great time to be in the crowd listening to it and seeing the reactions,” she said.

This year’s festival will have a maritime theme to highlight Exeter’s history as a shipbuilding center and port. Artisans will demonstrate boat building, rope making, barrel making, and the hand-sewing of sails.

Other traditional artisans, sponsored by the New Hampshire Council on the Arts, will also be on hand to show visitors the art of spinning, weaving, blacksmithing, and Windsor chair production.

Also new this year is the Independence Ale Pavilion set up on the museum’s parking lot on Spring Street where visitors (for a $5-per-glass fee) will be able to try the Redhook Brewery’s American Independence Ale, a beer inspired by the museum and made with locally grown barley and hops.

Anyone attending events on the museum grounds and buildings must pay a $7 admission fee; museum members and those 10 and under are free.

Events at Swasey Parkway are free, but donations will be accepted.

For more information about the festival and a complete schedule of events, visit the museum’s website, www.independencemuseum.org.

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Jason Schreiber may be reached at jschreiber@newstote.com.