Help: Transform Bare Room to Colonial Village

My family, friends and community do an event we call "Sugar on Snow" (SoS) on the last Saturday in February (24, 2007), this year's will be our fourth. Every year we have seen this grow and have added different things to excite more interest. We hold this in our small town's Community Center the main space is about 40x40 feet (41x47) with a foyer about 16' square. We want to convert this sheet rocked and tiled space into a Colonial Village. It has to be able to be set up and taken down fairly easily as well as be storable and inexpensive. I decided to come here as I know there are many creative people here as well as people with a theatre background.
My thoughts are to make 'flats', wooden frames with stretched fabric, which can be painted to look like walls, interior and exterior. Can we use stained sheets that we maybe able to get from local hotels and the like? Do we need to use muslin?
Any other thoughts? This is really a very empty, no personality space. Even if we can't go whole hog this year anything to give warmth to the space would be great.
A little about SoS—
We make Sugar on Snow, boiled maple syrup ladled over 'snow' (shaved ice). Sugar on Snow exists to create and excite an interest in history—especially in children. Through the use of "Living History" and hands-on activities, we share the practical aspects and leisure activities of life in the 1700-1800's.
Our desire is to create an event or place for adventure and discovery of traditional skills.
This year we are making a quern, a hand-powered gristmill, to demonstrate milling. We have many colonial trades and crafts represented Blacksmith (outside ), woodworking, candle making, soap making, rope making, apothecary, and others (anyone think of a 'Z' trade?). We have demonstrators who are willing to teach children (and adults) about their trades. We also have children's and family games, inside and out. Any thoughts, tips and suggestions are welcome. Even help if you live nearby
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Hi-

If you cover the flats with cloth, unbleached muslin has some advantages over bed sheets. The muslin is cheap and may be bought in 108" widths, which is handy. Making your first flats can be challenging and I also like muslem because it is a natural fiber so if the flat's not perfect, or the fabric isn't stretched as evenly as you'd like, you can shrink it into smoothness right on the flat by spraying it with a spritzer bottle of hot water right where you want it to shrink. With the wide muslin you may also hinge two flats together and then cover them as one so that when you open them up on site you'll have one less gap between flats that you'll have to 'Dutchman' or hide in some other way. I'd also try to figure out things (Colonial things) that you could hang on the walls right where the flats come together that will help hide the joints.

There are also some advantages to covering flats with 1/8" Luan (a cheap, smooth, mahogony plywood) Luan flats are perhaps a bit more forgiving than muslin if your carpenter has never made flats before. Luan also solves some problems as unlike cloth covered flats they are much more rigid and will be less likely to "flap" whenever someone opens a door built into your wall made of flats.

I'm sure there are good articles online on flat building and how to cover them, but if you could find someone who has done it a few times already it will really help make things go smoother. It may also be possible for someone in your group to volunteer in a community theatre while they're building flats. Take lots of pictures.

Regards,
Sub

Thanks, Any one else? both with flats and other suggestions

No other thoughts?

Just thought I'd give this a :bump: as I'm thinking of it again