Festival of Wood at Grey Towers
MILFORD Crafts made from wood. Children’s activities with wood. Films about wood. Music created with wood. It’s a Festival of Wood and n for the third year - it’s happening at Grey Towers National Historic Site in Milford, PA on Saturday, Aug. 11 and Sunday, Aug. 12. Admission to the Festival is free. Most of the activities and programs are free. Gates are open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday. Craftsmen and artists from throughout the region will exhibit, sell and demonstrate their crafts, all made from wood. Some examples include: wood furniture, pipe boxes, Shaker boxes, sawdust folk art, wooden snowflakes, wooden bowls, wood turning, fretwork and hand-carved sculpture. Co-sponsored by the Pocono Arts Council, the crafts component will illustrate how beautiful objects that we use in our everyday lives are created from wood. Children’s activities include games and toys using wood and other craft activities. The Gifford Pinchot Audubon Society will host a bluebird box building activity. A Forestry Trail hike and a visit from Smokey Bear and Woodsy Owl also are planned. Films about wood and forestry, educational exhibits and informational handouts will be ongoing throughout the weekend. Free music with wood instruments will be provided each day. A children’s “singalong” and puppet program, a local recorder group and fiddle music are scheduled. On Saturday at 4:30 p.m., a lively concert by the Doc Marshalls band, a 5-piece mix of honky tonk and country, Cajun and Zydeco, will be held in the outdoor amphitheatre. All music is free; bring blankets and lawn chairs (and rain gear if inclement weather). All three floors of the historic Pinchot mansion are open for visitors both days; a $3 fee will be charged. Visitors can pick up free materials and learn from exhibitors who will be sharing information about such things as reintroducing the American Chestnut Tree, private forest landowner information, tree identification and Forest Service wood technology initiatives. The Pike County Office of Aging, the Milford Dairy Bar and Muggs Hotdogs will provide refreshments. The third annual Festival of Wood is intended to be “a celebration of our natural and cultural heritage of wood.” The activities, exhibits and programs are meant to heighten awareness of the many uses of wood in our everyday lives. The US Forest Service and numerous partners are hosting the event at Grey Towers, ancestral home of Gifford Pinchot, who founded and served as first chief of the Forest Service from 1905-1910. For more information, call 570-296-9630 or e-mail them at greytowers@fs.fed.us or check out the Web at www.fs.fed.us/gt .