Sunday, October 7, 2007

Turning & Burning

Yesterday we attended the annual
"Turning & Burning " Festival.















It is hosted by a local pottery company and is so named for "turning" pottery and then "burning" or firing it in the brick kiln. In previous years they have allowed the kids that attend to make a piece of pottery of their own. Unfortunately, with an expected attendance of approximately 50,000, they are no longer able to offer this attraction. We were a little bummed, but there were so many other things to see and do, it was still an incredible experience.
The festival is held way back off the road so you parked in a cow pasture (watch your step) and then you caught the "shuttle" to the event. These consisted of either a












mule drawn or a tractor pulled wagon.
There were lots of exhibits that featured "the old ways" of doing things:
Butter making; she offered samples of the butter on crackers. It was excellent.
Silk Scarf Dyeing: he used black walnut shells to achieve a lovely tan to brown shade and mistletoe to make the scarves a pale green. I chose the green:)




Quilt Piecing; yes she is working on an old treadle machine.

Quilting Bee; watching these ladies reminded me of the group that used to meet at my Grandmother's house to quilt and visit.

Spinning; She is removing the fur that this angora rabbit is shedding and spinning it into yarn
At the grist mill, they were grinding corn into meal. They then packaged it into brown paper bags and gave it to all who wanted it. They included the recipe to make cornbread. I will give it a try and let you know how it tastes.

There were lots of people in "period dress" as is this lovely lady in civil war attire.



This man is "caneing" a chair. He makes the canes himself by cutting the wood, soaking it and cutting it into strips. Quite a handy fellow.

I was a bit afraid that my son might not be interested in the exhibits. They were not the normal festival fair of hayrides and cotton candy. But not to worry, he was completely enthralled.
Holding a Civil War pistol...this kind gentleman gave him a musket ball. He carried it in his pocket all day and showed it to everyone who would stop to listen.
The Spindle maker let him help carve a spindle



He was mesmerized by the blacksmith.... and literally giggled during the horse ride









But by far the thing he enjoyed the most were the old engines. The louder they were and the more they smoked, the better he liked them. Yeap, he is all boy.

















This engine powered 3 ice cream churns. We sampled the strawberry. There is nothing like homemade ice cream:)

We had a wonderful time and were completely exhausted at the end of the day.

What types of festivals do you and your family like to attend?

29 comments:

Michelle E. ~ Vintage Pastiche' said...

That looked like it was SO much fun!! :) I would have loved to see the lady taking the fur off the rabbit. The pottery looks beautiful, your son is a cutie patootie and I love those engines that churn the ice cream makers!

What a great day, thanks for taking all the pictures to share with us. :)

*muah*
Michelle

Sophie Honeysuckle said...

Now that is a festival I would have definitely gone to!! I love the historical element to it, fascinating, educational and best of all-fun!! Your gorgeous son looks like he enjoyed himself!! Myself, I would have loved to watch the quilters at work!!xx

Scrappy Moments said...

That Looks like a fun day. We used to go to the Pumpkin Festival here all the time when my kids were younger, maybe we should agin, they have ponyrides, hayrides, nothing like Pioneer displays or History though :) The Cramel Apples and picking out a Pumpkin is fun though :)

Angie :)

Meggie said...

Oh Rhonda: The festival looks like great fun. Your little boy certainly did enjoy himself. When you mentioned a Turning & Burning, I wondered what in the world that was. I learn the neatest things from fellow bloggers. Thanks for sharing your delightful day with us.

kari and kijsa said...

That looks like fun....we recently went to a working from the mid-1800's. They wouldn't talk to us except from that time period! Life was rough and exhilariating all at the same time! It was fascinating!

Have a blessed day!

kari and kijsa

BittersweetPunkin said...

Sounds like you had a great day too! Wow does your DS look like you!!!
Thanks for your sweet words on your last visit as well.
Blessings,
Robin

Annie said...

Hi
Great pictures. You really documented your day. Time flies when the children are as young as your son. There's a saying: "the days are long but the years are short" so true. Take that from the mother of a 12 year-old and a 9 year-old.
Ann

Anonymous said...

Oh what a great time. Would have loved being there. I love places like that.

Dena said...

Oh this looks like such a fun place! Thank you for taking us along :)

Hugs,
Dena

Nunnie's Attic said...

Now that looks fun! I love attending period festivals. I have always imagined myself living then. But, it's probably just the romanticism of it - those people worked harder than I can even comprehend.

Your son looks adorable. I'm so glad that you had a good time and were able to enjoy this little treat and that everyone was feeling well enough to go!

Love,
Julie

ShabbyInTheCity said...

We have something like this in July after corn is cut. I love the spit of those steam engines! The smell alone makes you feel like you've gone back in time. It is nice people are keeping these old skills and crafts alive, isn't it?

Linda said...

What a wonderful day ,I loved all the exhibits! I like the old engines too, we have a fall celebration where they have them and they are amazing. Mmmm, homemade strawberry ice cream...my favorite.I enjoyed all the pictures, thank you for taking us to the festival:)

Thank you for the sweeet comments when you visited me, your always welcome.
Linda

Sandra said...

Oh I wish I had gone with you, that is my kind of place to visit :)

Loved all the pictures, thank you for sharing, I literally felt like I was there too!

Back Through Time said...

You took some great pictures! Just south of where I live is the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival that my family and I like to go to. I love the fall and all the festivals!
Looks like you had a great time!
Michelle

Mary said...

Oh, what fun! My daughter and I wore Revolutionary War costumes at period festival back when she was in the Girl Scouts. We were demonstrating "afternoon tea," an easy job as all we had to do was drink tea and eat cakes!

Glad you had so much fun!
xoxo,
Mary

Esther Sunday said...

What a great day! Thanks for the pics. Great stuff for your son to see and experience! Love, Esther

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing your wonderful day with all of us. I love festivals and the Turning and Burning festival captivated me. We have a festival coming up in 2 weeks and I can't wait. So happy you visited my blog. Smiles ~ Lynn

Lehman's Greg said...

Looks like life around here. A lot of the 'Old ways' are still the current ways around these parts. just add a computer.

Anonymous said...

Wos those pictures are amazaing, looks like a wonderful time

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