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?