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Breaks Park Heritage Festival to feature hands-on demonstrations

Breaks Interstate Park will host the first annual Appalachian Heritage Festival, showcasing regional crafters, talent, and time-honored Appalachian traditions on November 5-6.

“Our region has a very rich heritage, and this festival is an opportunity to put the spotlight on that,” said Breaks Park Director of Visitor Services Austin Bradley, “Those who attend will have the opportunity to speak with the exhibitors, and see hands-on demonstrations, and in some cases even participate themselves,” he said.

The Appalachian Heritage Festival will focus on traditional and cultural art forms, such as woodworking, basketry, quilting, jewelry making, handmade crafts, basketry, furniture making, primitive crafts, and more. Regional authors will also be on hand, and on-site demonstrations will be going on throughout the day, including storytelling, apple butter making, quilting, and Native American craft and jewelry making, and traditional song and dance. Programs are also scheduled focusing on the roles such things as corn meal played in the lives of mountain settlers.

Vendors and many exhibits will be held inside the Rhododendron Lodge and Conference Center, while the outdoor heritage demonstrations will take place at the Visitor Center. The festival will run from 10 am to 6 pm on Saturday, and 10 am to 4 pm on Sunday. There is no admission charge for the festival.

Festival Demonstration Schedule

Several demonstrations are planned for the Heritage Festival. Some are only scheduled on one day, while others will be going on during both days of the festival.

Saturday, November 5

10 am - Hand quilting demonstration

2 pm - Hand quilting demonstration

2 pm - Applebutter making demonstration begins at the Visitor Center.

3 pm - Gristmill demonstration adjacent to the Visitor Center.

4:30 pm - Learn to make Sassafras tea, enjoy banjo pickin’ and storytelling at the Visitor Center.

Also planned throughout the day on Saturday are demonstrations featuring Native American Medicine Bags and Jewelry, storytelling, and quilting. These will be held inside the Conference Center. A demonstration focused on the Civil War history of this area will be held at the Visitor Center.

Sunday, November 6

10 am - Hand quilting demonstration

1 pm - Hand quilting demonstration

2 pm - Learn about edible plants of the region at the Visitor Center

3 pm - Music performance by Mitchell Vandyke

Also planned for Sunday are demonstrations featuring Native American Medicine Bags and Jewelry, storytelling, and quilting. These will be held inside the Conference Center. A demonstration focused on the Civil War history of this area will be held at the Visitor Center. These events will be going on throughout the day.

“This is a chance to rediscover, or experience for the first time many of the traditions that across time have made this area unique,” said Bradley.

For information about this, or any other event at Breaks Park, please call 276-865-4413 ext. 260.

Breaks Interstate Park is located on the Kentucky - Virginia border and is accessed by State Route 80. Commissioned by the U.S. Congress in 1954, it encompasses more than 4,600 acres and is one of only two interstate parks in the United States. For more information about the park, please visit www.BreaksPark.com.

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