~ PVN staff report
LURAY, Oct. 7 — Dozens of demonstrations, exhibits and displays of the way life used to be will be on hand at the fairgrounds this Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 8-9 for the 53rd annual Page Valley Heritage Festival.
From all-day demonstrations of spinning and crocheting to a working steam-driven sawmill and wheel-thrown pottery, the annual Heritage Festival sponsored by the Page County Heritage Association focuses on the way of yesteryear. The Page Valley Fairgrounds will be flowing with smells of apple butter boiling and local BBQ, while sounds of a blacksmith hammering his anvil and an antique tractor firing up fills the air.
The festival is a family-oriented event with plenty of activities for the kids, including face-painting, a pedal tractor pull, hay maze, petting zoo, barrel train ride, and pony rides.
On Sunday, an antique tractor pull is planned, as well as a variety of live music and performances both days. Artisans will be on hand to show their skills in oil paintings, basket weaving, carving, pottery and more, with the changing colors of the Blue Ridge mountains as a backdrop. The Steam and Gas Engine Show will feature log sawing, feed grinding, wheat thrashing, hay bailing, and corn husking all powered by steam and antique tractors.
The Heritage Festival serves as an annual fundraiser for the Page County Heritage Association, a non-profit organization formed in 1969 dedicated to preserving the rich, historical Page Valley of Virginia. This all-volunteer organization is also funded by membership dues and the sale of books of local interest and historical significance and fundraisers.
The Page County Heritage Association also maintains historic sites around Page County, including the Calendine Museum, the Hamburg Store, the Mauck Meeting House, and the Massanutten One-Room School. Tours will be conducted at these sites during both days of the Heritage Festival. Proceeds from the festival go towards the maintenance of these properties. Read more about these properties at pagecountyheritage.com
The Page Valley Heritage Festival will take place rain or shine this Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 8-9 at the Page Valley Fairgrounds. Come out and see how a cider and sorghum press works, watch a steel nail being made, watch an antique tractor pull, see how a steam-driven saw mill slices through timbers, see white oak strips become a basket, or see living history personalities in period dress.
Good-home cooking will be provided by local civic organizations, including BBQ chicken, pulled pork sandwiches, brown beans, cornbread, country ham, chicken and dumplings, funnel cakes and a lot more.
For more information, visit the Page County Heritage Association
website at pagecountyheritage.com
Or visit them on Facebook.
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What are hours each day?
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.