DTHS Event - Free RiverFolk Festival Offers Fun for All Ages

July 31, 2005 Event

NEWS FROM DENMARK TOWNSHIP HISTORICAL SOCIETY

From: Mavis A. Voigt

612.823.4934

E-mail: rmvoigt@usfamily.net

Released: July 12, 2005

Free RiverFolk Festival Offers Fun for All Ages

The RiverFolk Festival, a celebration of life along the St. Croix and Mississippi, is set for Sunday, July 31 from 1 to 5 p.m. under the Big Tent at Carpenter Nature Center, 12805 St. Croix Trail south, at the southern tip of Washington County. The public is invited and there is no admission charge.

The event, organized by the Denmark Township Historical Society and co-sponsored by Carpenter Nature Center, offers fun for everyone as well as the chance to learn more about the rivers and the region. Children can play in an "Inflatable Castle," join a sack race, fish in a "fish pond," and visit the Interpretive Center. They can meet live reptiles at 1 p.m., birds of prey at 2:30 and reptiles and amphibians at 4 p.m.

People of all ages can enjoy bluegrass and old-time music, walk nature trails, bid on silent auction items, watch traditional craft demonstrations and find collectibles at the Country Store. They can snack on hot dogs and ice cream or treats from a heritage bake sale. A hay wagon pulled by an antique tractor will take visitors across St. Croix Trail to a historic cemetery where they will learn about pioneers who settled Denmark Township.

At 1:30 p.m. Backroads Junction Band will perform bluegrass, country and Celtic music onstage At 3 p.m. Wally Olson’s Band, featured in the movie "Grumpier Old Men," will play polkas, waltzes, mazurkas and other old-time music. At 4:45 p.m. winning raffle tickets will be drawn for handcrafted wood quilt rack, shelves and clock created by Rod Olson, member of the Denmark Township Historical Society.

The festival offers a special opportunity to meet regional writers, including Steven Keillor, author of Grand Excursion; Brent Peterson, author of Stillwater: The Next Generation; Billie Young, author of River of Conflict, River of Dreams: 300 Years on the Upper Mississippi; Molly Harris, author of Summers by Lake Chisago; and Carl Brookins and Deborah Woodworth, writers of mysteries. In addition, the Washington County Historical Society will display a variety of regional books. Organizations providing displays and information about the rivers include the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, the St. Croix River Association and the Water Management Organization.

Funds raised at the festival support the mission of the Denmark Township Historical Society to preserve traditions, stories and historic buildings in the township, including an effort to acquire and restore Valley School #34, the last rural schoolhouse in the township. Information is available from President Walter Pechacek 651-437-8383 or Co-chair Lyla Davies 651.436.4493.