DOVER, Ohio – Teaching the public about forest resources and raising money to help treat and prevent illnesses and injury for children are the focus of the sixth annual Forest Heritage Festival Oct. 19-20 at the Tuscarawas County Fairgrounds in Dover.
Festival hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
On Friday, as part of their school day, area students will be brought in to mingle with foresters, resource specialists and loggers to learn how trees grow, and how wood products make their way from the woods to the shelves of Wal-Mart.
The event is co-sponsored by the East Central Ohio Loggers Chapter and New Philadelphia Wal-Mart Store #2115. In its first five years, the festival generated more than $100,000 for the Children’s Hospital Medical Center of Akron as part of the Log-a-Load for Kids and Children’s Miracle Network programs.
Charity auction. Last year alone, the festival generated more than $60,000. These proceeds are from exhibitor fees, donations, a raffle, food sales and the big charity auction that is held starting at noon on Saturday.
Saturday’s auction will feature Amish-made quilts, furniture and many other items.
Lumberjacks back. This year, the Hank Peters Lumberjack Show will be back to delight the crowd with their friendly competitions and demonstrations of ax throwing, wood chopping and burling to name a few.
The festival is free to the public and will feature activities and demonstrations including woodcrafts, Smokey Bear, rope climbing, Project Learning Tree activities, chain saw sculpturing, and rail splitting.
Displays featuring trucks, equipment and forest products will also be on hand.
Special Saturday events include a chicken and sausage barbecue, the large charity auction at noon, live music, line dancing, wagon rides, portable sawmilling, and rope climbing.
To learn more. For more information contact Dennis Cable, Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry, at 330-339-2205, or Darrin Lautenschleger, Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District, at 330-343-6647.
